Download - Shipping and Marine Issue 103 Final Edition
act now!the shipping industry needs to take
decisive action to prepare for upcoming emissions requirements
ISS
UE
103
FIN
AL
Shipping&MARinEThE mAgAzINE For mArITImE mANAgEmENT
GettinG approvalwhen it comes to aIS equipment,
it’s recommended to design-in certification compliance
reachinG new heiGhtsLifting is a key part of offshore and marine applications – and the right
equipment maintenance is key
Portmiami is making significant investments and learning from global best practice in order to become a one-stop shop for both the American markets and Caribbean and Latin trade
MiamiWelcome to
Schofield Publishing Cringleford Business Centre,10 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich, NR4 6AU, U.K.Tel: +44 (0)1603 274130Fax: +44 (0)1603 274131
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk.
© 2013 Schofield Publishing Ltd
Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Chairman Andrew Schofield
Group manaGinG DireCtorMike Tulloch
SaleS DireCtorDavid Garner eDitor Libbie Hammond
StaFF WriterS Matthew HighJo Cooper Drew Dann Steve Nash
eDitorial aDminiStratorEmma Harris
lthough I always enjoy putting together articles for
Shipping and Marine, researching and writing about the
Port of Miami for this issue was particularly rewarding.
From start to finish, the process was smooth and easy - the company
and my contacts couldn’t have been more helpful.
Of course the work I was doing was very simple compared to the
incredibly complex logistics and organisation the Port of Miami does
on a daily basis, but from working with them, I am convinced that the
mindset of efficiency and customer satisfaction extended across all
departments. And this got me thinking – is this the impression your
staff would give to customers from boardroom down to the front line?
proDuCtion manaGerFleur Conway
art eDitorDavid Howard
DeSiGnJenni Newman Jamie Elvin
oFFiCe manaGerTracy Chynoweth
heaD oF reSearChPhilip Monument
BuSineSS DeVelopment manaGerMark Cawston
eDitorial reSearCherSLaura ThompsonNatalie MartinGavin WatsonMark CowlesJoe Wright
aDVertiSinG SaleSJoe WoolsgroveDave King Darren JolliffeFinlay Johnson Nick DaviesTim Eakins
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
editor
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 1
I am convinced that the
mindset of efficiency and customer satisfaction extended across all departments
act now!the shipping industry needs to take
decisive action to prepare for upcoming emissions requirements
ISS
UE
103
Ea
rly
Shipping&MARinEThE magazInE for marITImE managEmEnT
GettinG approvalwhen it comes to aIS equipment,
it’s recommended to design-in certification compliance
reachinG new heiGhtsLifting is a key part of offshore and marine applications – and the right
equipment maintenance is key
Portmiami is making significant investments and learning from global best practice in order to become a one-stop shop for both the american markets and Caribbean and latin trade
MiamiWelcome to
A
Miaminice
19 thechinanavigationcompany
23 stolt-nielsen
27 konecraneslifttrucks
30dekeizermarineengineering
33almamaritime/empirenavigation
36nemport
39 nordhavn
42portofmilfordhaven
45 portofliverpool(peelportsmerseydivision)
48 cleanmarine
50 hakvoort
53 scorpiogroup
55 elboil
58chevalierfloatels
60 baltictransshipmentcenter
62 anangelmaritimeservices
64 alnmaritec
66 bargeterminalborn
68 catapaultcatamaransmarineprojects
70amoeshipmanagement
72 zfmarinekrimpen
74 portofdenhelder
76nimbusboats
78 factoriasvulcano
80loadlinemarine
84 portofpori
89 harveygulfinternationalmarine
96 m.h.simonsen
98 oiltankingstolthavenantwerp
100solentstevedores
102containerterminalilyichevsk
FEATURES
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PROFILES
Contents
3newsUpdates and announcements from the shipping and maritime arena
6actnow!Upcoming Tier III legislation sees the introduction of designated Emission Control Areas with particularly stringent requirements for NOx emissions
8welcometomiamiEric Olafson, manager, intergovernmental affairs/cargo development, talks to Libbie Hammond about the current expansion at PortMiami
11sectorupdateThe 2013 conference season has been a strange time for the maritime sector as John Stevenson reports
12reachingnewheightsHaving the right equipment, in the right place, at just the right time is absolutely paramount and asset-tracking systems give operators comfort
14poweringthefutureSubsea environment systems are being deployed that require reliable power and communications connections in more demanding environments
16gettingapprovalAs Jean-Louis Evans highlights, the test and certification process of AIS equipment is highly involved
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Wärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading solutions and services provider, has introduced a new series of both steerable and transverse thrusters that will further develop the current portfolio. The new Wärtsilä Steerable Thruster series (WST) is being introduced to replace the company’s Modular Thruster and Compact Thruster series, while the new Wärtsilä Transverse Thruster series (WTT) is replacing the current range of transverse thrusters. The new products have been developed in response to changing market demands, requiring competitive thruster products, which are more efficient and cover a wider power range.“The marine sector is undergoing a period of significant change and technological advancement, and this next generation Wärtsilä thruster portfolio has been developed in line with these trends by utilising the latest calculation tools and model testing to secure the hydrodynamic leadership of the products. The new products are even more efficient and reliable than earlier, as well as being lighter and easier to install,” says Arto Lehtinen, vice president propulsion, Wärtsilä Ship Power.
A leader in global maritime security solutions, the AdvanFort Company, has announced it has opened an office in Hamburg, Germany, as part of its growing and far-reaching customer service network, particularly for clients in Europe.“AdvanFort has made a substantial investment in the future of our clients in Germany and the rest of Northern Europe by inaugurating our office in Hamburg, the maritime crossroad in that region, thus ensuring that we are closer to our customers,” said company president William H. Watson. “Our move into Hamburg comes as we have named Axel Tuetken, former Maersk Line country president in Japan, as our vice president for sales and business development.” Watson pointed out that one big benefit offered by the Hamburg office is an improved service level for AdvanFort’s growing customer base, ensuring that there is no major time difference for customers in Europe, as well as the fact that real-time face-to-face meetings are now possible to discuss critical issues.For his part, Tuetken underlined the fact that the opening of the Hamburg office comes hand in hand with AdvanFort’s creation of a robust sales team in the Asia market, at a time when – as the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recently revealed - Southeast Asia is the region reporting the highest number of pirate attacks. The company is also stepping up efforts to deliver a wide range of maritime security services to ports and vessels in the increasingly troubled Gulf of Guinea, he added.
News
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Software chosen for collegeQinetiQ Maritime’s Paramarine ship and submersible design software has been selected by the Australian Maritime College (AMC) to use as part of its maritime engineering training programme. Through AMC’s National Centre for Maritime Engineering and Hydrodynamics, the software will assist students on a four-year Bachelor of Engineering degree that is accredited by Engineers Australia and recognised worldwide.“We selected Paramarine not only because of its extensive range of capabilities and functionality but also because it is so widely used by ship and submarine builders and designers around the world. We also wanted to ensure our students had exposure to and experience in using the design software used and recommended by many of our industry partners including the Australian DOD,” observed Dave Harte, associate lecturer, Maritime Engineering and Hydrodynamics, Australian Maritime College.“We are very pleased to have been selected by the Australian Maritime College who along with the many other academic institutions around the world are using Paramarine to train many hundreds of naval architects. With the recent introduction of our latest version of the software, we believe we have the most functionally rich and modern ship and submersible design software available today,” said Vittorio Vagliani, managing director, QinetiQ GRC.
A new three year European Research Project, partly funded by the EU has been launched to help increase efficiencies in regulation compliance and enforcement for the maritime sector. e-Compliance will facilitate tighter integration and co-operation in the fragmented field of regulatory compliance. It will closely align with the EU e-Maritime initiative of which a key priority is supporting authorities and shipping operators to collaborate electronically in regulatory information management. Philipp Lohrmann, project manager for e-Compliance comments: “Presently, there are numerous disparate initiatives and projects that address specific aspects of the regulatory domain. The e-Compliance project will bring these different approaches together, using their most promising aspects in order to increase coherence and efficiency in the world of maritime regulations.”e-Compliance consists of ten partners, all of which bring their own areas of knowledge and experience of working in the maritime space. They include: BMT Group Ltd, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Danaos Shipping Co Ltd, INLECOM Systems, The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), TEMIS, Acciona Infraestructuras, PORTIC Barcelona, Norsk Marinteknisk Forskningsinstitutt AS (MARINTEK) and the Maritime Administration of Latvia.
Regulation improvement project
Next generation thruster portfolio
Move into Germany
Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS), an IACS-member classification society and NAPA, a leading software house for ship design and operation have announced that RS will take NAPA software into use to be able to serve their customers even better.Further expansion of RS presence on new and traditional markets demands first-class software tools to enhance client’s satisfaction. Shipyards, design offices and engineering companies require their drawings and calculations being reviewed and assessed by Class in shorter time with no compromise on quality and safety. NAPA software facilitates achievement of these goals. During design review of a newbuilding project or during existing ship modernisation RS will use NAPA to assess and approve various calculations, such as stability calculations and statutory compliance. Wider use of NAPA in RS will make data transfer between design bureau and classification society easier, and review of the calculations less time- and labour-consuming processes.
Raymarine was proud to announce that the Evolution autopilot received the IBEX Innovation Award for electronics at the International Boatbuilders Exhibition and Conference held in Louisville KY, USA. The Evolution autopilot, which was launched earlier this year, combines advanced aerospace guidance technology with Raymarine’s marine autopilot expertise to deliver a new level of accurate autopilot control.The Raymarine R and D teams were tasked to produce an autopilot with superior performance to anything available on the market, with no need of a set-up compass swing, minimal or no calibration, and without the need to be specifically adjusted for each boat. The result is a breakthrough in autopilot intelligence, performance and installation, which has attracted the attention of boat manufacturers everywhere.
Evolution innovation
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Strengthening co-operation
Tidal development consent
Independent, international energy consultancy Xodus Group was delighted to hear the announcement of consent for Europe’s largest tidal energy project in the Pentland Firth at the Scottish Renewables Marine Energy Conference.As lead consultant in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the 86MW Phase 1 MeyGen tidal energy project, Xodus played a pivotal role in the creation of the Environmental Statement (ES). The EIA considered the possible positive or negative impacts of the project on the local environment as well as potential social and economic aspects. The ES represented the culmination of four years’ of consultation, surveys and assessment, with the offshore and onshore applications submitted to the Scottish Government and The Highland Council in July 2012.Phase 1 of the MeyGen project will see the construction of up to 61 tidal turbines in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth between
the Island of Stroma and the north east coast of the Scottish mainland. It will encompass almost 1.1 km2 of fast flowing water and electricity generated will be exported onshore for transmission to the national grid.Liz Foubister, marine renewables specialist based in the Orkney office, said: “We are delighted that this significant project has gained development consent. Working closely with MeyGen throughout the EIA has resulted in a smooth approval process with minor clarifications required for the regulators and their advisors during the determination period. This clearly demonstrates the quality of work undertaken by Xodus and the EIA partners. We are continuing to support the MeyGen project and also look forward to fully utilising our broad range of capabilities in the offshore renewables sector on other similar innovative projects.”
Ports of Normandy Authority (PNA) is forging ahead with the extension of the Quai des Flamands in Cherbourg, with the next phase due to start in October 2013 - part of a redevelopment project whose funding exceeds €100 million. The announcement of a call for expression of interest in a tidal-farm pilot project in the area, together with the agreements concluded by DCNS and Alstom with PNA, confirms the importance of Cherbourg in the MRE sector. This was further enhanced by President François Hollande’s visit of Cherbourg on 30 September.For Ports of Normandy Authority, regarding the work at Cherbourg, the stakes are twofold, sums up Laurent Beauvais, president of PNA (which is the port authority that runs and owns the ports of Cherbourg, Caen and Ouistreham, in North-Western France): “It is a matter of adhering to the commitments made to our partners Alstom and EMF [i.e. Eolien Maritime France] with regard to [offshore] wind energy and, from now on, providing a credible response to new requests that emerge.” A major ambition of PNA, as well as that of businesses based across the region, is to secure the future of marine renewable energies (MRE) in the area. PNA is positioning itself as a key player for all new industrial and logistical developments in the field of wind-and-tidal energy, with
current projects that include the extension of the port of Cherbourg and the redevelopment of the outer-harbour in Ouistreham. The €40 million extension of the Flamands quay (or Quai des Flamands) in Cherbourg will be a new tool for the effective handling of MRE-related operations. Cherbourg was chosen by EMF and Alstom as an MRE development site thanks to its privileged position at the heart of the French offshore-wind-energy market and its proximity to the wind farms being built off the South Coast of England.
News
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Strengthening co-operation
Expansion progresses
Very first concept luxury trimaran In 2013 Sunreef Yachts’ in-house design office took another step forward in luxury multihull design with the completion of a superb concept for a 210ft mega power trimaran. The project has been prepared upon the request of a potential client who was looking for an extraordinary multihull and appreciates Sunreef’s strong position as a world leader in custom catamaran-yachts and superyachts design and construction. With the length of 210 feet and interior space
used to the fullest within all three hulls, it has reached a remarkable living space equalling 950m², which makes the TRIMARAN 210 the biggest yacht of this type on the market. Operated by 18 crewmembers, the yacht will comfortably accommodate up to 14 guests in comfort and privacy.The top deck comprises a 125m² dining area for 14, the captain’s private cabin, internal helm station and a guest day head. There is also a private king terrace on the aft intended for relaxation after a long day in the sun. This deck can be accessed via a lift connecting all floors on the yacht.The main deck was arranged in a way to maximise available space without losing roominess. The 220m² saloon can be arranged in many different ways, taking into consideration the privacy of the guests staying on board. There are four separate areas from which guests can admire unforgettable views through the window wall without being disturbed. It has also six spacious guest cabins with queen beds, which are positioned transversely to the axis of the boat. They are located in front of foldable private balconies, which enhance the luminosity of the cabins and allow guests to admire sunrises and sunsets from their cabins. Each one of them possesses a private bathroom and extended storage.Apart from a smart and comfortable interior space the TRIMARAN 210 is a true exterior design masterpiece. Her sleek flawless lines incorporating streamlined window walls prove again that Sunreef is the world’s leader in its niche sector.
Acquisition advisor International law firm McDermott Will & Emery advised Actuant Corporation, a diversified industrial company in the acquisition of Viking SeaTech from HSBC Private Equity for £150 million. Viking SeaTech is a specialist support company based in Scotland that provides services and equipment to the oil and gas industry principally in the North Sea (UK and Norway) and Australia.Actuant Corporation, headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, is a $1.5bn diversified industrial company with operations in more than 30 countries. Commenting on the transaction, Robert C. Arzbaecher, Chairman and CEO of Actuant stated: “Viking represents a great addition to Actuant’s energy platform and will be included within the Energy segment. Its leadership position in the largest offshore regions, strong technical competency and solid management team have allowed Viking to generate above average growth and margins.”
pcoming Tier III legislation sees the introduction of designated Emission Control Areas with particularly stringent requirements for NOx emissions, and marine manufacturers will face
some challenge when considering the available options to tackle these.
The need to reduce pollution from shipping is of course nothing new. In fact, marine vessels have been subject to various emissions regulations since 2000. However, the implementation of Tier III for vessels entering designated Emission Control Areas (ECAs) adds
a significant deal more complexity for marine manufacturers who must quickly get to grips with the new technology needed to meet the stricter requirements. This is also exacerbated by uncertainty over exactly when the legislation will come into force, which is unfortunately out of their hands.
Tier III, currently scheduled to come into force in 2016 sees the introduction of (ECAs) covering the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, most of the US and Canadian coast and the US Carribean, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Once introduced, any new or remanufactured marine engine wishing to enter an ECA
CFD modelling of combined SCR & DPF system
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U
emissions control areas
Decisive action is needed on emissions regulations, according
to Dr. Phil Bush
now!Act
will require an approved exhaust after-treatment system that can be proven to cut the emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) by a further 70 per cent over and above the Tier II requirements.
An SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) system is perhaps the most straightforward and best understood means of meeting the challenge. In fact a report by the International Maritime Organization into the available technologies cites hundreds of vessels and land-based power plants that have been using SCR technology for over 20 years. The technology has many supporters and has already been used by ship owners to
CFD modelling of combined SCR & DPF system
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meet national NOx limits in Norway and Sweden.In spite of this Russia has tabled a proposal to the IMO, which
will be voted on in early 2014 to delay the introduction of Tier III until 2021. Meanwhile, the USA has pressed ahead with introducing its own regulations even if the international rules are pushed back by five years. This lack of clarity causes unnecessary headaches for owners, for shipbuilders and suppliers. Yet acting now and working to the original deadline appears the best option. After all, it is the only way to protect the global freedom of any vessel built from 2016 by guaranteeing its ability to enter US waters.
Regardless of the timeline for the implementation of Tier III, there is a pressing need to identify the right engineering partners now to develop the best solutions for different vessels. SCR systems are highly sophisticated pieces of technology and cannot therefore simply be purchased ‘off the shelf’. Extensive calibration and design engineering must take place in order to optimise the performance of the unit and fit it into the available space on the vessel while maintaining fuel efficiency and other emission reductions. Experienced emissions engineers will be required to optimise the performance of the SCR unit and ensure its continued ability to perform in this new environment.
As this is the first time marine manufacturers have been required to evaluate exhaust after-treatment systems there has been some concern over where to find the external partners with the relevant expertise. However, the heavy duty on-road vehicle market for SCR is already very mature and those involved in this field hold a great deal of knowledge that can be directly transferred. For example, Eminox worked closely with Transport for London on a pilot project designed to significantly reduce NOx emissions from London buses. This required new catalyst formulations and extensive system calibration incorporating CAD design, computational fluid dynamics, harshness analysis and finite element analysis to deliver innovative concepts that were right first time. This intelligence is now being applied to the next generation of marine engines.
The current situation regarding exactly when Tier III regulations are set to be introduced isn’t ideal. However, in the absence of clear guidance from the IMO it falls to the industry to take the decisive action on preparing for upcoming emissions requirements. As the deadline to comply gets ever closer the need to reduce levels of NOx won’t go away and the availability of experienced partners will become ever more constrained. The task of developing and optimising the best system is a major engineering challenge and one that will prove very attractive to ship buyers operating within the ECAs. The best advice to marine manufacturers would therefore be to start now on signing up the right development partner to design and manufacture the technology. v
Dr. Phil BushDr. Phil Bush is Technical Manager at Eminox. Eminox designs and manufactures bespoke exhaust and emission control systems for heavy duty diesel vehicles and equipment. For further information, visit www.eminox.com.
ortMiami is numbered among America's busiest ports. It contributes approximately $28 billion annually to the South Florida economy and helps provide direct and indirect employment for more than
207,000 people. As well as acting as the largest seaport in the State of Florida,
it also acts as a very important hub for the entire States, as Eric Olafson, manager, intergovernmental affairs/cargo development explained: “One of our main claims to fame on the cargo side – which is what I do – is that we’re the cargo gateway to the Americas, so 54 per cent of our business is with the ports to the south of us - we have a regular feeder service to the Caribbean,
Central America and Latin America. So because we’re the closest to Latin America, we receive a lot of perishable and manufactured goods coming in from those countries.”
In fact, perishable goods are a key focus area for PortMiami, and as Eric highlighted, the business regards this sector as a huge opportunity: “In the past five to ten years the expansion of fresh, organic, perishable products has been incredibly important to America, and it remains a growth industry. Miami is at a huge advantage because we are the closest port to the growing regions in Central America, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and South America.
“Right now a lot of those products are grown in South America
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P
port expansion
Eric Olafson, manager, intergovernmental affairs/cargo development, talks to Libbie Hammond about the current expansion at PortMiami
MiamiWelcome to
and shipped to ports in the North East and then trucked down to Florida, Georgia and Carolina and this doesn’t make
sense when with perishables, every day is a day of shelf life. If you stopped in Miami, you reach 74 per cent of the population in one to four days and save those days sailing time.”
As part of the extra attention being paid to perishables, PortMiami has, with the vision of its port director Bill Johnston, developed a ‘perishable committee’. “We meet once a month and we bring in the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), customs and border protection and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) together with our shippers, brokers and port and terminal operators. We’ve been able to develop protocols and policies where perishable goods are prioritised.”
Eric gives an example of one innovation that has come out of the committee: “The Enforcement Link to Mobile Operations, commonly referred to as ELMOcargo, allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection field officers to use a handheld device to release products in real time. In the past, if we had 30 boxes of perishables that needed to be released for inspection at 8am, someone would have to manually inspect all 30 boxes, check them all off, go back to his office and handle the paperwork to issue the releases, which would take up to three hours. Then all the trucks show up and everything gets congested.
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“Now if a box is ready to go at 8:01 then the officer can just press a button on Elmo and the truck driver and the broker know that it is released. That means that products can be off port and at the train yard in 20 minutes, and can reach Atlanta in a day and a half. This saves a day and a half of shelf life and any grocer or buyer really appreciates this.”
Eric added: “We have also introduced inbox fumigation technology. Traditionally you used to have to go to a big warehouse, unload the pallets, tent it or put it in a big room to fumigate it. Now we have come up with technology where the refrigerator box can be kept at the same temperature, you put the hoses in, you fumigate, you aerate and then they are off. You don’t have to offload; you don’t have to manipulate. It saves time and it also
saves money, because you don’t have as many people touching the product.”
As a result of its dedication, PortMiami has been designated a port of expertise and excellence for perishable products. “This means that we have more inspectors here at Miami than at any other gateway port in the US,” explained Eric. “Plus if there is a question of a product coming into any part of the nation, for example this product is coming in to Seattle and it’s a new fruit or vegetable and they have never handled it before, they call Miami, because we are regarded as the experts.”
However, PortMiami is aware that it is still in competition with the other ports around the United States and to advance its position in the market it decided to co-operate with the Government of Panama on the Canal initiative. And says Eric, “we are building a relationship with the Port of Rotterdam; Bill Johnston takes the approach that we want to learn from best practice around the world. Rotterdam is the fourth largest port in the world and handles 80 per cent of the perishables from Europe. It has achieved this position through strategy and research. Rotterdam is in a very densely populated country where real estate is not inexpensive, so it isn’t the cheapest option. But it still handles a massive percentage of perishables, and that’s because it has the logistics, it has the expertise and it is able to move forward.
“Miami is similarly densely populated, it has the ocean on one side and the Everglades on the other, so the two areas have a lot in
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common. So we want to learn how Rotterdam, in a built-up area, still maintains its impressive European market share.”
The kind of research the Port of Rotterdam is undertaking is very impressive, as Eric highlighted. “It works with scientists and the educational community, to develop products that last longer post harvest. Research has revealed that if you can keep the product at a certain temperature it can last longer or if you keep it at a certain elevation it helps avoid condensation from the walls.”
PortMiami and Port of Rotterdam are developing a close relationship, and Eric noted that although he considers the Dutch to be the masters at logistics, there is still much Miami brings to the table. “We’ve invited members of the Rotterdam team to attend the TOC Container Supply Chain Americas, a major terminal operating show that we’re hosting here in October, and afterwards the Dutch government has offered to further provide a venue so that the people who are speaking from the Netherlands will talk to our perishables community, discussing how Miami can learn from the best practices, and see what its universities and scientists can do.
“And we can contribute to that dialogue as for example, we have exotic fruits that aren’t grown in Europe so we are keen to explore how we can use technology to get fruit from groves in Chile to the table in France. We feel that we can learn so much from them in perishables and develop expertise from partnering with them to learn the best practices.”
With 34 per cent of its business already being carried out with Europe, the Port of Rotterdam offers access to a huge market for PortMiami, but once the products arrive in the US, getting them to their destination in the most efficient manner possible is a top priority and to this end, within the next two years the port is going to finish $2 billion in projects, with the aim to become one of the most technologically and infrastructural advanced ports in the country. “We’re completing a billion dollar tunnel in May 2014 which will provide direct highway access between the US interstate highway system and PortMiami,” said Eric. “This will mean no stoplights between Miami and Atlanta and Chicago, Memphis, Charlotte, New Jersey or New York - once you’re on the interstate system its all open highway. That’s an incredible advancement.
“Starting October 15th 2013 we also brought in on-dock rail with Florida East Coast Railway, a 351-mile freight rail system that connects to the US Class 1 railroads to bring goods to 70 per cent of the US in four days or less. Rail is huge to us too; we plan to double cargo in the next five to ten years.”
He continued: “We’re currently involved in a dredging
programme, which will deepen the port to 50 feet. That’s 15.5 metres - the same depth as the Panama Canal, and we are set to open PortMiami’s new deep depth in two years time, in tandem with the opening of the Panama Canal expansion. This means there will be three seaports on the Eastern seaboard of the United States that can handle the bigger ships, which will come from the Canal to Miami, Norfolk and New Jersey.
“At the moment, the major population bases are being served by ports on the west coast, way out across the Rocky Mountains, which results in great time delays and expense, so the plan is to create a nexus for East/West cargo coming in from Asia. And of course, ships don’t want to go home empty, so we’re working with the US Department of Commerce to promote the export of US manufactured and grown products out of Miami to Asia and Europe.”
Interestingly, the tunnel and dredging projects are all related to the Panama Canal development, and PortMiami has created a campaign along with the Panama Port Authority to promote the 2015 countdown to opening. “We’ve worked closely with the Dutch on this as well,” noted Eric. “And really, we are working to become an essential logistics hub, working with a member of Congress, the governor of Florida and the attorney general – the entire state is heavily invested in this.”
He concluded: “Because of the geography we are closest to the Panama Canal, and because of our depth we’ll be the first port south of Virginia that can take the big vessels. Asian vessels can stop here and tranship, because of our regular service to the countries in South America, and reach those booming economies through our regular feeder service. Our developments are all targeted to make Port Miami a one-stop shop for both the American markets and Caribbean and Latin trade. We’re embracing the future and really looking forward to 2015.” v
port expansion
For further information visit: www.miamidade.gov/portmiami
Eric Olafson
he 2013 conference season has been a strange time for the maritime sector. The inaugural London International Shipping Week started things off with a bang and then the sector moved on to the political
party conferences circuit.Ports were well represented with a healthy splattering of
corporate affairs directors, but positive announcements or, at the very least, mentions by ministers and their shadow colleagues were limited to a few fleeting references. In his closing speech, the Prime Minister championed the potential for a marine renewable energy base on the Humber, while the Secretary of State's speech touched upon the investment planned and being made by ports across the land.
Various events skated around maritime issues – the Rail Freight Group breakfast meetings examined issues around landside connectivity and intermodal traffic, while live animal exports to the continent was a side issue at the RSPCA's fringe events – but interventions, positive or negative, were muted.
For a sector with such impressive figures on employment, gross domestic product and tax revenue, it is concerning that the rowing and sailing lobby had a more visible presence in both the exhibition area and fringe meetings at the most important set of events in the political calendar.
With a packed list of concerns stretching from the proposal by the EU to ‘re-nationalise’ the UK's ports through the Port Services Regulation, marine planning and the possible designation of swathes of the seas as marine conservation zones, to the impact of the sulphur emission control areas on UK ferry and cruise traffic – the sector has to be more vocal in the political arena. Next year’s
conference season is the most important in the electoral cycle as the parties look to gather ideas and distill their thoughts further ahead of the publication of the manifestoes.
Given the port sector’s symbiotic relationship with the energy sector, Ed Miliband's commitment to freeze energy domestic prices for 20 months after the general election combined with another – yes, another – energy bill to reform energy markets, re-engineer and give the regulator some teeth, has created a hiatus in the market. Ed's energy policy declaration was doubtless a popular move with the public, but in an area where the UK government has consistently failed to grasp the nettle and plough forward with trying to deliver an energy infrastructure investment programme of any meaning, his intervention is unhelpful for many port customers and ports alike.
The officers (MPs and peers) of the All-Party Parliamentary Maritime and Ports Group plan to pick up the baton once again in Parliament in the run up to the general election. The officers of the Group are about to set the agenda for the coming year, with sessions proposed on a range of subjects, including West African maritime security, tidal energy and updates from various ministers. If you would like to suggest a possible session or find out more about the Group, please contact John Stevenson who supplies the secretariat services on [email protected] or 020 7067 1595. v
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SPECIAL FEATURE
2013 party conference diary. By John Stevenson
updateSector
T
John StevensonJohn Stevenson is head of public affairs at Freshwater UK, a specialist transport and infrastructure political communications agency.
ith upwards of 570 rigs, hundreds more support vessels and 18,000 offshore workers currently active across the UK Continental Shelf; there are literally billions of moving
pieces and items of equipment helping keep the oil and gas industry going.
Every clamp, hoist, level and hook has to be accounted for and, more importantly when safe operations are at stake, each has to be continually checked and certified as fit for its given purpose.
Lifting and mechanical handling operations can pose a major accident hazard if a suspended load or crane boom falls on to processes piping with recent statistics showing that injuries and dangerous occurrences arising from lifting operations account for about 20 per cent of the total of those occurring offshore.
As the global demand for energy continues to rise and oil and gas operators continue to look for opportunities to maximise safety and reduce downtime, effectively managing the accurate tracking and logging of equipment from large-scale wire rope pulling machines or floor cranes through to the smallest bearing swivel can be a significant influence on slowing operations and reducing production.
“This is particularly relevant in the lifting environment where the typically corrosive conditions of the offshore industry dictate that operators need to demonstrate the integrity of critical lifting equipment,” said Keith Moorhouse, chief executive of ATR Group,
lifting and tooling specialists to the global oil and gas, marine, subsea and renewables industries.
“Lifting is a key part of almost all offshore and subsea operations. It can range from lifting of stores and spares handling through to complicated and heavy lifts so choosing suitable equipment and ensuring it is maintained, tested and certified in an appropriate way is of high importance.”
Broadly speaking, certification is designed to determine whether equipment is fit for the coming period of service. “It is often the most simple and economic items – such as slings and lifting attachments – which play the most safety-critical roles,” added Mr Moorhouse.
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W
offshore lifting
Lifting is a key part of offshore and marine applications – it is essential that the equipment used is maintained and used properlyheights
Reaching new
“Any item of equipment will deteriorate with age and usage. In many cases this is a slow process and if properly monitored there is ample warning before it becomes dangerous. However, lifting equipment often has a particularly hard life.
“It is therefore subject to a thorough examination before it is put into service for the first time. Once in service, examinations can take place at maximum fixed intervals or at agreed points based on the frequency and nature of use, the operating environment, and the rate at which a particular piece of equipment will deteriorate.”
Examination of an asset’s integrity is typically carried out through on-site independent monitoring and inspection of equipment but ATR Group is seeing a rising demand in the
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industry for inspections to be carried out in a way that allows for the seamless continuation of offshore activities.
“In today’s climate of high day rates for drilling and other support services, a company must have a thorough understanding of how its equipment is working and when it needs to be reworked or replaced,” explained Mr Moorhouse.
“Having the right equipment, in the right place, at just the right time is absolutely paramount and asset tracking systems give operators the comfort of a forward look on certification. This approach allows replacement parts to be dispatched and fitted prior to the recertification date, negating the potential for work to be halted should an issue be found.”
Mr Moorhouse believes for operators and those throughout the supply chain, the benefits to this approach are many.
“Beyond the peace of mind that every item of equipment is regularly replaced, serviced and inspected from the same trusted source, with inspection, testing and recertification times varying depending on equipment type and function, it ensures consistency of operations throughout the year.
“It also eliminates waiting time for parts and therefore reduces the potential for downtime due to maintenance management.
“In the energy industry where the cost implications for having assets shutdown or operating at part-capacity can stretch into the tens of thousands of pounds/dollars, this can have a significant impact on an organisation’s bottom line.” v
ATRATR provides clients in on- and offshore oil and gas, subsea, production and renewables with a range of services and tools for activities including sales and rental of lifting equipment, inspection and certification, and power generation.ATR is the market leader in the delivery of equipment services for the offshore oil and gas industry maintenance market, operating throughout the North Sea and UKCS, the Caspian region and the global energy market. For further information, visit: www.atrgroup.co.uk
n today’s subsea environment, systems being deployed require reliable power and communications connections in more demanding and dynamic environments. The team at Hydro Group are being asked more and more
for increasingly complex composite and physically demanding cable designs - the days have gone when we were simply asked to provide an underwater electrical connection. Today most subsea cables designed and manufactured at Hydro Group’s Aberdeen, Scotland facility incorporate numerous specialist elements such as fibre optics, twisted pairs, triples or quads, Coaxial, VHF and high frequency RF, components.
As subsea equipment is becoming more complex with data management and collection systems transferring significantly higher volumes of information at faster rates, the transmission characteristics, low loss and shielding requirements need to be addressed in the design and composition of the cables.
To ensure the performance of the designs, increasing use of complex software modelling and analysis tools are employed. Hydro Group engineers routinely utilise packages such as Comsol multiphysics software to model designs and provide virtual realisation of the cable characteristics under a variety of simulated conditions. Transmission characteristics and performance are also simulated with the use of Optem software tools.
Hydro Group regularly incorporate stainless steel tubes, rather than PBT tubes, for all of our Subsea Cable designs incorporating
fibre optics. The benefits of utilising optical fibres contained within stainless steel tubes are primarily two fold:l The elimination of increased attenuation (signal loss) seen in the fibre due to the compressive forces on the glass as the crushing action of the water pressure on the cable sheath is transferred through to the fibre itselfl The addition of a hydrogen scavenging/absorbing gel is used within the St/St Tube to prevent the potential darkening of the optical fibres due to the natural ingression of small amounts of hydrogen, which are present in these extreme conditions
Both of these advantages over PBT tubed fibre optics are deemed crucial in the demanding conditions seen by subsea optical cables.
Mechanical factors are extremely significant in the overall performance of subsea cable designs. Often these present a much higher risk in the reliability and durability of the design than all other constraints. The application of FEA design and modelling tools such as Comsol and Orcaflex allow simulation and analysis of the design to ensure construction and incorporation of components that will meet the dynamic application requirements. Understanding the static and dynamic forces that will be applied allow the incorporation of features and components such as Vectran braids and cords for tensile strength in light weight and
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I
subsea cables
Mark Hendry discusses the rapidly changing subsea cable market
futurePowering the
more flexible applications and Contra Helical steel wire armouring packages where significantly higher mechanical forces will be experienced.
Hydro Group service a global client base, with ocean environments varying significantly in different regions and therefore different risks to consider such as salinity, water temperatures and seabed conditions. As industry explores deeper sea depths, this affects the design and material selection of cables, with challenges such as UV stability, marine growth, microbial attack and even the burrowing Teredo Navalis Shipworm to be addressed.
With a full appreciation of all the electrical, optical, mechanical and environmental requirements imposed on the application of the cable a robust and reliable cabling solution can be realised.
The combination of the above design factors and the fact that equipment demands are increasing rapidly are driving more customised solutions. In addition to the design approach employed, Hydro Group have invested heavily in new machinery, significantly increasing and improving in-house cable manufacturing capabilities, to compliment this rapidly evolving market.
With regards to future innovations, as part of Hydro Group’s research and development program, the R&D team is working on a number of cable design projects for specialised applications in energy, defence and renewables. Amongst these we are currently trialling various low smoke flame retardant materials to address single cable designs capable of operating between separate boundaries from topside to subsea. v
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Mark HendryMark Hendry is technical director of Hydro Group plc, an energy-service firm made up of Hydro Bond Engineering and HydroCable Systems Ltd. It is a major global supplier of harsh environment engineered products to the offshore oil and gas, defence, oceanographic, renewable energies, diving and ROV/AUV markets. For further information, visit: www.hydrogroupplc.com.
utomatic Identification System (AIS) is an automatic tracking system that is used on ships, leisure boats and by vessel traffic services for identifying and locating vessels by automatically
exchanging electronic data with other nearby ships and base stations. The system integrates standardised VHF transceiver systems and Global Positioning System receivers, with other electronic navigation sensors, such as a gyrocompass or rate of turn indicator.
To ensure greater safety at sea, many countries are now insisting that AIS equipment is installed on all vessels above a certain tonnage. This means that tests must be completed to prove compliance with each of these countries’ regulations and ships inspected in port, which are shown not to be using correctly certified AIS equipment will be fined.
AIS shipborne mobile devices are split in to two different classes. Class A devices are for ships over 300 tonnes and in Europe are required to meet the guidelines set out in the Marine Equipment
Illustration courtesy of SRT Marine Technology
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A
it - ais
As Jean-Louis Evans highlights, the test and certification process of AIS equipment is highly involved
approvalGetting
Directive (96/98/EC). This includes vessels that fall within the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
The Marine Equipment Directive (MED) also covers a wide range of other equipment relating to SOLAS, from lifejackets to pyrotechnics and radio beacons. Under the regulation, manufacturers of such equipment must gain independent certification from an EU Notified Body, which is appointed by national flag administrations (organisations that control shipping in each country), before their devices can display the mark of conformity - known as the Ships Wheelmark.
Class B AIS devices are for non-SOLAS vessels, which do not come under the MED, but do require testing and certification under the R&TTE Directive for the European Union and FCC and Industry Canada certification for North America.
As AIS Class B devices fall within the scope of the R&TTE Directive (1999/5/EC) and there are no European harmonised standards available, Annex III of the Directive requires that manufacturers consult a Notified Body to identify a suitable test schedule. Once a Notified Body has identified the test schedule, the manufacturer has the testing performed and then seeks the Notified Body expert opinion on the device’s compliance by presenting a Technical Construction File. The CE marking should then be affixed to the product and the device can be marketed throughout the EU subject to national licensing considerations.
Other AIS equipment that falls within the scope of the R&TTE Directive includes Aid to Navigation (AtoN). This is a shore-based or mobile station providing location and status of an aid to navigation. These stations may also be programmed to provide other navigation safety information, for example, meteorological and hydrological data.
The R&TTE Directive also covers AIS base stations, a shore-based transceiver which operates using self-organised time-division multiple-access (SOTDMA), a radio channel access method which divides a channel into frames so that individual AIS systems can transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using their own time slot. These have a complex set of functions to control the AIS system and all the devices operating therein.
To ensure that an AIS system can communicate with any other AIS equipment in use, and that the system integrates with marine products such as the communications and navigation systems, type testing of this equipment must be completed. This includes testing to standards such as IEC61993-2 (Class A), IEC62287-1 (Class B CS), IEC62320-2 (A to N) and IEC 60945, which covers a range of EMC, Environmental, Safety, RF and Protocol testing.
MED approvalTo gain the Ships Wheelmark on a piece of Class A AIS equipment, compliance with the MED involves ‘Type Certification’, shown as Module B within the MED document. This is where the product is tested against the MED’s required standards, after which the manufacturer provides a Technical File, detailing the test process, to a Notified Body for assessment. The Notified Body then carries out the assessment and issues a ‘Module B Type Examination Certificate’ on completion.
This is then followed by a suitable ‘production module’. In most
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cases the production module chosen by the manufacturer will be ‘Module D’, which proves production quality assurance and involves a Notified Body auditing the manufacturer’s production facility to ensure that devices are being manufactured in accordance with recognised quality procedures (e.g. ISO9000) and being tested as they come off the production line. A Module D certificate is then issued on an annual basis, which lists all of the MED products that the manufacturer produces in that particular production facility.
As the Ships Wheelmark shows the mark of compliance for MED products, it can only be applied once the manufacturer has both Module B and Module D certification in place for that particular product. The Wheelmark is only applicable in the EU, but other flag administrations outside the EU do recognise it, while other regions such as the USA have their own requirements.
Reducing complexity The test and certification process of AIS equipment is highly involved as it follows a complex set of requirements and standards and can take a minimum of four weeks. This time of course extends if a manufacturer works with separate test houses to complete the many environmental, radio frequency, EMC and safety tests required by the MED, rather than one provider that can offer all of these services under one roof, such as TUV SUD Product Service.
The time to final certification is also extended if problems, relating to non-compliance, arise during testing as the manufacturer must then go back and fix them before testing can recommence. In such a situation, testing could take two to three months to complete and severely impact time to market for new products. Best practice advice would therefore be to design-in compliance from product concept through to final production, ensuring at regular stages that the design of the product complies with the required standards to ensure that it is fit for its purpose of safety at sea. v
Jean-Louis EvansJean-Louis Evans is managing director at TÜV SÜD Product Service, a global product testing and certification organisation, and at its sister company, TÜV SÜD BABT, a Notified Body under the Marine Equipment Directive 96/98/EC.TÜV SÜD Product Service is one of the world’s leading experts in product testing and certification, with 150,000 product certificates in circulation globally. TÜV SÜD Product Service analyses over 20,000 products each year in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, ensuring that products are safe and minimising liability risks for manufacturers, importers and retailers. For further information, visit: www.tuvps.co.uk.
Jean-Louis Evans
Profiles
There are thousands of ships sailing the oceans today, transporting every kind of cargo. The global fleet is manned by over a million seafarers of virtually every nationality and the companies involved in this sector are among the most technologically sophisticated of any in the world.
The prominent and successful companies that are highlighted in the next pages of Shipping & Marine provide real world examples of how state-of-the-art technology, best practices and modern innovations are put into practice in the maritime sector.
l the china navigation companyl stolt-nielsenl konecranes lift trucksl de keizer marine engineering l alma maritime/empire navigationl nemportl nordhavnl port of milford havenl port of liverpool (peel ports mersey division)l clean marinel hakvoortl scorpio groupl elboill chevalier floatelsl baltic transshipment center
l anangel maritime servicesl alnmaritecl barge terminal bornl catapault catamarans marine projectsl amoe ship managementl zf marine krimpenl port of den helderl nimbus boatsl factorias vulcanol load line marinel port of poril harvey gulf international marinel m.h. simonsenl oiltanking stolthaven antwerpl solent stevedoresl container terminal ilyichevsk
has since evolved to become a leading provider
of Handysize and multipurpose liner shipping
services. It is specifically focused on the Pacific
region, servicing routes up and down China’s
coast, as well as to Australia, New Zealand,
North America, Papua New Guinea and the
Pacific Islands. During the 1960s and 1970s
the company diversified in two very different
directions. During the 1960s CNCo developed a
passenger cruising business, effectively creating
a niche market-operating seminar cruises out
of Japan, which was a market it was able to
dominate for close to 20 years. Starting in the
1970s, CNCo began to invest heavily into the dry
bulk carrier market, representing the company’s
first move away from a traditional operator role
to that of a shipowner and tonnage provider with
a succession of vessels ranging from Handymax
wned by its parent company
John Swire & Sons Limited,
the China Navigation
Company finds itself part
of an incredibly diverse global group. The
Swire Group maintains a reputation for integrity,
professionalism and innovation and setting
operational standards of excellence wherever
it does business. The group is proud of its
reputation and strives to be original and forward-
looking, which are qualities that have guided it
for close to 200 years. The group is highly active
within the Asian Pacific region, where traditionally
its operations have centered on Hong Kong and
Mainland China.
The China Navigation Company (CNCo) was
formed in 1872 to operate a modest fleet of
paddle steamers on China’s Yangtze River and
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O
Profile: The China Navigation Company
Shippinghorizons
20 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
to Capesize chartered into some of the world’s
leading bulk pools. During the mid-1980s the
company saw another new departure from
its normal operations and the beginning of a
decade long relationship with the VLCC market,
which served to further expand the company’s
experience.
Today CNCo represents the deep-sea
shipping arm of the Swire Group with its
headquarters located in Singapore where its
operating divisions, Swire Shipping, Swire
Bulk and Swire Bulk Logistics are managed. It
remains most active in the Asia-Pacific region
and provides dry bulk, liner shipping and bulk
logistics services to customers globally.
Recently the company’s actions have been in
response to challenging market conditions and
innovations in vessel design. During the fourth
quarter of 2011, Swire Bulk was established
to focus on the Handysize sector to take
advantage of market cycles and incorporate
progressive vessel design to own and operate
the most efficient fleet of modern bulk carriers.
The Handysize class of vessel represents the
CHENGXI SHIPYARDChengxi Shipyard Co.,Ltd aims at sustaining growth with its ship building and ship repair improved at the same time and steadily moving forward. It has established deep co-operation relationships with CNCo, obtaining new building orders of 16 39,500DWT bulk carriers. And many famous worldwide owners have been attracted to Chengxi Shipyard for new building orders of Dolphin 64 which amounts to 36 ships. With regards to ship repair, Chengxi Shipyard Co., Ltd mainly focuses on high-value and hi-tech repair and conversion projects and recently successfully completed several LPG vessel repairs from Japan NYK and other notable companies.
most numerically common class of bulk carrier
owing to their flexibility and ability to enter
smaller ports. Although lacking the size of their
Handymax counterparts, Handysize vessels
offer their owners greater accessibility and reach
and can also be fitted with cranes to enable
efficient unloading at port. In addition to eight S
Class (31k dwt) and four Chief Class (22k dwt)
multi-purpose vessels, CNCo has ordered 20
Deltamarin designed BDelta (40k dwt) Handysize
vessels for delivery between 2013-2015. Of
these, the first vessel expected for delivery is the
Wuchang, which was delivered on 18th October
2013. Additionally, CNCo maintains options for
further vessels should they be required.
All of the new builds will be fitted with Wartsila
engines, a decision which has been made due
to the efficient performance of these engines at
low power. CNCo believes that slow steaming,
or eco-steaming, will remain an important
feature in dry bulk and liner markets in coming
years and is keen to best position its fleet to
embrace market trends and take advantage of
the new environment. As well as its main base
in Singapore, Swire Bulk operates offices in
Australia and New Zealand to allow it to focus on
activities in the Pacific and a third regional office
in London will be established in November 2013
to focus on customers in the Atlantic market.
Complementing its fleet expansion and
Handysize development, the company recently
increased its minority shareholding in Polynesia
Line to become to sole owner of the company.
Commenting on the acquisition, CNCo managing
director Tim Blackburn says: “Polynesia Line is
a logical fit within Swire Shipping’s expanding
liner network in the Pacific Islands and provides
market leading services between North America,
Tahiti and the Samoas.
“We are delighted to have Polynesia Line
on board within the Swire Shipping network
to provide our customers with the most
comprehensive network of liner services in the
South Pacific.”
Operating under its motto ‘Esse Quam
Videri’, meaning to be, rather than seem to be,
CNCo is determined to move forward while
maintaining the values of its parent, the Swire
Group. Continuity, endeavour, excellence,
humility, integrity and teamwork all represent
cornerstones in how the business operates
and conducts it activities. Throughout the
remainder of 2013 the company is committed
to completing the delivery of its yearly business
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Profile: The China Navigation Company
The China Navigation Company www.chinanav.com• Sustainable shipping solutions• Specific focus on Asia-Pacific region• Significant fleet investment
plan, which is designed to support the long-
term vision of the company outlined in its Vision
2020 project. This can be specifically broken
down into five strategic objectives; operational
excellence, winning customer relationships,
financial success, enduring partnerships and
happy team. CNCo is focused on meeting
operational milestones that it set out to reach at
the beginning of the year and is progressing well
to meet its targets.
Commenting on the company’s transition to
be fit for the future, Tim says: “Our vision is to
be the leading provider of sustainable shipping
solutions and our customers’ partner of choice.
“There is no doubt that we are operating
in difficult times, but we are fortunate to
be operating in the world’s most exciting
economies. We remain committed to growth but,
above all, to sustainable growth.” v
Wuchow - CNCo newbuilding supervision team at Chengxi Shipyard
“Because we always want to improve our
safety record and ensure there are no incidents
or accidents, we have a high focus on safety. It
really is the most important thing to us, so a lot
of emphasis goes on that. Our second focus is
on energy management; fuel is expensive and
we consume a lot, so we are making every effort
through speed and consumption, planning and
maintenance for short-term goals in reducing fuel.
However, our longer-term focus is on the design
of more energy efficient ships that will deliver
significantly lower consumption. Finally, our ships
are spending too much time in port, so we are
working with our customers to improve this,”
highlights Hans.
Aside from the mutual commitment to health,
safety and quality within the SNL divisions, there
is an element of complementary integration
to ensure ongoing operational improvements;
particularly between Stolt Tankers and Stolthaven
Terminals, which have joined forces to combine
the latter’s global network of high efficiency bulk-
liquid terminals and Stolt Tanker’s sophisticated
tolt Tankers recently had its third quarter earnings statement, which showed the third quarter was up
again compared to the second quarter; we are making steady progress and results are getting better. For the first time in three years
we recorded a profitable month in August, which
is positive, and our contracts are all progressing
well. The market is improving, albeit slowly,”
says Hans Feringa, president of Stolt Tankers.
Previously in Shipping & Marine magazine in April
2013, the shipping arm of Oslo-listed Stolt-
Nielsen Limited (SNL) has continued to enjoy a
steady flow of work through its contracts with
major global chemical and petrochemical firms
such as Shell, Exxon, Chevron and BP during
the economic downturn. By focusing on its
three core areas of safety, energy management
and port time management, the company
can meet the most stringent demands of its
global customer base as well as all local and
international regulatory requirements.
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S
Profile: Stolt-Nielsen
Tankedup
“
INOX Surface TreaTmeNTFor more than 20 years, INOX has been ‘The Specialist’ in surface treatment of stainless steel and carbon steel. It is located in Rotterdam and Shanghai, in order to offer worldwide services for new building ships, ships in service and ships in dock.It is your partner to directly solve corrosion problems by in-house specialists with equipment and chemicals, or to supervise ship’s crew using ship’s equipment.INOX’s annual inspection of cargo tanks should be in the scope of every chemical tanker owner.
mercurIuS ShIpbuIldINgAfter a careful tender process, Stolt-Nielsen ordered two newbuilding inland waterway chemical tankers in 2010 from Mercurius. These ships were designed and build, tailor-made based on the specific requests from Stolt-Nielsen. At that time, Stolt-Nielsen and Mercurius already had a long-term partnership with each other, as Mercurius operates various chemical tankers in the fleet of Stolt-Nielsen, both with coated tanks and with stainless steel tanks.
fleet of 150 vessels. Reducing port time and
increasing efficiency is a core strategic focus for
Stolt Tankers, especially since deep-sea parcel
tankers spend one-third of each voyage loading
and unloading in ports. Through this unity, Stolt
Tankers has more control over the tanker/terminal
interface and thus has a significant competitive
advantage in meeting customer requirements.
The operation of sophisticated deep-sea,
regional, coastal and inland parcel tankers by
Stolt Tankers is one of the firm’s three largest
subsidiaries alongside Stolthaven Terminals and
Stolt Tank Containers (STC). Stolt Sea Farm
(SSF), Stolt Bitumen Resources (SBS) and Stolt-
Nielsen Gas make up the rest of the portfolio.
Responsible for the regional European Inland
Tanker fleet, Stolt-Nielsen Inland Tanker Service
(SNITS) is the leading inland shipping firm in the
chemical market. “With a fleet of 26 stainless
steel and ten coated chemical inland vessels,
SNITS operates in the ARA area, the Rhine
River and adjacent canals, thus covering the
entire north-west European waterway network,”
explains Frank Maerckaert, general manager
at SNITS. “Our main focus is on the chemical
market with products that require special handling
expertise and knowledge. Some vessels are
operated on dedicated trades whilst the majority
of the fleet handles more than 200 different
products, with an average of 100 voyages per
year per vessel. Our priority is on offering our
customers a quality performance, whereby safety
has top priority.”
Headquartered in Switzerland, SNITS was
established in the early 1990s when SNL decided
to construct five stainless steel inland vessels to
offer its customers an additional service to pick-
up or deliver overseas cargo from and to inland
destinations as well as optimising the rotation
of the deep-sea fleet when calling at the port of
Antwerp and Rotterdam. To expand the inland
shipping business, SNL strategically acquired a
number of firms throughout the 1990s, of which
the purchase of Swiss based inland shipping
company Hamburger Lloyd in 1997 was the most
significant.
Dedicated to operational excellence, SNL as
a whole believes in continuous improvement in
operations through teamwork and education,
a commitment that is at the core of all staff
that work in the firm’s divisions. “As part of
the Stolt-Nielsen organisation, we focus a lot
on the training of our crew and harbour the
same attitude and principles in our shipping
operations. It is a competitive market, so you
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THE Kooiman GRoUPThe Kooiman Group is a modern all-round group of companies in the marine sector, capable of developing complete designs, build and outfit any kind of sea and river going vessel. Its products range from sea going dredgers and multipurpose workboats to river going dry cargo ships and duplex tankers, but its main focus is on custom build projects. With its well-equipped facilities and pipe manufacturing, electrical and carpentry workshops, it can offer solutions to a variety of challenges. The group’s main dry docking facilities are with Scheepswerf Kooiman and Shipyard Hoebee, where last year a complete new slipway was installed, which is capable of dry docking the biggest inland waterway vessels for maintenance and repairs.
really have to focus on safety and quality through
professionalism,” highlights Frank. “We invest a
significant amount of money and manpower to
train our crew, with safety awareness, knowledge
and expertise just a few of our trademarks.
However, our customers, such as BASF, Shell,
and BP, also choose SNITS for its flexibility. With
a variety of stainless steel and coated vessels,
at a capacity between 800 tonnes and 6000
tonnes, all contract requirements are executed
to the charterers’ full satisfaction. On top of this,
we can meet last minute changes and special
requests.”
To further maintain a quality service to its
customers, SNITS added two fully owned
stainless steel new-builds to its fleet in 2012, with
Profile: Stolt-Nielsen
26 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Stolt-Nielsenwww.stolt-nielsen.com• Global leader in the transport of bulk-liquid • Sophisticated tanker fleet• Expanding fleet in 2014-2015
Profile: Stolt-Nielsen
both vessels wholly built in Serbia by Mercurius
Scheepvart. First agreed in 2010, the SNITS
expansion plan was completed with the arrival
of the time charter tanker Justina, which began
operating in May, and the second owned new
building Stolt Merwede, which was delivered in
mid 2012. Continuously looking to adapt its fleet
to market requirements, this strategic move has
positioned SNITS as one of the leading owner/
operators of stainless steel vessels.
Looking ahead, the forward thinking company
is preparing for changes in legislation regarding
all liquid products being shipped in double
Maas Marine & industrial equipMentMaas Marine & Industrial Equipment provides a wide range of high quality marine equipment. The company can draw on a long experience in the marine industry. For many years it has been the key supplier of tank cleaning systems onboard Stolt vessels. The Scanjet installations are tailor made to meet Stolt’s specific needs backed up by 24/7 service. Being a member of the Scanjet group, Maas supplies directly from manufacturer to customer. This way it can assure the highest quality at low cost.
hulled vessels as well as regulations coming into
place for sulphur emissions and ballast water
over the coming years. “We have a number of
single hulls in our deep-sea fleet that are being
phased out in the next year or two, so we are
ahead of the game in that respect. However,
there are other regulations that are challenging to
everyone; for example the US is looking to deal
with ballast water in a different way to the rest
of the world, which is very confusing. There are
also regulations regarding sulphur, which should
be taken out of the refinery so lower sulphur fuel
is provided; it would cost a fortune if all ships
had to have a scrubber or a similar product on
them,” explains Hans. Despite these upcoming
challenges, SNL and its divisions have the fleet,
expertise and reputation to maintain its leading
position in the chemical market. v
t the heart of many companies’ lifting set-up is Konecranes Lift Trucks AB – a fitting accolade for a business which itself has been dedicated to lift trucks ever since its first delivery in 1959. Originally operating under the name Silverdalens
Mekaniska Verkstad (SMV), the company became part of Konecranes in 2004 and
subsequently saw its name change to Konecranes Lift Trucks. In the years before, production has
been moved from the east coast of Sweden to Markaryd in the south, with a second facility opened in
Lingang, China in 2007.
After almost a decade as part of Konecranes, sales and marketing manager Patrik Lundbäck
describes how this has benefited the business: “Konecranes is a Finnish crane company so there is no
conflict between our offerings. Instead we complete the portfolio so it’s been a very good match for the
company. Most of our production is going on export, with sales to over 100 countries around the world
so we are a truly global company.”
Equally widespread is the number of industries that Konecranes Lift Trucks’ equipment is found in. In
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Profile: Konecranes Lift Trucks
Liftingbusinesses
28 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
essence, the company
can supply to any
sector with a heavy
lift requirement such
as the paper and pulp
market, sawmills, steel
industry, and intermodal
segment. Perhaps its
biggest market though
is the port and maritime
industry.
The range of
products offered by
Konecranes Lift Trucks
is focused on three main lines; forklift trucks, container handlers, and reach
stackers. The company’s aim is to build the hardest-working, longest-lasting
heavy-duty lift trucks in the world. To this end because everything is designed and
built in-house there are very few limits on the size and capacity of the equipment,
and Konecranes Lift Trucks continuously refines its designs based on feedback.
To date Konecranes Lift Trucks has delivered forklift trucks from ten tonnes lifting
capability up to 65 tonnes.
Smart technology and excellent craftsmanship mean that not only are the
company’s lift trucks known for their strength, reliability, and performance, but that
they also offer a lower total cost of ownership. “We put a lot of effort and budget
into research and development,” notes Patrik. “As such there’s been a lot of
innovation within the business such as the world’s largest
barge handler, and the first hybrid reach stacker. All of
our customers heavily use our equipment, sometimes
literally 24/7, which means high uptime is a critical focus
in this development.
“Other drivers are safety, and fuel efficiency, which in
turn helps reduce costs. Also related to fuel is the issue
of emission levels, which is another area our customers
are focused on due to environmental regulations. The
other major change is that in the past a customer may
lift one paper roll or a 25-tonne coil, now they are lifting
four rolls and 30-tonnes. There’s a move towards needing
equipment with a much higher payload to increase productivity,”
he continues.
It’s some of these developments that have made Konecranes Lift Trucks
unique within the lift truck sector. The recent launch of the SMV 4531 TB5
HLT hybrid reach stacker for container handling is one key example.
Built around a diesel/electric driveline, hydraulic lifting system and
super capacitor system for electrical energy storage, this lift
truck reduces diesel consumption and emissions by up to
30 per cent. In turn it can lift up to 45 tonnes, and has
improved acceleration and lifting response.
The cost and environmental benefits are achieved
by electrifying all flows of energy through the hybrid
technology. Propulsion and lifting are powered by
electric motors, whilst the energy generated by braking and load
lowering is recovered and stored for re-use later. This is made possible through
the super capacitor system, which is in turn connected to the truck’s electrics.
It also helps to boost the diesel-powered electrical generator at times of peak
power demand.
“Another development we have launched in recent months is the
TRUCONNECT remote monitoring and reporting for lift trucks system,” highlights
Patrik. “This enables the fleet manager to track the real usage of their fleet through
a remote connection, including safety alerts, general performance and fuel
Although we’re very much a global company, we place a great deal of importance on the individual local markets as well - being close to the customer and having a strong network for support and aftersales
consumption. It also highlights maintenance and
servicing intervals, and identifies where operator
training could improve safety and productivity.”
With products in many different markets,
Konecranes Lift Trucks is perhaps further
removed from the individual ebbs and flows of
these industries than some. Such changes are
still of keen interest to the business though in
allowing it to put some focus onto those markets
showing signs of growth. This is particularly
important given the high degree of uncertainty
that still remains for many following the financial
crisis.
“We’re preparing for the future by continuing
our focus on R&D,” concludes Patrik. “Although
we’re very much a
global company,
we place a great
deal of importance on the individual local
markets as well - being close to the customer
and having a strong network for support and
aftersales. This is something that we continue to
pursue for the coming years.” v
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 29
Parker Hannifin With annual sales of $13 billion in fiscal year 2013, Parker Hannifin is the world’s leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company employs approximately 58,000 people in 49 countries around the world. Parker has increased its annual dividends paid to shareholders for 57 consecutive fiscal years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 index.
Konecranes Lift Trucks www.kcllifttrucks.com• Heavy lift experts• Innovative product development• Close to customer
Profile: Konecranes Lift Trucks
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk30 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Stolt Sneland at Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp
ased in the Netherlands, De Keizer has specialised in the installation of custom electrotechnical systems
in superyachts and ships since 1965. The company designs, builds and installs
sophisticated computerised security systems
and complex monitoring and control systems
in the maritime sector, and also possesses
extensive knowledge and experience in the field
of entertainment and control systems.
A prime example of this is the work the
company is doing on the MY Golden Age, a
vessel that is due for completion in April 2015.
De Keizer is one of Hakvoort’s prime co-makers
on this contract, and is responsible for the
complete overall electrical installation onboard.
AMCS DekaSis will be, as system integrator, a
key element of this prestigious Hakvoort new
built.
The MY Golden Age is a 61-metre
superyacht, which will feature a carefully
considered balance of indoor and outdoor
spaces. One of the most striking features will be
the positioning of the four guest suites and VIP
stateroom on the main deck, ensuring that all
guests have superb views. The main deck will
also be home to a large dining room and lounge,
with the owners’ accommodation housed on a
dedicated private deck above. This extra deck
will comprise the master stateroom forward
with two bathrooms, a master study and a bar
with sky lounge. Above will be the bridge deck
with wheelhouse and a range of facilities for the
captain, with the rest of the crew also being very
well catered for on the lower deck. In addition
to four crew cabins forward, there will be an
additional cabin on the lower deck for a nanny,
pilot or masseur. The latter will undoubtedly
be impressed with the dedicated massage
room and the lower deck will also feature a
hammam and a steam shower in the spacious
lazarette. Two large tenders will be launched
from both port and starboard. Add in the sun
deck with a 3x2 metre swimming pool and this
is clearly going to be a magnificent superyacht
in every sense. The interior and exterior will
come from the drawing boards of Sinot Yacht
Design and reflect a classic contemporary
style. Naval architecture, construction and
engineering design for this project will be by
Diana Yacht Design, which has been given the
brief to optimise technical accessibility and keep
maintenance requirements to a minimum.
The De Keizer DekaSis system, which
will feature on the MY Golden Age, is a
decentralised AMC (alarm, monitoring and
control) system. DekaSis is a custom built, user-
friendly interface for more onboard comfort with
an automatic back-up system that allows clients
to operate their systems from various locations
via DVI Touch Screens.
De Keizer developed the decentralised
system to save cables and thus weight, and
increase flexibility during and after construction.
Creating redundancy was a key issue. The
PCs, PLCs and network are all redundant. This
means that the underlying system automatically
takes over in case of failure in one system. It
also reduces fuel consumption and peak loads,
and creates more space on the bridge.
Thanks to the decentralised layout, clients
can add equipment or functionalities to the
system after it has been delivered. Touchscreens
enable the redesign of control elements without
actually having to add new switches in the
already finished interior or control panels. The
industrially sorted computers use two compact
opportunitiesTechnical
B
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 31
Profile: De Keizer Marine Engineering
flash memory cards that, unlike hard discs,
are shockproof. DekaSis components
have been certified by the major maritime
classification societies such as Lloyds, ABS,
GL and DNV.
DekaSis was developed in-house by De
Keizer’s R&D department, which is constantly on
the lookout for new solutions and improvements
for existing systems. The result of this approach
has led to the development, alongside DekaSis,
of the DekaSmartGrid and the KVM switch.
The DekaSmartGrid is an intelligent solution
that consists of technology and software
to optimise the use of power onboard.
Superyachts use generators that rarely work
to their best in a conventional setup. The
DekaSmartGrid ensures that they are used more
efficiently and that any surplus power generated
is stored in batteries for use later. This results in
lower fuel consumption, while the generators will
not suffer from the build-up of soot – enhancing
the performance and lifespan of the generators.
The DekaSmartGrid therefore ensures that a
yacht generates power efficiently, which reduces
operational costs and benefits the environment.
Additionally, the system saves space due to
smaller generators and an easier installation of
the batteries. The DekaSmartGrid is also able to
support the share connection and considerably
reduce electricity costs in port by using the
battery. As a stand-alone system it also
enhances user-friendliness, reduces smoke and
exhaust emissions, and increases the options
for silent periods.
De Keizer developed an optical KVM
(Keyboard, Video, Mouse) Switch in close co-
operation with IHSE. The design of the KVM
switch is a combination of its years of nautical
experience and IHSE’s knowledge of video
switching technologies. It provides access to
computers from multiple locations onboard
a yacht, allowing users to monitor and check
the radar, CCTV and AMCS as well as use the
navigation system. The fibre optical systems
ensure that De Keizer can guarantee perfect
picture quality and high speed. Unlike analogue
signals via copper cables, which are sensitive to
interference, the fibre optical systems allow the
transfer of digital video and USB signals over
distances of up to ten kilometres without loss or
distortion.
It is clear that De Keizer highly values
innovation in its mission to make unlimited
technical opportunities possible for superyachts.
However, the technological side of the company
is supported by a comprehensive service
department, which is also known as ‘the guys
in red’. This team is always ready to support
clients and their crew anywhere in the world.
The performance of a superyacht relies on
regular professional maintenance and the
right support at the right time - De Keizer’s
experienced, international 24/7-operating
service team is always available, whenever and
wherever it is needed. This is why ‘the guys
in red’ are known throughout the superyacht
world.
32 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
EntertainmentWhen a customer orders a vessel worthy of
the title ‘superyacht’, he wants the perfect
combination of looks, performance, and style.
One of the major components of the impact of a
vessel is the entertainment on board and this is
another area where De Keizer excels.
The company designs an entertainment
set-up by listening to a client’s ideas and
developing a system that exceeds their
expectations. Entertainment, lighting, IT, climate
control; all of these can integrate into one of its
control systems - it understands that onboard
entertainment is a total experience, and that it
must meet the highest personal demands.
As a result, each client request is a new
challenge for the entertainment and control
designers. Examples of previous assignments
include complete outdoor cinemas that can
be enjoyed while lying in the pool; the largest
television screens concealed in ceilings or
furniture; or a dance floor that consists entirely
of coloured fields that bring the yacht to life as
the party gets underway.
These and other individual demands can be
integrated within a user-friendly interface such
as an iPad. This allows a client to control all
functions via a single screen from anywhere on
their yacht. If so desired, this feature can also be
developed for other guests onboard.
De Keizer is also skilled in the latest
applications of, for instance, modern 3D
televisions, or the oculus technology; the
Google Earth for yachts which shows the
course being charted by the captain.
When considering the amazing array of
vessels that feature De Keizer technology and
the fascinating market in which it works, it is
no surprise to learn that the Discovery Channel
wanted to make a television series about this
industry. De Keizer was a part of the series
called ‘Superyachts’, which was broadcast on
the Discovery Channel, and took a look at the
Dutch yacht building industry. It gave insight into
Profile: De Keizer Marine Engineering
De Keizer Marine Engineering
www.dekeizermarine.com• Passion for electrical systems in luxury yacht building• Aims to be leader in leader in maritime electrical engineering• Activities take place in close consultation with owners and yard
Santon CirCuit Breaker ServiCeS Santon Circuit Breaker Services B.V. is specialist in the field of supplying, maintaining and replacing of circuit breakers in existing installations. Santon offers a Sidunn conversion set for almost any type of circuit breaker, which makes it possible to replace old circuit breakers for new ones in just a few hours. Santon Circuit Breaker Services is the partner for all your circuit breakers.
some of the world’s largest and most impressive
superyachts, and over six episodes, Discovery
Channel followed the Dutch luxury yachting
industry, its leading characters, and it showed
the innovation, technology and design behind
this exclusive industry.
A century of shipbuilding, traditional values
of craftsmanship, the latest technologies and
the finest equipment are all ingredients for what
turned out to be a spectacular and exclusive
series about the industry and its pursuit of
perfection in luxury ship building. v
Empire Navigation Inc. in 2009; comprised of
an efficient, professional and highly experienced
team of shipping specialists. Empire currently
manages a fleet of modern vessels that includes
five Capesize bulk carriers, four double hull
Suezmax tankers, six handysize vessels and an
impressive eight product tankers; seven of which
were acquired following Singapore-based firm
FR8 exiting the ship owning sector in September
2012.
The vessels included FR8 Venture, a
2006 model at 74,065 dwt, FR8 Endurace
(2007/50,655 dwt), FR8 Pride (2006/74,035
dwt), FR8 Reginamar (2004/70,312 dwt), FR8
Endeavour (2006/50,546 dwt), Stena FR8
1 (2007/46,846 dwt) and the FR8 Fortitude,
(2007/46,763 dwt). With a previous fleet capacity
of more than 1.5 million, Empire operates a
fleet of two and a half million mark. The new
vessels were smoothly integrated into Empire
Navigation’s existing fleet and have enabled
the firm’s continued growth, progression and
increased performance.
Mr Molaris discusses the company’s
developments since it last appeared in Shipping
and Marine magazine in December 2012:
“Empire Navigation’s fleet has expanded over the
last 12 months. In view of its growth and in order
to be able to keep providing specialised services
the dry bulk carriers of the company’s fleet were
lma Maritime was founded in 2008 by chief executive officer and chairman Stamatis Molaris with the goal of
providing exceptional services to the crude oil, clean product and dry bulk carrier sectors. From 2005 until April 2008, Mr Molaris
served as chief executive officer, president and
a member of the board of directors at Quintana
Maritime Limited, before serving as CEO and
director of NYSE-listed dry bulk firm Excel
Maritime Carriers in April 2008 following the sale
of Quintana Maritime Limited to Excel. Mr Molaris
retained the position of CEO and director of Excel
Maritime Limited until the merger of the two firms
was successfully completed. Boasting a rich level
of expertise in the shipping industry, Mr Molaris
previously served as chief financial officer and
director of Stelmar Shipping Limited from August
1993 until January 2005.
With a comprehensive knowledge of the
shipping industry behind it, the international firm
was established to provide reliable, efficient and
responsible transportation services in a manner
that will result in long-term, returning customers.
Keen to focus on ownership, Alma Maritime
established a subsidiary for fleet management,
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A newempire
Profile: Alma Maritime/Empire Navigation
transferred to a newly established company –
Empire Bulkers Ltd. This expansion has resulted
in both companies’ increasing office personnel
and more dedicated professionals joining the
team in order to keep up with the standards we
have introduced since Empire Navigation started
its operations three years ago.”
Located in Gylfada, Athens, Empire
Navigation’s objective is to manage modern ships
that operate in wet and dry cargo markets, and
as a manager of such ships, it is committed to
maintaining a high standard of safety and quality
in all operations. When first established, the
organisation designed a Safety Management
system in order to meet all relevant requirements
of ISO 9001-2000 (Quality), ISO 14001-2004
(Environment) and TMSA; it was certified by
ABS in August 2009. Empire Navigation retains
a policy to promote and enhance health and
safety at sea, in order to prevent human injury
or loss of life and avoid any adverse impact
on the environment. In order to implement its
health, safety management and environmental
protection policy effectively, the company
follows a number of rules, such as frequently
inspecting and auditing its vessels, carrying
out necessary maintenance and repairs and
appointing dedicated personnel to be responsible
for maintaining health, safety and environmental
matters. A member of major marine associations
including Intertanko, Bimco, OCIMF and
Helmepa, the company is headed by Mr Nikolaos
Arkadis, who boasts a plethora of shipping
knowledge and more than 30 years experience in
the industry.
Focused on safety, environmental protection
and high quality services to charterers and third
parties since its inception, Empire Navigation’s
dedication to excellence has led to long-term
business relationships with agents, suppliers,
yards and other parties. Keen to optimise
performance through fleet expansion, this
development has also inevitably changed the
company’s market place and grown its customer
base. “The different types and sizes of vessels
in Empire Navigation and Empire Bulkers are
now part of different segments of the tramp
market,” says Mr Molaris. “New charterers have
employed our newly acquired vessels while we
have reinforced the commercial bonds with our
existing charterers. All of our charters for both the
wet and the dry fleet are with first class, reputable
charterers.”
Profile: Alma Maritime/Empire Navigation
Despite the market remaining challenging
within the shipping industry, the company has
already benefited from the largest ‘distressed’
deal in the tanker market, therefore viewing
periods of crisis as a time of opportunity. “There
are encouraging signs of improvement in
certain sectors, but it remains to be seen if this
improvement has legs. As always, the periods
of crisis are also periods of opportunity, as
distressed deals can be pursued by those who
had acted prudently before the crisis and are in
the position to take advantage of the low part of
the shipping circle,” explains Mr Molaris. “We are
always interested in further expanding our fleet
and business when the right opportunity arises
for a potential profitable product.”
Moving forward, the main focus for Empire
Navigation is to optimise its charter mix and
manage its sector exposure by retaining a
balanced range of crude oil and product product
tankers as well as dry bulk carriers for commodity
producers and consumers in the shipping
industry. Furthermore, it will expand on the
management’s successful chartering relationships
with leading customers in the dry bulk and
tanker markets, an area in which the company
hopes to become the first choice for quality
services in the coming years. “Our aim is to not
only maintain the high quality of services that we
have offered since our inception, but to improve
as well. Looking ahead at the next few years, it is
our goal to keep improving in every aspect of our
business and to further expand,” concludes
Mr. Molaris. v
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 35
Alma Maritime/Empire Navigationwww.almamaritime.com• Young, high quality fleet• Focus on long-term charters• Fleet managed by subsidiary ‘Empire Navigation’
Global SeawaySGlobal Seaways is a leading crew management & maritime training group of companies with strategically established offices worldwide. It is maintaining more than 100 vessels and employing more than 3000 seafarers under its management. All of its company members have obtained ISO 9001:2008 as well as MLC 2006 certification. Global is proud to contribute to Alma Maritime’s continuous success.
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk36 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
n relation to other ports around the globe, Nemport is a newcomer compared to its contemporaries. However, far from being a hindrance, the
port’s youth has enabled it to make a dynamic
and forward thinking entry into the market. The
development of the Nemport Project began in
1999 after the Heris family, owners of Akdeniz
Chemistry, began to look into the possibility of
importing liquid raw material via their own port.
As captain Oguz Tumis, managing director
elaborates: “Akdeniz Chemistry began to
look for a suitable area in which to construct
a terminal and found a promising location in
Nemrut Bay in Aliaga-Izmir. While the company
struggled with the authorities to get the
necessary permissions for operations, they
assessed the feasibility of introducing the liquid
import business to the port. However, it found
that the location was not satisfactory for liquid
import but was instead very promising for the
container business.
“As a sector leader within Turkey, Akdeniz
Chemistry had large amounts of container
shipment in both import and export. Because
of the unbearable congestion in Izmir Port, the
company decided to construct a container
terminal instead of a bulk liquid terminal in which
it could handle its own containers without any
problems. Additionally it could also serve other
customers suffering from the similar problems in
Izmir Port.”
After a lengthy period of construction and
consultation with local authorities the first cargo
vessel called into Nemport Container Terminal
in October 2009. Since that time the port has
displayed a flexible, forward thinking approach
that has made it an important service provider
for the main container liners calling into Izmir.
The port is the first private container terminal in
thinkingNew
I
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 37
Terex PorT SoluTionSNemport is a leading terminal operator and operates five Terex® Gottwald harbour cranes in its Aliaga terminal. The Terex® Gottwald harbour cranes for Nemport offer greater handling advantages when servicing large container vessels thanks to its specially adapted geometry of boom length, boom pivot point and viewing height of the operator cab. These cranes, including more than 70 other Terex® Gottwald cranes in Turkey that are serviced ‘around the clock’ by Terex Port Solutions’ long-standing representative Eksen Makina, enjoy excellent availability and productivity with competitive operational costs. Also, more than 85 per cent of the Generation 5 Terex® Gottwald cranes delivered to Turkey since 2006 feature an integrated external power feeding system to help save costs.
Profile: Nemport
the Aegean Region, operating with an annual
capacity of 450,000 twenty-foot equivalent units
(TEU’s). It also boasts a number of features
that make it an attractive destination compared
to state-run ports in the area. Nemport
Logistics also runs an off-dock railway within
close proximity to the port, which supports its
operations. This allows Nemport to provide an
excellent, cost-effective transport solution for
customers using the railway. Complimenting
its logistics service, the port is able to provide
unrivaled storage options to its customers
through the use of its A Grade General bonded
warehouse, as Oguz explains: “Situated within
the terminal itself the warehouse provides lots
of advantages to both importers and exporters
as it is not common for the container terminals
in Turkey to have this kind of warehouse. When
thinking
38 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
the customers wish to store goods inside the
warehouse and strip the containers, they inform
the terminal before the vessel arrives. We
discharge the containers from the vessel and
carry them directly in front of the warehouse,
because the warehouse is not outside of the port
customers pay no extra transportation cost and
terminal handling fees.
“Besides that, the goods can be stored in
the warehouse without a time limitation until
the customs clearance is settled. According to
the Turkish customs rules the goods can stay
in the terminal for a maximum of 45 days. If the
customs procedures are not over within that
time, the goods are confiscated. Ultimately, the
warehouse allows the port to offer extended
storage solutions in a cost-effective manner.”
Another differentiating factor for Nemport is that its services and
equipment portfolio are undertaken in an environmentally friendly way. All
of its quayside cranes are run by electric power and the port operated the
first electrically powered rubber-tired gantry cranes (E-RTGs) in Turkey.
Similarly electric forklifts are used in all of the port’s container freight
station (CFS) and warehouse operations. Commenting on the port’s
environmental commitments Oguz says: “Nemport is very environmentally
friendly. Electricity has lower carbon emissions than diesel oil and terminal
equipment has minimum noise level when they run by electricity, which is
why it is always the preferred option in the port’s operations. There is also
a waste treatment facility inside the terminal, where waste like sludge, bilge
water, wastewater and other solid wastes are collected from the vessels
and treated safely. The terminal has been certificated with ISO 14001, as
well as ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001. In the very near future the intention
is to apply to Turkish Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and
Communication to be a ‘Green Port.’”
Nemport is also heavily focused on developing its internal systems as
well as reaching out and engaging with its customers. It has developed
its own terminal operation software, which has been developed to
be flexible and highly configurable to allow the system to be used to
quickly and effectively address clients’ needs. To further ensure that the
port is able to effectively service its customers, its marketing team visits
operators regularly to gain feedback and explore any problems, needs
or requirements.
Moving into the future, Nemport is committed to further developing
its use of environmentally friendly energy by taking advantage of the
regions steady wind and year round sunshine and moving in renewable energy. A wind power
station is planned within the terminal as well as a series of solar panels and walls. Concluding on
the port’s energy commitments and future Oguz says: “Although the terminal is almost four years
old, in terms of service quality Nemport is pretty ahead of many terminals in Turkey. However, we
intend to continue to invest to satisfy our customers’ needs, develop new technologies, to reduce
energy consumption and energy related costs and to increase the productivity of the terminal by
having and operating a highly reliable and available equipment park.” v
Profile: Nemport
Nemportwww.nemport.com.tr• New port facility• Advanced port facilities• Environmental focus
Although the terminal is almost four years old, in terms of service quality Nemport is pretty ahead of many terminals in Turkey
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 39
W ith more than 60 years
of experience in the
specialised supply of
diesel engines such
as gensets, diesel generators, emergency
power and emergency gensets, Nordhavn
AS has grown a wide customer base in the
marine, industrial and offshore sectors. “We
were originally known for competitive sets for
propulsion, gensets and emergency gensets for
marine vessels of all sizes, from fishing boats
to super tankers,” explains Soren Rasmussen,
service director at Nordhavn AS. “Today, we have
brought these accumulated qualities ashore,
where diesel engines and competencies are
translated into modern gensets, emergency
gensets and industrial diesel engine applications.
The move into new industries was a natural
development that benefits from the support,
Profile: Nordhavn
expertise and innovation that we have obtained
through 60 years of working with customers and
partners at sea.”
As a strong supplier of propulsion units
and complete marine installations, Nordhavn
AS co-operates with staff at all levels inside a
shipyard, from ship owners, consulting naval
architects and harbour workshops to ensure
projects result in complete satisfaction; on top
of this, its sales department is fully prepared to
offer further information in relation to products.
Through offering products, concepts and support
that covers the complete process of diesel
installations from beginning to end, Nordhavn AS
delivers total solutions, as Soren highlights: “We
are at your service with the entire pallet, from
projecting to the installation of large, complex
applications. Our technicians and specialists
are responsible for the design, installation and
implementation of our products, while our service
team ensures everything runs optimally once the
installation is in place.”
Delivering solutions to major firms such as
Maersk, Tidewater, the Danish Navy, A2SEA
and Northern Offshore Service over the past
60 years, the ISO 9001 certified Nordhavn AS
has the expertise, flexibility and commitment to
compliance to work within the stringent naval and
offshore industries. “We are able to customise
our products to suit customer requirements
from design and installation to the efficient
delivery of one single spare part. Each time a
customised solution is required, the project is
demanding because we have to understand
what the customer is asking for and from that
work out what the best solution is. The challenge
is for all products to integrate with each other
to ensure a successful complete package is the
Customisedsolutions
40 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Committed to developing long-term, open
working relationships with its partners, Nordhavn
AS began distribution for Scania in 1959, more
than 50 years on this relationship is still going
strong. Furthermore, its relationship with Valmet,
now Sisu, has been developing positively since
1970, while its workshop for JCB was finalised
in 2008.
Having earned a proven track record in
establishing positive partnerships, Nordhavn
AS’s service department, Nordhavn Marine
Service, recently became the official distributor
for Twin Disc in Denmark, Greenland and The
Faroe Islands. “In the past we have had a very
good relationship with Twin Disc when offering
the complete propulsion package,” says Soren.
“However, now that we have the distribution deal
in house, we will be more flexible and efficient in
satisfying customer demand.”
With a vast amount of attention on the
offshore European market over recent years,
the organisation’s strategic plans for the future
involve expansion within this booming industry,
as Soren concludes: “Our focus has been on
the European offshore market over the past few
years; however, as the offshore industry has
developed increasingly we have begun to look at
opportunities to expand our reach in this industry
on a global scale.” v
Profile: Nordhavn
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 41
end result,” says Soren. “In relation to emission
regulations within the marine industry, all of our
engine brands are already focused on this, and
are therefore ahead of the game. Nordhavn
AS is very up-to-date in what happens when
regulations join together with the demands of
classification societies; each regulation with each
different classification is a challenge, as there
are different demands based on the customers
requirement and the rules of classification.”
A notable project for the company involved
the delivery of diesel engines for the Navy in
Denmark’s new vessel Miljo 103, which is now
the only ship in the Navy that is able to collect
oil on extremely shallow water as low as under
one metre, thus fulfilling an important need in oil
pollution readiness. In addition, Nordhavn AS, in
co-operation with Hvide Sande Skibs, delivered
a special designed propulsion unit, which meets
all of the requirements for the vessel, including
minimal long-term costs through Scanias’s low
fuel consumption engines.
Viewing the diesel engine as the beating heart
of Nordhavn AS, the 100 per cent Danish owned
company has entered into partnerships with a
number of global leading motor manufacturers
and has the sole agency rights of Scania, Agco
Sisu Power (Sisu), Diesel and JCB in Denmark,
Nordhavn ASwww.nordhavn.dk/en• More than 60 years of experience in diesel engines• Partner of world leading motor manufacturers• Offers a complete solution
TECHNOFLEXTechnoflex was founded on April 24th 2006. Within the shortest time, Technoflex developed into a successful supplier for quality components for the marine and offshore market. The company aims to be your partner in business.
natural deepwater port based in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, Milford Haven is the third largest port in the UK,
and the biggest in Wales. Widely recognised
as an energy hub, Milford Haven handles over
29 per cent of Britain’s seaborne trade in oil and
gas, handling large amounts of petroleum and
crude products in association with the refineries,
LNG terminals, and fuel storage depot located at
the port.
Operating as a trust port, Milford Haven is
overseen by the Milford Haven Port Authority
(MHPA), which strives to maintain excellent
service levels, 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. “Although we’re a trust port, and therefore
effectively an independent organisation that
doesn’t distribute its profits outside of the county,
we still have to operate like a business,” notes
Alec Don, CEO of MHPA. “All ports have to
liaise closely with their local communities, but as
a trust port we do that intensively with annual
consultative meetings and regular sessions with
councillors and community leaders to ensure an
open dialogue.
“We see a completely smooth link between
being a successful commercial business, and
doing things which therefore help the community
and strengthen the local economy. There are over
5000 jobs in Wales that are associated with the
port and wouldn’t be there if those businesses
weren’t able to exploit its deep waters. Likewise,
the two refineries located in Milford Haven, alone
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A
42 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Welcominggrowth
MHPA Twin berth
account for 25 per cent of Wales’ economic
exports.”
As well as offering a range of marine services
such as cargo handling, ferry operations, and
cruise calls, the Port of Milford Haven also owns
and operates Pembroke Port and Milford Dock.
“We’ve concentrated a lot on these assets, and
in association with that about a year ago we
merged our ship repair business with Mustang
Marine, of which we are a shareholder,” explains
Alec. “In further support of that, we have invested
£1 million in the construction of a dedicated high-
bay, covered fabrication hall at Milford Haven for
Mustang, and they are setting out to exploit that
investment and build their business.”
He continues: “They directly employ around
100 people and will be a major driver of the
growth in the engineering and fabrication
business around Milford Haven. This includes
their engagement on the new tidal energy project,
which will see the first trial device installed in the
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 43
Profile: Port of Milford Haven
waters of Milford Haven. Overall Pembrokeshire
has the prospect of being a strong resource for
wave and tidal energy, and we have the facilities
and organisations with the skills for Pembroke
Port to be a significant player in that.”
Pembroke Port is also handling growing
volumes of other cargoes, alongside its ferry
terminal, which is particularly attractive for freight
movements to the south of Ireland. In addition,
Milford Haven’s location outside of the sulphur
zone, and closer position to Manchester than
Dover, presents the opportunity to further develop
the ferry trade through the port.
“On the north side of the river at Milford
Dock we are preparing planning applications
for developments to increase its critical mass,
and make it a vibrant centre for fishing, marine
leisure and tourism,” reveals Alec. “There are
over four million visitors a year coming to
Pembrokeshire, and Milford Dock is going to
be one of the stand-out destinations with a mix
Mustang Marine
of shopping, restaurant, boating, and other
activities.
“In support of that we’ve placed a £6 million
investment into our lock facilities, which means
we can operate these faster and more frequently.
Essentially it offers boat users rapid access in
and out of year-round safe mooring facilities with
good onshore storage 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. This investment was supported by
a European Regional Development Fund grant.
This increased access and our subsequent
planning application, which envisages the
construction of over £60 million of development,
are core elements of Milford Dock emerging as a
vibrant marina and fishing port,” he adds.
The natural traits of the Port of Milford Haven
have been key to it achieving the position that it
holds today. Rapid access to the Atlantic trade
routes without locks, and deepwater that can
accommodate any size of ship, underpin the
economic structure of the businesses operating
44 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
in the vicinity. “Our key strategies revolve around
concentrating our management efforts on the
growth and investment in Pembroke Port and
Milford Dock as the trading assets we own,”
states Alec.
“We have to do that at the same time as
Profile: Port of Milford Haven
maintaining a strong balance sheet, and we
are seeking to work actively with the Welsh
government, the Milford Haven Enterprise Zone
and Pembrokeshire County Council in relation
to some key deepwater sites for the creation
of a new part of the port. We also support our
customers when they seek to make investment
in their own activities such as the refineries and
gas terminals, which are trading in challenging
international markets. They need to invest in
projects that enhance their profitability and
improve their business model, and we set out to
play a strong role in facilitating that.
“For example the plans for the construction
of a new 500 MW power station associated
with the South Hook LNG terminal are well
advanced, and this will be another major new
investment for Pembrokeshire that will strengthen
the trading position of the business. So we are
seeing forward investment coming over time,
both from ourselves, and others in those major
driver areas of the economy in Milford Haven,”
he concludes. v
Port of Milford Havenwww.mhpa.co.uk• Third largest port in UK• Investment into lock facilities• Marina development plans
he Peel Ports Group is strategically located to serve the whole of the United Kingdom. Five major gateways
from Clydeport to Medway handle a broad
spectrum of international trade amounting to
more than 65 million tonnes of cargo a year.
At the centre of the country and the heart
of the Group are the Port of Liverpool and the
Manchester Ship Canal, a continuous water
highway forming a single facility of major
strategic and economic significance. The Port of
Liverpool is one of the busiest and most diverse
ports in the UK handling over 30 million tonnes
of cargo every year. Operations in Liverpool
account for two thirds of the group’s total trade,
and diversity is a key strength. The main sectors
for Liverpool include containers, bulk liquids,
biomass, petrochemicals, grains, animal feed
and steel along with lo-lo- and ro-ro.
Already a significant asset to the UK in
general and Peel Ports in particular, the Port
of Liverpool is set to become even more
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 45
T
Port of Liverpool
Significant asset
Profile: Port of Liverpool (Peel Ports Mersey Division)
important, when Liverpool2, Peel Ports’
£300 million landmark deep-water terminal,
becomes operational in 2015.
Gary Hodgson, chief operating officer of
Peel Ports, explained that Liverpool2 will allow
much larger vessels to call directly at the Port of
Liverpool, meaning shipping lines will be able to
operate some of the world’s largest vessels in
close proximity to the UK’s central logistics hub
and a population of 35 million consumers within
a radius of 150 miles.
“This is the region’s most important
infrastructure project for a generation,” he said.
“Work has already started on the container
terminal, which will enable some much bigger
ships, with capacity of up to 13,500 TEU, to call
directly at the Port of Liverpool.
“So far in excess of 136,000m3 of material
has been dredged from the bed of the Mersey
to create the necessary approach channel and
16.5 m berthing pocket, and approximately
three million cubic metres of infill will be needed
to create the planned new container area,
alongside 15,000m of steel piles (329 circular
steel tube piles in total) weighing in at around
20,000 tonnes, 230,000 square metres of new
surfacing, 6100m of new crane rails and 3500m
of new roads. Steel piling operations are just
underway, and are likely to last for 12 months.
“The construction programme for Liverpool2
will also feature an 854 metre-long quay wall
with some 30,000 cubic metres of concrete
required for the capping beam. The project will
require eight ship to shore cranes and 27 rail
mounted gantry cranes, and around 2500m of
new fencing.”
Gary continued: “Liverpool2 will enable
companies once again to use vessels that call
directly into the northern half of the UK (capacity
at the Port of Liverpool is currently limited by
the size of its Victorian locks). It is anticipated
somewhere in the region of 100 million –
150 million miles of land based transport
could be saved as a result of the development
of Liverpool2.”
One company that has already transferred
much of its cargo to Liverpool is Typhoo. By
shipping through Liverpool, Typhoo will save
in excess of a quarter of a million kilometres of
road transport and around 200t of CO2 over the
next year or so.
Another major benefit for clients working
with the Port of Liverpool is its strategic alliance
with the Manchester Ship Canal (which was
actually originally constructed by the merchants
of Manchester expressly to bypass Liverpool).
This relationship has created an innovative and
sustainable Green Highway Network, which
seamlessly links Liverpool’s deep sea offering
with a string of hubs along the Manchester
Ship Canal, with 12 terminals handling over
seven million tonnes of cargo.
In 2013 the Manchester Ship Canal container
shuttle service will move in excess of 20,000
containers across a distance of 44 miles
between the ports of Liverpool and Manchester.
That’s 20,000 fewer trucks making the journey
to Manchester on the region’s road network.
As an illustration, trainers manufactured in the
Far East can hit the shelves of the Trafford
Centre with only a handful UK road miles in their
supply chain. The carbon and cost benefits for
customers are clear.
Gary added: “In 2013, 2500 TEU of
containerised Kellogg cereal products will be
transported on the Manchester Ship Canal
between the company’s manufacturing plant in
Manchester and their international markets in
Ireland and Iberia. The containerised product is
transhipped at the Port of Liverpool onto short-
sea services that operate to Dublin, Belfast and
Bilbao.
“Their use of the shuttle service will equate
to an 85 per cent reduction in road miles for
the Liverpool to Manchester supply chain: a
reduction of 40,000 road miles and 61 tonnes
of CO2 in the coming year as they get products
like Cornflakes and Rice Krispies into shopping
baskets and onto breakfast tables.”
Such is the confidence that Peel Ports has in
this Alliance that it is investing another
£200 million in the development of a series
of logistics hubs that will incorporate inland
water, rail, major roads and warehousing
solutions along the canal at Ports Bridgewater,
Warrington and Salford which will add further
capacity and benefits to the service.
46 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Profile: Port of Liverpool (Peel Ports Mersey Division)
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 47
CareGoImproving warehouse optimisation by as much as 40 per cent, creating a safer workplace and having complete control over inventory are among the benefits of CareGo’s patent-pending technology. The innovative Canadian company installed its optimisation/automation technology at the Liverpool Steel Terminal in April 2013 and is now fielding interest from steel, aluminum and paper industry players world-wide.CareGo operates warehouses in Canada, including the nation’s largest steel transload facility,
and tests its products at home first before offering them to the marketplace. With knowledge grounded in experience, CareGo can identify ways to make a facility or warehouse work harder, making better use of the space available and reducing operating costs. The proprietary technology was created for steel coils but is equally effective for pipe and tube, or aluminum and paper rolls.In Liverpool, CareGo automation systems and optimisation technology have increased the throughput of the Steel Terminal.
“With ten motorways within ten miles
of the water as well as on-site branch line
connections to the West Coast Mainline,
the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship
Canal have unrivalled multimodal connectivity,
and our assets in terms of the integration of
the Manchester Ship Canal and the Port of
Liverpool is one of our main strengths,” said
Gary. “We can also provide a real diversity
of commodities and capabilities, and added
value services (whether provided by us or
by partnering with third parties) enable us to
provide differentiated offers to our customers,
such as multi user/flexible warehousing, for
example.”
Going forward, Gary and his team are not
resting on their laurels and have more ambitious
plans for the Port of Liverpool. In the short
Port of Liverpool (Peel Ports Mersey Division) http://peelports.co.uk• Work commenced on new £300m container terminal• Alliance with Manchester Ship Canal• Invested £3m in steel terminal upgrade at Gladstone Dock
term, these include entering into a partnership
with Liverpool John Moores University and the
City of Liverpool College to create the UK’s
only low carbon SuperPort University Technical
College (UTC). “Peel Ports wants its investment
in Liverpool2 and the wider port estate to be
sustainable,” explained Gary. “The UTC will
operate with an employer-led curriculum and
will specialise in maritime, low carbon and
superport qualifications for 14-19 years olds
alongside a mainstream curriculum.
“Our priorities include investing in people,
as well as processes and technology. We’re
confident that we can continue to grow our
market share in a number of our traditional
sectors, and we also have some exciting plans
in the automotive and renewables sectors,
and we need to bring these to a point of being
investable projects during the rest of 2013.”
He concluded: “With the investments we
are making and planning over the next few
years the Port of Liverpool will be transformed
into a modern logistics hub for a number of
key commodities, therefore the focus for us
is really on delivering our very ambitious
business plans.” v
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
As one of the shipping industry’s leading partners for emission reduction, we are well positioned to grow considerably
48 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Nils Høy-Petersen, CEO, Clean Marine
lean Marine is dedicated
solely to emission cleaning
and offers a proven, unique
Exhaust Gas Cleaning
System (EGCS), which has been designed
for the maritime industry. The company was
founded in 2006 and has had more than
$25 million invested into development and
extensive testing of the EGCS,” says Nils Høy-
Petersen, CEO of Clean Marine, introducing the
innovative marine scrubber that can be fitted
on both existing and new ships. “Our EGCS
is the only system currently on the market
with true multi-stream exhaust gas handling.
This means that all exhaust sources onboard,
including boilers, are served by one common
EGC unit without encountering an increase in
backpressure.”
The multi-stream exhaust gas handling is
achieved by integrating two fans and a gas
recirculation mechanism into the EGC unit,
ensuring that pressure at the common gas
meeting point remains at an ambient level
regardless of the amount of exhaust going into
the system. The EGC unit’s Advanced Vortex
Chamber (AVC) further offers outstanding
separation efficiency and achieves high
particulate matter (PM) and sulphur trapping.
“Clean Marine offers a proven, hybrid system
that can operate in both open and closed loop
mode,” enthuses Nils. “It differs from other
systems in that it uses caustic soda in both
modes, so the vessel can operate in all types
of water, including low alkaline and saline
water, in either mode without loss of efficiency.
Furthermore, the use of caustic soda enables
the Clean Marine EGCS to meet the current
pH limit for washwater discharges with good
margin.”
With regulations to reduce sulphur oxides
(SOx) inside the established Emission Control
Areas (ECAs) - the Baltic Sea, the North
Sea, North American waters and parts of the
Caribbean sea - coming into effect in January
2015, Clean Marine has noted an increase
in demand that looks set to continue, as Nils
highlights: “Naturally, owners who operate their
vessels inside the ECA are more likely to install a
SOx scrubbing system during this year and the
next as the limit of 0.1 per cent SOx is effective
less than 15 months from now. These owners to
a large degree are based in the US and Europe,
while the major yards are found in China, Korea
and Japan.”
Easy to operate and monitor, the Clean
Marine EGCS is a cost-effective option,
particularly for vessels with many exhaust
sources, as the EGCS unit can serve several
combustion units simultaneously. With an
assumed USD300 per metric tonne price
difference between marine gas oil and high
sulphur fuel oil, a vessel operating 100 per cent
inside an ECA would have a payback time of
shapeShip
C“
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 49
Profile: Clean Marine
approximately one year. “We are specifically
targeting the merchant fleet of bulk carriers,
tankers, container vessels and ro-ro vessels.
Further, medium and large vessels with high fuel
consumption will naturally see a better payback
time of their EGCS investment than smaller
vessels,” says Nils.
As an independent company Clean
Marine can offer flexibility and close working
relationships with its customers to tailor-make
the best solution for their unique requirements.
Furthermore, the company benefits from three
well-reputed investors; Klaveness Invest AS,
Nanga Limited (advised by Smedvig Capital),
and AS Atlantic Vest (controlled by the Rieber
family), who together control 87 per cent of
the firm. With a long-term commitment to
Clean Marine and focused aims to contribute
to a sustainable maritime industry, the three
shareholders have recently shown their
confidence in Clean Marine’s position to
capitalise on the market by injecting further
investment into the firm.
A Clean Marine EGCS is fully operational and
certified on the Torvald Klaveness owned bulk
carrier MV Balder. Balder was recently the first
vessel in the world to successfully operate this
type of system inside the US ECA.
Clean Marine will also shortly be supplying
EGCS for two shuttle tanker newbuildings being
constructed at Samsung Heavy Industries for
global owner and operator of modern petroleum
tankers American Eagle Tankers (AET). “AET has
entered into a long-term contract with Statoil
to operate two specialised DP2-type shuttle
tankers; the two vessels will serve oilfields in
the Norwegian sector of the North/Barents Sea,
which is inside the ECA,” says Nils. “The Clean
Marine system supplied to AET will
clean both SOx and PM emissions from
two main engines, five auxiliary engines and
three boilers. In total, a single Clean Marine unit
will manage ten exhaust sources.”
Noting that cruise and ferry operators/owners
have been the first to change their exhausts
and emission levels in time for 2015 legislation,
Nils anticipates an increase in demand from
all vessel segments in 2014. “Market analysts
estimate that some 8000 existing vessels will
be affected by tightened regulations from 2015,
seeing as they spend a large portion of their
time inside the ECA. Many owners would need
to install EGCS during vessels’ special survey/
dry dock next year, however for new buildings
being delivered in 2014 and 2015 the decision
must be made now for design with EGCS or
alternative design with LNG/dual fuel engine.
“As one of the shipping industry’s leading
partners for emission reduction, we are well
positioned to grow considerably over the next
few years and are preparing for supply of a large
number of EGCS to both ship owners and yards
globally,” Nils concludes. v
Clean Marinewww.cleanmarine.no• Provides a competitive, hybrid Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS)• First system in world to operate in US Emission Control Area• Offers true multi-stream exhaust gas handling
ith a rich ship building history dating back close to a hundred years, it is perhaps unsurprising to
learn that Hakvoort has earned a prestigious reputation for building luxurious yachts ranging from between 25-30 metres to vessels of up to a stunning 63 metres. What
may be surprising to learn though is that the
company began with the construction of wooden
fishing boats then moving into the construction
of steel fishing vessels before finally beginning
the construction of yachts during the 1980s.
However unlikely its beginnings may seem,
Hakvoort was founded on a solid keel and has
intrepidly advanced ever since.
The company’s history in Monnickendam,
North Holland began in 1919 when entrepreneur
Albert Klzn Hakvoort purchased a local shipyard
that had launched its first vessel in 1780 and
the company has remained in the family’s hands
ever since. Over the years the company has
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Trueluxury
constantly invested in its production facilities,
gradually increasing the size of vessel that it is
able to produce. Today the shipyard maintains a
main workshop that is able to produce vessels of
45 metres and over and a smaller workshop that
caters for yachts of up to 40 metres.
Despite a challenging market since the
financial crisis following 2008, Hakvoort has
manage to maintain a steady stream of orders
and is now in a position where is able to look
to the future and further expand its business.
To get into this position it has remained true
to its promise of offering the finest levels of
quality even while competing with tough market
conditions and pressure to keep prices low. This
dedication to the high standard of its output
and the gradual investment in its facilities over
the years have been important contributing
factors in the company winning several highly
important contracts that have helped it to meet
the challenges of the recession. At present the
company is working on a 61 metre super-yacht
(YN248) for which the hull arrived in August
of this year and in January Hakvoort won a
contract for the largest super-yacht it will have
ever built, which is currently called Zeus. These
contracts alone mean that the shipyard’s main
workshop will be full for the next four years, which
represents a significant income that will carry the
company while the market continues to improve.
Hakvoort has a number of strengths that have
enabled it to win these prestigious contracts.
At the heart of the business is its dedication
to quality, which it maintains in a number of
ways. Firstly the company has a long history of
vessel construction and has been able to refine
this process so that shipbuilding is of both a
high standard and efficient. All of its production
facilities are fully moisture and temperature
controlled to protect the vessel’s paint and also,
crucially to avoid any warping of the yacht’s
wooden interior caused by expansion due to
moisture. This is made all the more important by
the fact that interiors are produced while the hull
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 51
Van der Velden Marine SySteMSRecognised as being state-of-the-art, our manoeuvring systems are dedicated to the specific needs of the yachting industry. Our activities include the engineering, construction and installation of manoeuvring systems. Van der Velden is specialised in customised solutions with regard to steering gear, rudders and propulsion optimisation. Both customers and yards benefit from an easy to install and integrated solution, a unified overall design and one project co-ordinator for the manoeuvring system. We offer half a century of smart maritime solutions.
Profile: Hakvoort
is delivered and the vessel’s pipe work is installed.
For YN248 for example, work is progressing
quickly and in the next four to five weeks the
first wooden floors will be laid at which point the
pre-constructed interior will be broken down
into sections and installed. While this process
is incredibly effective in lowering build times it
leaves no room for error, potentially warping of
wooden interiors could cause serious problems
compromising the vessel’s quality, build time and
the company’s reputation.
That Hakvoort maintains such a highly
regarded reputation is testament to how hard
the company has worked to ensure its yachts
are second to none. Although the shipyard is in
robust strength it has had to weather the same
storm as its competitors as Albert Hakvoort
Jr, mananging director explains: “What we are
finding is that a lot of clients are looking at the
moment but the pressure is always prices. We do
not make a huge amount of money at the end of
a project but that is OK as long as you survive at
the moment.
“We see a lot of shipyards still struggling; it’s
probably about 50 per cent of them who are
getting out of the crisis. Since the recession
started in 2008 we have not taken on any new
people so with the crisis taking around four years
my staff are now all four years older. Every year
three or four employees retire in the shipyard so
you need to hire and train young guys to take
their place. One thing that we will be focusing on
over the next few years is hiring new guys and
training them ready for the future. With the large
Zeus order we are able to do that.”
As 2014 approaches, Hakvoort is strongly
placed to be able to engage with a resurgent
market in luxury vessels. As financial conditions
improve the company fully expects orders for
Hakvoortwww.hakvoort.com• Luxury yacht construction• Almost a century of experience • Uncompromising quality
smaller vessels as well as for larger 60 plus metre
vessels to increase. Adding a final comment
on Hakvoort’s commitment to quality Albert
concludes: “A lot of shipyards will compromise
quality to keep their prices lower but we do not.
You can notice the difference in the final product
and customers cannot be fooled, which is why
they choose Hakvoort.” v
first and second quarters of 2014 and are similar
to the company's newbuildings that are also
under construction at the same shipyard.
The purchase price of the four vessels, in
aggregate, is approximately $151 million. In the
region of 30 per cent of the consideration for
the vessels will consist of newly issued common
shares of the company having a valuation based
on the fair market value of the shares at the
time of issuance. The new common shares
will be issued to Ceres, Valero and a group of
institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan
Asset Management; the remainder of the
purchase price will be paid to the shipyard from
cash-on-hand and bank debt.
The transaction also includes a time charter-
out agreement for each of the four vessels for
a fixed daily revenue amount at current market
levels plus a profit sharing scheme whereby
earnings in excess of the base time charter rate
he history of the Scorpio Group shows a company that has moved with the tides. Established in 1971 as Scorpio
Ship Management, for three decades the
company owned and operated dry bulk, tanker,
and OBO (oil/bulk/ore) vessels within the market
cycles – buying low and selling high.
Then in 2003 new activities were added to
the Group in the form of Scorpio Commercial
Management, which offers third party commercial
and technical management, pooling, bulk
logistics, and private equity investments. A
change in the market though brought Scorpio
Group back to its early activities when in 2010
it established an independent subsidiary,
Scorpio Tankers Inc. This publically-held tanker
company owns and operates its own fleet,
with commercial and technical management
remaining with the Group.
Scorpio Tankers Inc. currently owns 18
tankers (one LR2 tanker, four LR1 tankers, one
Handymax tanker, 11 MR tankers, and one
post-Panamax tanker) with an average age of
3.9 years, time charters in 27 product tankers
(eight LR2, four LR1, eight MR and seven
Handymax tankers), and has contracted for 60
newbuilding vessels (25 MR, 12 LR2, and 14
Handymax ice class-1A product tankers, and
nine VLGC), one of which is expected to be
delivered to the company by September 2013,
40 within 2014 and the remaining 19 by the end
of 2015.
In September 2013 Scorpio Tankers
announced that it has agreed with certain
unaffiliated third parties to issue shares in
exchange for the transfer of ownership to the
company of four MR product tankers currently
under construction in South Korea. The
newbuildings are expected to be delivered in the
T
Movingforward
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 53
Profile: Scorpio Group
TEAM TEC The new ad-on feature for TeamTec’s Marine Incinerator has become a great success worldwide. The new technology enables the ship to handle the bilge water onboard rather than deposit in ports at a high cost. By injecting the water while incinerating the sludge oil, the capacity of the incinerator increases by 20 per cent, the NOx emission is lowered and some 1-2 m3 of water can be destructed. The injection of the atomized water is fully automatic, controlled by the incinerator’s advanced PLC. Retrofitting is possible for existing TeamTec incinerators to integrate the Bilge Water Injection system. Scorpio Tankers has chosen to include the Bilge Water Injection system in all of the new builds, like many other ship owners worldwide. The system is IMO approved and comes with certificates from all the major class societies.
54 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
will be split between the company and charterer,
Valero. The first vessel delivered will be time
chartered-out for a 24-month period, and the
remaining three will each be time chartered-out
for 12-month periods.
The transactions will be completed by way of
novation of the existing shipbuilding agreements
and remain subject to final documentation.
Another very significant development for the
Scorpio Group has been the formation of a new
independent company, Scorpio Bulkers Inc,
which is a dry bulk company completely separate
to the tanker operations.
Although a freestanding corporation in its own
right, with separate financing and shareholders,
the commercial and technical management of
Scorpio Bulkers will also be delivered through the
Scorpio Group. This is due to the benefits offered
in terms of economies of scale and synergies
in post fixture administration, IT, technical
management and planned maintenance that
come from managing those vessels alongside
the tankers.
In July 2013 Scorpio Bulkers announced that
it had reached agreements with three yards in
China to construct newbuilding vessels for its
fleet. The company has reached agreements
with ChengXi Shipyard CO. Ltd, Dalian COSCO
KHI Ship Engineering
Co. Ltd, and Nantong
COSCO KHI Ship
Engineering Co. Ltd for
the construction of a
minimum of 11 and up
to 14 dry bulk vessels
for approximately $27
million each. The vessels
are from 61,000 to
64,000 DWT (Ultramax vessels) and designed for
the carriage of dry bulk commodities.
Of the first 11 vessels, two will be delivered
in the first quarter of 2015, one in the second
quarter of 2015, five in the third quarter of 2015,
two in the fourth quarter of 2015, and one in the
first quarter of 2016. The additional vessels, if
confirmed, would be delivered two in the second
quarter of 2016 and one in the third quarter of
2016.
The addition of Scorpio Bulk to the Scorpio
Group may have grown the organisation to four
divisions, but Scorpio Ship Management is still
a very important part of the overall business. It
is still actively involved in advancing the agenda
of sustainable and quality practices in the
shipping industry, and to this effect the company
has adopted and implemented policies and
procedures to the latest ISO 9001, ISO 14001,
OHSAS 18001 and ISO 50001 standards which
have been audited by ABS and found to meet
the requirements of the ABS Guide for Marine
Health Safety Quality Environmental and Energy
Management (April 2012 Ed).
In the four decades that Scorpio Ship
Management has been in business, it has
learned important lessons and accrued years
of knowledge and experience. It has also put
together a mission statement, designed to
highlight the values it holds dear, and the targets
it has for the future.
Safety is a top priority - providing safe and
reliable services to clients; continuously improving
through the creativity and commitment of its
professionals and partners; and advancing the
agenda of sustainable and quality practices in the
industry are all foundations of the company.
Its stated goals feature both health and safety
and the environment – they include maintaining
‘Safe Ships’ with ‘No Incidents’ and ‘Clean
Seas’ with ‘Zero Spills’ - all within a performance
atmosphere that strives for commercial success.
The company strives for continual improvement,
which is verified by periodical measurement and
analysis of the company’s performance against
various key performance indicators.
In 2010 when the chairman and CEO of the
Scorpio Group Emanuele Lauro spun Scorpio
Tankers out of the Group as an independent
owner of product tankers, he took a brave
decision. But from that point to the present day,
Scorpio Tankers and the Scorpio Group have
continued to pursue a leadership position in their
fields, investing in modern tonnage and managing
them to best advantage in a challenging market
environment. v
Profile: Scorpio Group
Scorpio Groupwww.scorpiotankers.com/www.scorpiogroup.net• Strong group structure• Ordered new build vessels• Over 40 years in business
rates and oil cost prices to know that it is difficult
to operate a vessel profitably at the moment and
this creates problems for counter party risk. Our
clients are in shipping and we try to support them
as much as possible. Further, the volume in total
for marine fuel has decreased because of slower
steaming for example and the number of vessels
has decreased so competition between bunker
traders and suppliers has been very tough.”
ElbOil has a number of advantages that have
allowed it to survive and prosper within the
marine bunkering sector despite the challenging
conditions that exist with the industry. As a
small, privately owned company ElbOil is able
to operate in a cost-efficient and dynamic way
compared to its competitors as Harro elaborates:
“I am a big believer in operating as a smaller
private company, as I originally came from a larger
group. Of course our cost structure is smaller
and so our breakeven margin is also smaller. This
means we can offer competitive prices to our
ince it was last featured in Shipping and Marine during February 2013 ElbOil GmbH has continued to develop its
reputation as a trusted partner in the supply of bunker fuel to the marine sector. Despite
tough market conditions the company enjoyed
35 per cent growth between 2012 and 2013 and
it continues to endeavor to increase its market
share. Established in March 2011, ElbOil is a
relatively young company but with rising volume
sales of up to 300,000 tonnes and a 2012
turnover of $130 million it has a proven reputation
as an effective player within the marine bunker
fuel supply chain.
“The last year remained very positive for ElbOil
and we were pleased to see continuous growth
in terms of client volumes and profit,” describes
Harro Booth, managing director and founder
of ElbOil. “Nevertheless the market remains
challenging. You just need consider the freight
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 55
S
Harro Booth
A dynamiclinkProfile: ElbOil
customers
that are still
profitable for
us. Our trim
company allows us to act flexibly and quickly,
which is vital in the shipping market. However,
being small does mean we don’t have credit
with all of the suppliers around the world – it is
the opposite and we maintain good credit with
the banks, which allows us to supply even large
operators with large volumes. I think this is a very
good fit for our company.”
While the company remains profitable in a
challenging market, ElbOil is still keen to expand
on its success and expand its market share.
“Since February 2013 we have invested a lot to
add some blue-chip accounts to our portfolio,
which has made us very happy. It has increased
our growth to 35 per cent between 2012 and
2013 and we have increased our volume to
300,000 tonnes, which was the target, so this
has been very good,” Harro says. “However,
we want to do this conservatively because we
are still in a high risk sector, even though rates
and volumes are getting a little better it is still
tough.” To this end ElbOil will continue to work
with its current clients to increase the volumes
of bunkering it delivers as well as seeking out
new customers. However, with a number of
businesses going bankrupt in Germany and
throughout the sector during the economic
downturn it is important for ElbOil to ensure that
it trades carefully. “We are currently only working
with insured companies to a certain degree,”
Harro explains. “We ask for a credit line for the
client and if the insurance company accepts, it
gives us a certain amount of risk management.”
A second strand to ElbOil’s growth strategy
is that it plans to diversify into
new market areas over the
coming years. With stricter
regulation of sulphur emissions
is scheduled for 2015, the
company sees an opportunity
to supply the adapting market.
“New sulphur regulation will
mean the shipping industry
needs to burn a distillate like
gas oil, or some other alternative
fuels. In the down stream this will generate
some opportunities and this is something we are
looking to take advantage of,” Harro says. “Also,
with LNG we continue to see a paradigm shift
approaching, it may not be right away or a full
change like from coal to bunker fuel during the
1930’s but the infrastructure investment is going
on and we are dealing with potential partners
regarding the move into this market. It’s an
interesting area for us.”
ElbOil has earned a proven reputation and
ability to succeed in a highly competitive segment
in the face of challenging market conditions.
Its ability to respond dynamically and identify
industry trends has made it an effective and
streamlined player within the marine bunkering
market and as it prepares to address the changes
Profile: ElbOil
of a increasingly volatile market, the company is
well placed to become a key link in the marine
industry supply chain for many years to come. v
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 57
ElbOil GmbHwww.elboil.com• Bunker fuel traders• 35 per cent growth• LNG knowledge base
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
F loating hotels, or ‘floatels’
are used as accommodation
for maritime workers, and
are especially popular in the
offshore oil and gas industry. They offer
several benefits, not least because they allow
employees to remain on or very near to site,
lessening travel time and increasing efficiency.
However, Chevalier Floatels believes
that a floatel is in fact much more than
just accommodation. Ultimately Chevalier
appreciates it is the personnel working on site
who determine the success of any project.
Preventing seasickness and fatigue and keeping
them comfortable and happy is a way to
increase productivity and to bind engineers to
58 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Floatontheir organisation. As a result of this mindset,
the company’s new five star floatels have
been specially designed to offer exemplary
accommodation for those working on installation
and maintenance projects in the offshore wind, oil
and gas industry.
Several other crucial areas have also been
considered in the new vessel design. This type
of work is being done on or near expensive
installations, and keeping these safe and
undamaged is critical. In addition, the projects
undertaken are expensive and budgets are
significant. Keeping within budgets depends for
a large part on having the equipment working
reliably during the project.
Fuel costs form a large part of any offshore
budget, so fuel-efficient vessels significantly
reduce overall costs. In addition, environmental
criteria and social responsibility require
organisations to think about the impact of their
activities on the area of the installations. Low
exhaust emissions are therefore key in these
modern times.
With all of these views in mind Chevalier
Floatels has, with its vessels DP Galyna and
Gezina, developed a new concept for the
offshore wind and offshore oil and gas industry
that is much more than just floating rooms.
Chevalier believes this concept sets a whole new
standard in terms of reliability, efficiency
and comfort.
The vessels feature a large number of
innovations. For example, top spec navigation
and bridge equipment from Sam Electronics with
planned maintenance, integrated automation and
monitoring systems warrant a safe and reliable
voyage. Rolls Royce stabilisers make the voyage
as smooth as can be, while Schottel azimuthing
thrusters ensure the high manoeuvrability of the
vessels.
Ureum cleans all the exhaust gasses from
the vessels, which ensures a clean and healthy
environment for the staff on board and gives the
vessels a low carbon footprint. Fit for purpose
design and Volvo Penta diesel electric engines
keep the fuel consumption as low as possible.
On the DP Galyna an Ampelmann heave
compensated gangway with a reliable PRAXIS
Mega-Guard DP2 system transfers the
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 59
Praxis automation technologyPraxis Automation Technology, Dutch manufacturer and provider of complete ship automation and navigation solutions delivered and installed the DP2 Systems on board of the two DP2 Accommodation vessels from Chevalier Floatels: ‘DP Gezina’ and ‘DP Galyna’.The Praxis Mega-Guard Dynamic Positioning System automatically controls the vessel’s heading, and position. Praxis Automation Technology’s DP systems are delivered to supply vessels, tug boats, cable and pipe laying vessels, FPSOs, heavy lift vessels, mega-yachts, and accommodation vessels in full accordance with the applicable classification and IMO rules.
Profile: Chevalier Floatels
engineers to the windmills or platforms, making
sure both crew and the windmills or platforms
remain safe under all circumstances. For milder
circumstances boat landings for windcats and
support vessels increase the versatility of these
ships.
And last but not least, Chevalier’s experienced
and well-trained crew understands that it is not
only their job to make the stay on board safe,
but also realise that there is more – they need to
make this floatel a real home away from home.
Such is the attention to detail that Chevalier
has put into the Galnya and Gezina, they are
already prizewinners - their design has been
recognised with an award (the Exterior ShipPax
Design Award 2008).
Chevalier is not limited to five star options
though, as alongside the Galnya and
Gezina, Chevalier’s fleet also includes worker
accommodation barges and floating prisons for
governments. For example, in its most recent
project Chevalier Floatels provided a fleet of
five floatels for the oil industry in Kazakhstan.
These vessels accommodated about 300 guests
each and were employed in the demanding
circumstances of the Caspian Sea. Outside air
temperatures were ranging from -40 degrees
Celsius in wintertime up to plus 40 degrees
Celsius in summertime, which meant ice in the
winter and extreme heat in summer. Apart from
this, there were strict environmental and hygienic
regulations to deal with; the Kazakh Statutory
hygienic regulations are among the strictest of
the world. The Kazakh oil fields are located in
a protected area and the vessels of Chevalier
Floatels were completely zero discharge.
Despite these strict regulations and harsh
conditions Chevalier Floatels was able to
convert vessels to meet client specifications
in three months and build completely new
accommodation barges in just four months. Tight
management and innovative building techniques
kept the projects on the right track in order to aid
its customer in achieving their tight schedule.
This project perfectly illustrates the dedication
Chevalier Floatels delivers when dealing with
clients and their needs. The company believes in
focusing on doing what it does best: developing
Chevalier Floatelswww.cfbv.com• State-of-the-art floatels in the fleet• Wants to expand in the barge sector• Ten years of experience
and owning floatels. By outsourcing the vessel
management, catering and maintenance with
reputable companies, it can ensure that the
satisfaction of its customers remains a top priority
at all times. v
altic Transshipment Center Ltd (BTC) is a subsidiary of a large Swedish agriculture co-operative (Lantmannen)
and Danish agriculture co-operative (Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab). It offers a full
range of services for ships’ handling and the
loading/discharging of vessels directly from/into
wagons or via warehouse (storage).
Furthermore, as Morten Hoel, managing
director of BTC explains, with support from
its experienced cargo forwarding agents the
company can provide transportation of goods to
or from all destinations inside the Baltic States –
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, EU countries and
the former Soviet Union countries. “BTC takes
care of all the necessary paperwork, including
customs formalities,” he added. “It is able to
handle various products including oil cakes,
oilseeds, grain, fertilizers, other goods in bulk, as
well as wood by-products, wood logs, palletised
goods and goods in big bags, but it is not limited
to this list – BTC is always open for negotiations
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
B
60 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Taking care ofbusiness
related to all kind of goods handling.”
In co-operation with local ships agents,
forwarding agents, railway authorities and
approved GAFTA/FOSFA superintendant and
surveyor companies, BTC also offers a full service
package for any transportation from place of
commodity origin to final consumer.
All of the aforementioned activities take place
from BTC’s facilities at the Port of Liepaja in
Latvia. Morten explains that the terminal itself is
relatively new - built in 1999 according to best
Scandinavian standards, it is equipped with a
comprehensive range of loading/discharging
equipment and machinery, including a crane,
and loading and unloading facilities for ships,
railway wagons and trucks. “BTC has rented an
area of 84,500 m2 and constructed a warehouse
complex of 11,000 m2 for the storage of about
36,000 mt of goods in bulk as well as a covered
storing area of 2500 m2 for bags, pallets and
big bags,” he said. “BTC has also created an
area with asphalt for the storage and handling
of goods that do not require to be under cover,
which measures approximately 8000-10,000 mt.”
BTC also has its own quay of about 130 m
in length with a draft up to seven metres. This
allows the company to perform cargo-handling
operations in a ‘direct way’ – from/to ship into/
from wagons.
“Our location has many benefits,” Morten
emphasises. “Liepaja’s town and port
infrastructure is perfectly located and developed
for receiving or sending goods by rail or road
from or to Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,
Azerbaidjan, Kazakhstan and all other CIS
countries as well as EU countries. In addition
BTC has its own direct railway line onto site and
has both a combined railway wagon and truck
weighbridge as well as a weighbridge only for
trucks. All of this added together means that
the transshipment of transit goods from or into
vessels is daily practice at BTC. All kinds of
goods can be imported into/exported from the
EU via this port, and BTC is already working in
close co-operation with local clients as well as
Russian and EU customers.”
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 61
Profile: Baltic Transshipment Center
He adds: “BTC has also obtained Liepaja Special
Economic Zone Company status and Customs Free
Zone status, which means we can store transit goods
without any additional State dues and charges. It is also
an ice-free port, which gives it a benefit that we can
always operate in the winter months.”
BTC has also recently completed construction of
a new storage warehousing facility, which features
separate storage areas for bulk cargo, freight bags
and pallets. “These new facilities will be equipped with
additional discharge equipment, transport bands and
they will increase the actual storage capacity by round
2000 mt as well as increase discharge speed of trucks,
and increase the drying capacity for grains,” Morten
highlights. “BTC is also equipped with grain drying
equipment which, in grain season, means it can handle
not only dry grain but also wet.”
Going forward, into 2014 Morten will be focusing on
increasing contracts linking European Union countries,
and he is keen to arrange daily transhipments of transit
goods for import and export from the EU into BTC.
“I believe that BTC’s investment into more drying and
storage capacity gives it opportunities in the future,”
concludes Morten. “But the keyword is flexibility as the
company is able to handle both bulk cargo and goods
on pallets or in bags. BTC also has the facility to bag for
clients, and this offers them added value compared to
just having a berth. The company also has a biological
grain storage licence, as well as a flexible approach,
dedication to high quality standards and the back
up and support of both its parent company’s know-
how and experience. These are what differentiate the
organisation from the competition.” v
Baltic TransshipmentCenter www.btc.lv• Developing major transport hub• New storage facility completed• Part of Special Economic Zone
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Since it was last featured in Shipping and Marine magazine during May 2012, Anangel Maritime Services has
powered ahead at full steam to complete its aggressive fleet expansion programme and ensure that it is on target to meet the requirements of 2015’s upcoming environmental regulation targets. Operating
as part of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group
(ASGL), its fleet stands at 46 ships including
one vessel that is expected for final delivery by
January 2014 at the latest. ASGL has a track
record in shipping that dates back to 1947 and
is headed by John Angelicoussis. The group
maintains a fleet of over 100 vessels, making
it the largest in Greece, and the company is
currently regarded as one of the largest privately
owned businesses in the world. Anagel services
the dry bulk arm of the group’s activities and
exemplifies its parent’s commitment to world-
class quality and customer service.
The strong portfolio of services that Anangel
provides includes technical management,
62 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Meeting thetargets
newbuild supervision, financial
services, crewing, risk analysis
and overseeing safety protocols.
Its tonnage is made up largely
of capesize vessels but also
incorporates several minicapes. Of these,
the majority were constructed at Korean and
Chinese shipyards under the mindful supervision
of Anangel supervisors, who ensure that
they have been constructed to the exacting
specifications that are required. Its latest round
of fleet expansion has been serviced by a variety
of shipyards including DSME Korea, STX Korea,
Shanghai Shipyard and Shanghai Waigaoqiao
Shipyard China, who have each worked hard to
ensure that the delivery of the new vessels has
been achieved in a timely fashion to the highest
quality standards. The Group’s philosophy
is that money is best spent during a vessel’s
construction.
All of Anangel’s ships fly the Greek flag and are
operated by Greek officers.
Coinciding with the company’s fleet expansion
is a dedicated programme of development and
preventative maintenance. With new
emissions regulations on the horizon for 2015
the company is redoubling what has always
been its vision of operating an environmentally
responsible and efficient fleet. “We continuously
strive to improve the efficiency of our operations
and improve on our fuel consumption. For many
years we have proactively implemented a large
number of measures to achieve that goal,”
explains technical director Leonidas Zissimatos.
“We are also looking at a new water ballast
treatment system, which is something that will
be increasingly important in the future. We have
already installed the system in three of our new
cape constructions as a trial and we are currently
testing and monitoring them to give us a good
insight on whether we have made the right
decision on the system, or whether we need to
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 63
Profile: Anangel Maritime Services
Riding the
make changes to ensure that each and all vessels
of our fleet are equipped with the most suitably
optimised system in the near future.”
Other areas that the company focuses on to
improve on the performance of its vessels include
the implementation of derated engines, slide type
fuel valves, Alfa lubricators, exhaust gas by pass
and other mechanical and electric-electronic
systems. “We are presently testing a system for
on line ‘real time’ data transmission from vessel
to office so that the ‘total’ performance of the
vessel can be maintained in detail at any time.
On top of the above we have very carefully and
selectively adopted in a number of our vessels,
devices to improve the hydrodynamic efficiency
of our vessels. Furthermore specialised propeller
coatings have been applied to some vessels and
hull - propeller condition of all vessels is being
continuously monitored and properly maintained.”
This philosophy of preventative maintenance
and responsible operation is permeated
throughout the company so that it extends to
the officers and crew on board its vessels. “Our
belief is that you can get more out of your ships
through how you run them as compared to solely
through technical application,” Leonidas says.
“So this is not necessarily through technical
application but by the mentality of the crew.”
All of its vessels are in the process of being fully
certified to ISO 50001 standards and registered
with the Energy Efficiency Index. In addition to
this the company ensures that a rigorous ship
energy efficiency management plan (SEEMP) is
in place for all of its ships. Its fleet also benefits
from being part of ASGL, which includes fellow
Athens-based Maran Tankers Management and
Maran Gas Maritime, London-based Agents
Maran UK, Seaways Maritime Services, a
representative/support office in Houston, an office
in Singapore with chartering activities as well as
technical operations and representative offices in
Shanghai and Tokyo. Furthering its commitment
to training its crews for optimum efficiency, the
Athens-based Delphic Maritime Training Centre
is a DNV approved in-house training centre
equipped with full-scale bridge cargo handling
and engine room simulators exclusively serving
the Group companies. Beyond training, emphasis
of the Group to the human element is extended
to recreation, entertainment and amusement
of officers and crews serving on board.
Telemedicine and quick internet are among the
relative facilities available onboard.
Despite the challenges faced by shipping
markets in the wake of the global recession,
Anangel has managed to pass through the
stormy waters relatively unscathed. Commenting
on this successful navigation Leonidas says: “Yes,
it was challenging, during the past three years it
has been very bad. Especially for companies who
have ordered very expensive vessels, are relatively
new to the market and are not necessarily the
right size and/or equipped with the necessary
‘qualities’ to meet these challenges. We are a
very big group and we are sometimes a little
more conservative in our attitudes, but we have
managed to get through these challenging years
without too many problems because we’ve had a
number of vessels on long-term charters with well
known operators.
“Normally, when markets are challenging,
it is wise to avoid at taking on new long-term
charters. This is because when the market is
looking low, like the cape market for example
which had recently reached four or five thousand
dollars per day, it does not make sense to look
for long-term deals. Anangel had diversified by
this time and was tendering pre-existing longer-
term charters. Of course the vessels that arrived
during that bad period were subsidised so it was
hard to be successful in the market. However, our
company has a very good reputation and I think
we were able to get a better range than many
others.”
As a privately owned company Anangel is
able to operate without the constraints that
often impact businesses operating on the stock
market. This flexibility makes it ideally suited to
Anangel Maritime Services
• Recently expanded fleet• Part of the largest Greek Shipping Group• Environmentally committed • Dedicated to ‘absolute’ quality and efficient operations
face the challenges that are often part and parcel
of the volatile shipping industry, and ensures that
it is well placed to make excellent headway in the
coming years. v
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
It has been a productive and innovative 12 months since Northumberland based boatbuilding firm Alnmaritec last appeared in Shipping & Marine magazine; priding itself on delivering practical, original and cost-effective solutions
for commercial workboat applications, the company has signed a number of strategic agreements to further enhance its designs and products. One such agreement, involving a new,
exciting and exclusive alliance with the Italian design firm Studio
Sculli, was announced in June 2013.
“We have signed a couple of new agreements over the last year,
one of which is an agreement with Studio Sculli to develop a range
of designs for us. The company has previous expertise of working
in the super yacht industry and we have teamed up with the firm
to bring some of its knowledge in that industry into the workboat
industry. This is an exciting development for us,” says Chris Millman,
managing director of Alnmaritec. “Studio Sculli has been working on
some fast patrol boats, our new Horizon range, which is going very
well and has generated a lot of interest. We are currently working on
three or four different designs at the moment.”
The exclusive partnership is an innovative development for the
two companies, as the often widely different worlds of commercial
boats and super yachts have been merged together to create the
new Horizon range of benchmark workboat designs for the marine
market. “I think the two sectors haven’t really been known for their
close ties before but there is a lot of excellent technology that is used
in the super yacht industry that is applicable to commercial work
boats. This is something we are keen to bring into our new range
of boats; the super yacht industry does seem to be more open to
innovation than we do in the commercial boat building market,
which is more conservative. In the future we hope this openness
to new ideas will rub off on the work boat industry a bit more,”
highlights Chris.
Three Horizon boats are currently on the company’s website;
the ALN HZ 003, which boasts a smooth interceptor design that
provides high speed comfort, express response capability and multi-
role functionality and the ALN HZ 002, a distinctively designed wind
farm service vessel that has a low resistance hull to provide a stable
platform and a unique modular system within the lower wheelhouse
that houses fully serviced accommodation pods. Meanwhile, the
ALN HZ 001 fast patrol boat will provide rapid response capability;
she can carry up to six pax and boasts a sleek and striking design.
Viewing itself as a design lead organisation, Alnmaritec has its own
experienced design team working in-house, with naval architects,
marine engineers, electrical engineers and design draftsmen
working with a customer throughout the concept design stage and
production phase; this ensures that the client is completely satisfied
with the end product. To further deliver game-changing capabilities
to its customers in the future, the firm has signed a collaborative
64 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Grand designs
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 65
Robush LimitedRobush Limited supplies vibration solutions, and genuine Trelleborg anti vibration mounts to the marine industry. It has been supplying the Cushyfloat to Alnmaritec since 2009. This is a low compact, low profile mounting, which is easy to install, and combines three-way control of suspended equipment with relatively large static deflections where the rubber is loaded in shear and compression. This mount is ideal for marine applications.
Profile: Alnmaritec
agreement with Norwegian company
Effects Ship International (ESI), which gives
Alnmaritec the rights to the manufacture
and sales of vessels utilising air supported
vessel (ASV) technology in the UK, with
the potential to market and sell the vessels
globally. “This agreement enables us to
exploit ESI’s air supported vessel technology,
which increases speed and reduces fuel
consumption,” explains Chris. “It was
principally developed with the yacht industry in
mind, but we see a lot of beneficial applications
for it in the work boat market and are looking
at the technology alongside our other design
developments.”
Proud to deliver tailor made design solutions
for each and every client, the UK’s premier
specialist builder of work boats currently has
more than 150 of its boats operating all over the
world. With a skilled work force that has been
building boats for 25 years, Alnmaritec has a
comprehensive understanding of how workboats
are used and can therefore customise each
vessel to the specific needs of even the most
challenging request.
A recent example of this flexibility was proven
in the successful completion of two hose and
line handling boats one of which was completed
in just 16 weeks in September 2013, the boats
were then delivered to Singapore. “The line
handling boats are one of our standard products
and we have a good reputation in the market
for these; in this situation one of our customers
was converting an existing FPSO and needed a
new line handling boat urgently, so we took on
the project and completed it in half the time we
would normally take. We did this successfully,
even with the added complication of some of the
systems on the boat to be intrinsically safe due to
the potentially hazardous location of the workboat
on the FPSO. However, our personnel pulled out
all of the stops and managed to deliver on time,
which was excellent,” enthuses Chris.
Looking ahead, Alnmaritec will continue to
focus on improving its design portfolio through
bringing in new lines and developing its range of
designs to create a more broad and cutting-edge
spectrum of workboats, as Chris concludes: “We
want to be seen as the most innovative, modern
and forward-thinking boat building company
in the business, both with the designs we can
offer our customers and the techniques we
use to build these designs. Our view is that the
commercial boat building world has for too long
had a very conservative approach to new designs
and new technology; we want to keep pushing
the envelopes in both of these areas to bring a
fresh approach to our sector of the industry.” v
Alnmaritec www.alnmaritec.co.uk
• UK’s premier specialist work boat builder• Huge reputation for innovation• Developing new range of workboat designs
art of the Waalhaven Group, Barge Terminal Born BV (BTB) can be defined as a transport company of containers based
on an intermodal concept. This is a new way
of transporting goods which offers lower costs,
less pollution, and containers closer to load sites
and therefore improve logistic possibilities and
reduces traffic in the seaports.
“Making use of this concept also requires
a mental shift for the customer in terms of
planning their logistics,” notes Jos van Diest,
operations manager. “BTB is located in the heart
of the Euroregion serving the area between
Eindhoven and Liege, and Genk to the west side
of Cologne. We have three long-term chartered
barges that travel between the seaports of
Rotterdam and Antwerp, and the terminal in
Born, with weekly capacity of 2400 TEU. For
the last mile BTB can make use of more than 35
trucks and approximately 80 container chassis.
“Our customers include major global shipping
lines such as Maersk, K-Line, and CMA,
forwarders like DHL and Kühne & Nagel, and
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
P
66 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Built for
warehousing companies including Mitsubishi,
Sappi, and Sabic. The fact that the cargo or
containers of the customers are so closely
located to the loading and discharge sites
means that a tight schedule is easy to manage.
Our up-to-date IT system gives us the tools
to easily manage bookings, and our low price
transport for large batches of containers is
attractive to companies from local operators to
global players,” he continues.
Operating out of an 18 hectare site, BTB has
390-metres of quay, two gantry shore cranes,
one stack crane, and three reach and empty
stackers at its disposal. Furthermore BTB has
recently signed a contract for the lease of an
extra four hectares of terminal space and 150
metres of quay as Jos explains: “This new port
facility is based on our belief that the transport of
containers to and from Rotterdam and Antwerp
will grow over the coming years, and the
increase in flows through our service areas as a
result. Since terminal space is one of our main
selling points we need to expand now to meet
demand in the future. Likewise if extra barges
are added to the fleet we will automatically need
more quay space.”
Over the years the range of services offered
by BTB have increased beyond the handling
and transportation of cargo. Increasingly major
shipping lines use the terminal as an empty
container depot, which saves them being
unnecessarily transported empty, and ensures
they are available at short notice for export
customers. “On both the import and export
side companies are using BTB as their external
warehouse,” adds Jos.
“Starting with imports, large batches of
containers enter the terminal and are called off
on a just-in-time sequence. Then for export
companies load various batches at the same
time, which are then organised and shipped
to the seaports. More and more shipping lines
are also making use of the opportunity to have
container cleaned or small repairs made here at
the terminal. In this way, containers which are
unloaded can be used for export again without
the need to move empty ones back and forth
to the seaports. We’ve also seen a new custom
growth
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 67
Profile: Barge Terminal Born
concept known as extended gateway, which
enables paperless transport of containers till in
transit, increasingly being used from Rotterdam
and Antwerp,” he continues.
BTB has also been focusing heavily on
environmental issues. Since May 2012
the company has worked with Van Tienen
Milieuadvies to offer gas measurement and
container de-gassing services at the terminal.
“Containers may contain toxic gases and to
prevent these from having a negative impact on
the health of personnel, some of our customers
insists on measuring these gases. New EU
regulations have seen the number looking
for this kind of service increasing. This can
happen at the unloading site, but also at our
terminal, which helps to keep the schedules at
warehouses. In the event of a high concentration
of gas, units can stay at a special area of the
terminal to be de-gassed, which saves on costs
and avoids disruption,” explains Jos.
In addition, BTB has been awarded Lean &
Green status for its work to reduce the CO2
emissions of its logistics services by at least
20 per cent. The programme includes various
measurements such as turning off lights, new
equipment, improved planning for barges,
and new lighting. As well as benefiting the
environment, the work has also reduced BTB’s
fuel consumption, and therefore costs.
Describing how BTB’s focus will shift for
the coming years, Jos notes that significant
growth is on the horizon:
“As to the future, various
new developments close
to our terminals such as a
new warehouse for a large
wholesale company and
the start-up of the new Mini
factory, will lead to increased
activity at the terminal.
Furthermore the focus is
on keeping improving the
quality of our service, and
Barge Terminal Born BV www.waalhaven-group.nl• Logistics services• Barge and truck combination• Growing operation
managing new
customs regulations,
technical solutions
and IT systems.
“This all helps us
to reach our goals in
terms of growth, as we
believe the terminal is
now ready to expand by
over 50 per cent. This
can only be achieved
by focusing on the wishes of our customers
and keeping the quality of service high,” he
concludes. v
growth
68 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
as pull customer vessels requiring maintenance
and upgrades into the shed. We have also taken
over the unit next door and expanded sideways
to give us more workshop area, so we have
about 12,000 sq feet now in total, but more
expansion is planned for the future,” he said.
He continued with some additional details
about the new vessels the company has
developed: “We have built a class five and six
passenger vessel, which was a first for us. This
was a 55 seater for the Seabird Centre in Leith,
Scotland, and we have built two hotel transfer
boats for a Swedish client.
“At the moment we are also developing a
new, smaller model catamaran, and that can
come in nine metres, down to seven metres. It
has an asymmetrical hull as that makes it faster
and more efficient, and we are targeting the
atapult Catamarans Marine Projects is a family-run business, which manufactures high
performance, fine entry power catamarans with
island wheelhouse, all moulded in maintenance
free GRP. The vessels have excellent power to
weight ratio, giving a fast cruising speed with
superb sea keeping and fuel economy.
Steve Guyan is the founder and MD of the
company, and he noted that since Catapult
was last featured in Shipping and Marine, it
has seen a continued strong demand for its
vessels, as well as worked on a large number
of new contracts.
“We have also made some changes to our
workshop by installing our own slipway, which
enables us to launch our own vessels as well
survey and smaller charter fishing markets with
that. It’s going to be called the Catapult Blade,
as it will be sharp and to the point!”
Steve also noted that Catapult is now gaining
a lot of business from the survey vessel sector:
“We are currently building a boat for Fugro, the
biggest survey company in the world and also
have a boat in build for Sonardyne, another
survey company in the UK, and another for
Castle Charters.
“One of the areas we can add value to survey
vessels is through the equipment installation,
because we test the systems with customers
and make sure that everything is sited in the
most optimum position. When you are dealing
with under water transducer heads, you have to
make sure the data they collect is as clean as
possible and not affected by water flows and so
CCool for cats
more efficient for clients and also has safety
implications.”
From talking to Steve, it is clear that Catapult
Catamarans has evolved into something more
complicated than a simple ship builder and he
agreed that this was the case, to such an extent
that he’s even changed the company’s name:
“We are now known as Catapult Catamarans
Marine Projects because of the development
work we are doing with bigger clients,” he said.
He also added some details of another
service Catapult provides: “We have a spares
department, and we are known for tracking
down parts for older ships where owners can’t
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 69
Profile: Catapult Catamarans Marine Projects
on. We can also ensure they’re located to give
them the optimum scan angle and range. This
can increase efficiency to such an extent that
the same size area can be scanned in one track
instead of two.
“We can custom build these transducers into
the vessels as well, which is especially useful
as they are very valuable, but can be knocked
off the vessel during surveys. Historically these
items were fastened to poles by webbing
straps and literally lowered into the water for
a scan, but now we can offer the option of
building these into the vessel, and they can be
hydraulically lowered into the water for use, and
then at the touch of a button can be retracted
again for fast travel between sites. This is much
Catapult Catamarans Marine Projects
• Now has a team of 18 full time staff• Continued plans for expansion• Problem solving approach to vessel creation
find that one essential component they need to
keep an otherwise good boat running. Using
our networking we can usually pull various bits
together and create a kit and send it out to
them, anywhere in the world.”
In fact, diversification is something Steve
is keen on, but the amount of bureaucracy
involved does make it a slow process. “When
we created our passenger ferry last year,
we went through MCA accreditation, we are
also certified by Seafish and the Irish Marine
Department but every new market we enter
requires more paperwork.”
He continued: “The passenger vessel
especially did take a lot of time on the
paperwork side, but we worked with the MCA
very closely on type approvals, because when a
vessel is built to a full class society specification,
everything on that vessel must conform to class.
A lot of these rules are written for bigger boats
and we were building a relatively small one, so
some of the rules just weren’t achievable. This
meant we had to apply for one off exemptions
and put forward alternative solutions. We went
through the process and created a great vessel,
but all of those procedures do take time.”
Thanks to its dedication and willingness to
create just the right vessel, Catapult has a full
order book for the rest of 2013, and Steve
noted that although they are various sizes and
destined for different uses, the overall approach
will be the same. “What we really do is solve
problems,” he said. “Clients come to us with a
challenge, we go through it with them and learn
how they are trying to work the vessel, so that
we can understand their requirements, and then
we can create a solution that makes their job
easier, and fulfils their needs.
“So we design everything with the customer,
they send their drawing guys down, we work
on ideas together and go back to the drawing
board until we all agree on what we will build.
This really creates a team between the client and
us, and by adopting a real partnership approach
it all comes together in the end and many
customers order second and third vessels!” v
www.catapultcatamarans.co.uk
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
ounded in 2009, All Marine and Offshore Enterprise (AMOE) officially consists of two firms: AMOE Ship Management Pte
Ltd. and AMOE Pte Ltd.; both of which share the same infrastructure and comprise of the same 65 employees. Offering one-stop-
shop solutions, the core businesses within
the enterprise are own vessel operations, ship
building, ship management, project management
and consultancy, commissioning and engineering
services for shipbuilding projects, supervision,
crew supply for all vessel types and vessel
mobilisations.
With its inception during the throes of the
economic crisis, a time that was wrought with
difficulties and challenges for the shipping
industry as a whole, AMOE Ship Management
has proven its resilience by developing a
respectable niche for itself in the local market. Its
70 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Bold developmentsongoing success has led to branch offices being
opened in Indonesia and more recently Myanmar,
where the company foresees strong growth over
the coming years.
Delivering comprehensive management
solutions to the marine and offshore industries,
the results driven company strives to develop
excellent relationships with its global client base
by providing reliable, efficient and cost-effective
services. Respecting individual customer needs,
the company’s mission is to remain attentive to all
niche areas in the marine industry and watch for
opportunities to penetrate into new markets, thus
delivering continuous improvement to its wide
range of services.
Fully managing a fleet of seven vessels, two
general cargo ships, one crane barge and four
anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels,
some of which have been contracted to Shell
for projects in Malaysia as well as the supply of
crew for vessels trading both globally and in the
UAE. Meanwhile, its most recent contract with
TCO Marine Nigeria started in October 2013;
managing a crane barge and an (AHTS) in Nigeria
AMOE Ship Management’s services will support
TCO’s contract with Chevron. Having worked on
more than 75 projects in just four years, AMOE
has achieved a solid reputation for itself and
returned profit annually.
Supplying qualified and competent crew to all
vessel types, AMOE Ship Management screens
all candidates to find out their level of expertise
to match vessel specifications and exceed the
owner’s requirements. Seafarers are assessed
continuously and upgrade their skills regularly
through relevant training courses on subjects
such as safety standards and environmental
pollution. Furthermore, the company provides
in-house training to the crew on technical,
operational and safety aspects before each
F
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 71
Profile: AMOE Ship Management
Far left: AMOE Victory
Left: ASL Pisces at ASL shipyard, Singapore
departure to ensure a high quality and safe
service.
Boasting more than 150 years of combined
experience in the marine and offshore sector,
AMOE Ship Management’s management
team has long-term expertise in working with
several different owners, charterers, shipyards,
shipbuilders and a wide range of vessel
types. Dedicated to delivering an effective and
safe performance from all vessels under its
management, the company believes competence
and professionalism are key to effective, efficient
and safe operations.
Despite the difficult marketplace AMOE Ship
Management is continuing to enjoy steady growth
and has strategic ambitions to become a regional
hub for a complete range of maritime services.
In line with these plans, the company had its first
owned vessel constructed; the 2500 dwt landing
craft tanker (LCT) has a draft of just three metres,
making it ideal for operations in shallow waters
across the globe. It is suited for the transhipment
of aggregate, sand, cement, logs, bulk cargoes
and project cargoes.
However, the LCT is just one part of AMOE
Ship Management’s grand future plan; currently
in development is a joint venture with a large
shipyard in Burma to create an ‘integrated
yard facility’ in Myanmar. Following changes
in Myanmar politics, which has a long history
of sanctions and embargoes, the country has
opened up to international developments and
enjoyed accelerated growth in the region’s
markets. Seeing an opportunity to set up
a yard that offers a range of services, such
as shipbuilding and repair facilities, storage
warehouses, workshops and offshore equipment,
AMOE Ship Management is keen to continue
strengthening its business by developing the first
offshore supply base in Myanmar.
Having discussed the potential for a yard
to offer shore support, storage facilities, base
supplies and repairs with offshore contractors,
operators and directors, the company is keen to
offer more efficient logistics to new customers
in Myanmar waters who must currently travel to
Thailand for relevant yard facilities. On top of this,
there are also plans to further grow the business
by establishing management services for the
super yacht market.
Until these exciting developments come into
fruition, AMOE Ship Management will continue
strengthening the business while working hard
to generate support from banks and financial
institutions, a challenge the company has faced
since the beginning. Although there have been
difficulties in obtaining financing facilities, the
AMOE Ship Management
www.amoe.com.sg• Global client base• Fully manage a fleet of seven vessels• Deliver one-stop-shop solutions
prospects for the company appear positive as
the Singapore market remains busy and many
sectors of the marine industry witness increased
growth. v
72 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
F Marine Krimpen B.V. is part of its larger parent company ZF and was initially formed in 1973 as Holland
Roer Propeller (HRP) before the company was purchased by ZF in 2009. By 2010
the company had been fully integrated with
its parent and was renamed ZF Marine
Krimpen B.V.
ZF was founded in 1915 for the development
and production of transmissions for airships
and vehicles. At present ZF has 121 production
locations in 26 countries and employs over
75,000 people with its headquarters located in
Friedrichshafen, Germany.
Based in The Netherlands, ZF Marine Krimpen
is primarily responsible for the production and
development of marine thrusters and thruster
control systems. Thrusters are designed
to increase the ship maneuverability in all
conditions. The product range of ZF Marine
Krimpen includes azimuth thrusters and
transverse tunnel thrusters up to more than
two MW.
into the futureManoeuvring
Within the azimuth thruster range ZF Marine
Krimpen produces various types like well-
mounted, retractable, deck-mounted and
shallow draught thrusters. Thrusters can also
be produced with twin propellers, rotating
in counter directions, which can provide an
increase of thrust in all operational ranges.
Tunnel thrusters can also be supplied with
controllable pitch propeller.
The units can be provided with electric, diesel
or hydraulic drive systems and steering controls
are advanced and can be interfaced with global
positioning systems and dynamic positioning
systems. ZF Marine’s range of thrusters can be
applied to almost any craft including pleasure
vessels, defense craft and commercial vessels,
however at present ZF Marine Krimpen’s
customers are traditionally located in the
commercial sector.
Complementing its strong product range,
ZF Marine is able to offer an extensive supply
network and dedicated aftersales service. “We
have a good service network and we are able
to send engineers to locations where they are
needed,” explains Reiner Viebahn, managing
director at ZF Marine Krimpen. “We have service
engineers here in The Netherlands, the US, Asia
and all over the world. We are proud of this
Z
first changes was the implementation of the
ZF production system, which brought with it a
higher level of standardisation and efficiency.
In keeping with its commitment to supporting
its staff as well as its expanding client base,
the introduction of the new system also meant
an improved working environment. Inclusion
in the ZF Group means that the Krimpen
operation is able to draw on the synergies of
a larger business while being able to operate
independently enough to focus on developing its
dedicated product range.
“We develop the products by ourselves here
in Krimpen and we also use the synergies that
ZF group is able to offer,” Reiner says. “After all,
ZF is a large company with more than 75,000
employees. In Friedrichshafen there is a huge
development centre which has services we
can benefit from. If there is a need for further
knowledge or we need to carry out e.g. stress
testing we always have possibilities to make use
of the expertise of the development centre in
Friedrichshafen.”
ZF Marine Krimpen shares its parent
Profile: ZF Marine Krimpen
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 73
company’s reputation for providing high quality
products and excellent aftersales service.
In only a few short years it has proven more
than capable of meeting and exceeding the
expectations of its wider partner and is set to
make further waves as it thrusts forward into
the future. v
ZF Marine Krimpen www.zf.com• Steerable azimuth thrusters• Global supply network• In-house design
strength in our company that means we can
provide services worldwide.”
Underpinning the company’s operation is its
long-term vision and commitment to providing
the highest standards in quality and service.
“To be a major player in the thrusters solutions,”
begins Reiner, “you have to take care of your
customers, to be flexible and able to address
your customers’ needs. Therefore this is also
reflected in our mission statement, as well as
looking after our employees and providing a safe
and motivational workplace. We make sure we
are on track with the exceptional standards of
our parent company and continue to provide
quality products and services,” he elaborates.
In perusing the company’s mission Reiner
takes what he sees as a less traditional
approach in operating the business. “It’s not
just about making money. Naturally being
profitable is important, but for me this is a side
effect which comes automatically,” Reiner says.
“What I mean is that if you provide a high quality
product, good service and meet the customers’
expectations, then the business comes in by
itself. It’s a different approach to be focused on
the process and the quality to bring in business
rather than just focusing on the money. It is a
kind of philosophy, which has proven itself in
other markets as well.”
Since HRP became ZF Marine Krimpen in
2010 it has been focused on applying this vision
to every part of its business and has continued
to grow in strength and reputation. One of the
Manoeuvring
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk74 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Piet-Hein Kolff
focused on four main strands that offer a unique
blend of products and services that greatly
strengthen the port’s reputation as a vital maritime
centre. Den Helder is perfectly located to service
Holland’s offshore oil and gas sector as it the
closest port to the country’s offshore fields,
making it an obvious choice for operators looking
to install or maintain offshore infrastructure. While
representing the first strand in the port authorities
strategy, the offshore market in the region is
a dynamic one and is currently set to change
drastically over the coming years. The sector is
in a state of transition as many of the topside
rigs in the area are approaching their 30-year
lifespan and are soon to be decommissioned.
Rather than representing a fall in business, the
decommissioning process will bring a lot of
activity to the port as operators work to remove
the equipment safely. These recovery operations
will also be complimented by the industries move
into subsea operations, which Den Helder is
ready to facilitate.
Encouraging the move into the subsea sector
are the port’s training and development pool and
supporting facilities, which offer both offshore/
subsea operators and naval contractors the
opportunity to develop how they explore the
surface of the ocean. The ability to offer these
facilities represents a second important area of
focus for the port. The mutual benefit of this for it
and its customers is that it encourages long-term
co-operation between the port and operators and
represents a vital source of future development.
Likewise, these facilities strengthen the
relationship between Den Helder and Holland’s
Navy, which has been based at the port since the
end of the Second World War.
The relationship between Den Helder and
Holland’s Navy has been long and cordial,
but much like other sectors in the port it is a
013 and beyond represent something of a milestone for the Netherlands Port of Den Helder. In a significant changing
of the guard for the port, it has recently changed from public ownership to become a private entity. As a result of this shift the
way is now clear for a host of new opportunities
supported by the emergence of new business
opportunities and an empowered spirit of co-
operation. Ownership of the port was transferred
to the municipal port authority on 1st January
this year and its current CEO, Piet-Hein Kolff was
appointed in July. Since then the port authority
has showed no sigh of slowing down as it moves
to revitalise the port as a centre of industry.
Even before it came under private ownership
the Port of Den Helder represented a dynamic
economic hub with varied and industrious
sectors working within it. Today the port is
maritimeA vital
2centre
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 75
Holland Safety Holland Safety BV is a specialist in the inspection and maintenance of fire fighting and life saving equipment for the shipping and offshore industries. It has more than 20 years experience and is proud to be an importer for brands such as Hansen Protection (lifejackets and immersion suits), Desautel (portable and wheeled fire extinguishers), Draeger (personal protection equipment) and Spencer It (emergency stretchers).
Profile: Port of Den Helder
maritime
relationship that is set to change. Changes in
funding have meant that the Dutch Navy has
had to scale back, resulting in even closer
co-operation between the port authority and
the Navy then ever before. Previously, naval
operations were a vital if almost segregated part
of the port’s business, however with its operation
scaled back the Navy is able to offer shared
use of its cutting edge facilities and berthing
space. Also, as some of the space in and around
the port that was previously used by the Navy
becomes disused it is quickly being adapted for
commercial use. This way the port authority can
ensure that none of its infrastructure is left idle.
This will propel this section of the port to make it
an even more integral part of port life, able to offer
overflow and support services to commercial
shipping, while retaining its traditional naval
presence. Commenting on the facility Piet-Hein
Kolff says: “These facilities are a unique selling
point for the port. We like to think of ourselves as
a ‘greenhouse’ for knowledge and we are trying
to grow the expertise of the offshore and naval
sectors and bring this to the subsea market. We
are able to offer operators the opportunity to test
and operate subsea submarines and we are very
keen to encourage the sharing of experience
between all of these sectors.”
The forth strand in the Den Helder port
authority’s business is found in its small, but
traditional fishing fleet, which has consistently
been a staple player in the port’s activities.
Maintaining its values of tradition and co-
operation, the Port of Den Helder also operates
a Museum Port, which features workshops
for construction and restoration and facilitates
ferry operations to the island of Texel, which are
carried out by the Teso ferry company.
As the port transitions from its public
beginnings into an exciting private enterprise it
brings with it a host of strong industry sectors.
What is more impressive is that while each of
these sectors are likewise in a liminal phase, none
of them are in a state of decline. Where operators
is changing their focus and reorganising to
address changing markets, Den Helder is skillfully
adapting to ensure it remains at the cutting edge
Port of Den Helderwww.podh.eu• Ideally located offshore base• Diverse industry portfolio• Continued investment
in providing the kind of services its clients require.
With its curious blend of tradition and inspired
forward thinking the waters ahead are clear for
the Port of Den Helder. v
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Previously in Shipping & Marine magazine in October 2011, leading boat manufacturer Nimbus Boats is enjoying
increased demand and an expanding customer base following a challenging 2012. “Prior to 2012 we were owned by a private
company, however the market was so bad and
the financial set up of the company became so
heavy that Nimbus Boats went bankrupt in June
2012. On a positive note we had no outstanding
debt to our customers, so it was very easy to
start up again with our new owner. The last year
has been fantastic for us, particularly because
the Coupe 335 and 365 models were developed
very late in the old company and helped launch
our successful start as a new business,”
explains Jonas Gothberg, commercial director of
Nimbus Boats. “The Coupe model segment was
launched at the last boat show we participated
in and the interest in Nimbus and our brand has
been very high since. We have been a new firm
for a year now and we are already showing black
figures, which is fantastic for a shipping firm in
this economy.”
Following a triumphant return, Scandinavia’s
leading manufacturer of leisure boats for cruising
and sport has a core focus going forward: to
further develop the market and its relationship
with existing dealers while also enhancing
76 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Riding thewave
the Nimbus group’s
product development
efforts under the brand
names Nimbus Boats
and Paragon Yachts.
“Our existing or previous
customers absolutely
embraced our new
developments and new
series of Coupe boats, which Nimbus has been
famous for throughout its history. However, we
have noticed that our newer boats, particularly
the Nimbus 365 Coupe has generated a new
customer base that is at least 15 years younger
than it was before. It is every designers dream
to create a product that attracts a new and
younger audience and we see these customers
coming back for our new product, the Nimbus
405 Coupe, which has been introduced at the
Hamburg Boat Show,” enthuses Jonas.
Winner of the European Powerboat of the
Year award in January 2012, the Nimbus 365
Coupe has been tried and tested in extreme
conditions and meets all safety standards by
both professionals and private owners. “Our core
values when we design a boat are safety and
aesthetics; if you buy a Nimbus boat it will still
look beautiful in ten years,” says Jonas. “This has
been the Nimbus promise since the 1980s and
we have succeeded in delivering this. We build
Paragon 31
for people who spend a lot of time out at sea so
a lot of time goes into the design and testing of
boats to ensure our products are truly functional,
aesthetically attractive and comfortable.”
Created for customers that use their boats
for long periods of time, the Nimbus 365 boasts
features such as an electrically operated toilet,
shower cabin, fridge/cooler box, cooker with
gas oven and a large galley with two sinks.
Aesthetically, the boat is striking, with a marine
varnished mahogany interior, a leather steering
wheel, Nimbus designed pillows and a skylight
on deck with curtain. More importantly, the
Nimbus 365 Coupe, alongside all other vessels in
Nimbus Boats’ diverse range, are manufactured
using vacuum infusion at the company’s state-of-
the-art shipyard in Mariestad.
A completely closed production method that
ensures the best possible quality end product
with minimum impact on the environment,
vacuum infusion is a composite process that
Nimbus 34 Nova
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Profile: Nimbus Boats
Paragon 31
creates superior products out of fiber-reinforced
plastics that are extremely rigid, strong and
low in weight. Both the skeleton and headliner
of Nimbus Boats’ products are built entirely of
glass fibre, which ensures easy maintenance
and smooth surfaces; this policy, alongside the
high quality wood joinery, provides customers
with a boat interior that retains a high standard
year after year. On top of this, to further ensure
the best possible quality of the boats and
efficiency of production, every boat and all of its
components are manufactured by the Swedish
based firm.
Having wholly refit its shipyard in early 2013,
the company has been looking to penetrate
rapidly developing markets, as Jonas highlights:
“A major market for us right now is Turkey, where
the people are very well off and willing to pay for
good quality boats. In Turkey they use their boats
an enormous amount, around 700 to 900 hours
annually, compared to other markets that use
their boats between 50 and 250 hours a year.
The people buying our boats are well above the
capacity to buy 100 feet yachts, but instead they
are acquiring 40 feet Nimbus Coupe and using
them every day. This is the best possible grade
I can get. We have also made progress in China
and are slowly starting to sell boats in Russia,
with two sold in the past few months.”
Despite developing its market presence in
new areas, Nimbus Boats is still mainly focused
on Northern Europe, where its boats operate in
harsh and challenging conditions. “This is a key
strategic area for us because we know that if
our boats can operate in the roughest conditions
they can be used anywhere in the world. Looking
ahead, we have a big focus in our mind that
when we make these types of boats we can’t
compete with price but we can compete with
quality and customer service; we have had a very
good year and we are on track but to continue
our success our plan is simple: less volume, but
a more high end product,” concludes Jonas. v
Nimbus Boatswww.nimbus.se
• One of the most respected boat builders in Europe• Launching its largest ever boat• Completely refit its factory/shipyard in 2013
Paragon Ranger
Nimbus 34 Nova
Nimbus 405 Coupe
rom foundations laid in 1919, Factorias Vulcano began its long tradition in shipbuilding in 1940. Initially working as a shipbuilder and
repair yard, the company continued to expand
and grow its facilities at Vigo, Spain in order to
take on newbuild projects. At the same time over
the years Factorias Vulcano has moved away
from standard vessel types such as cargo and
fishing trawlers to more demanding specialist
ships such as seismic, offshore construction
vessels, oceanographic and research vessels and
chemical vessels.
Explaining the reasons behind this shift,
general manager Jose Luis Mendez says: “There
is a lot more competition in general vessel
construction, such as container and cargo
ships, from shipyards in Korea and China, which
can produce these vessels more cheaply. As a
European shipyard, we have concentrated on
niche buildings such as seismic, chemical, and
offshore construction vessels and oceanographic
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
F
78 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Traditionally
builtand research vessels, which typically are more
sophisticated and employ much higher levels of
technology.”
Factorias Vulcano uses a block building
technique for vessels, delivering everything from
design through to pre-fabrication, and ultimately
assembly, in-house. State-of-the-art technologies
are applied during the construction including
computer assisted design, numerical control
cutting, automatic welding, and laser controlled
sizing. This means that Factorias Vulcano is able
to build vessels with a high degree of advanced
outfitting and quality.
The total area of the yard is 79,283 m2 and
is divided into key areas, including an external
2300 square metre prefabrication and assembly
support area, a central prefabrication area of
7500 square metres, including 3000 square
metres undercover, and a second similar
sized prefabrication hall to the south. This is
complemented by a 1000 square metre block
painting shop. Rounding off the site is the
170-metre long slipway, and a north and
south quay.
In 1993 Factorias Vulcano became the
first private shipyard to achieve ISO 9001
accreditation. The company had maintained this
quality focus, and as of 2013 has reached the
DNV’s Certification of Integrated Management
System for the design and build of steel vessels
and offshore installations, in compliance with
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Profile: Factorias Vulcano
ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.
“The shipbuilding market has always gone up
and down, and with this we have changed the
way we build vessels,” describes Jose. “In the
past we had a lot of on-site workmen, but now
we have a core staff of 110 personnel, who are all
high-level management responsible for delivering
the shipyard’s activities. This includes commercial
managers, engineering managers, purchasing
staff, head of production, human resources,
and financing staff, so all at the top of these
departments.
“We then subcontract in 99 per cent of the
remaining labour that we need to build the
vessels,” he continues. “The advantage here is
that if we have a lack in the volume of work we
are able to manage this better by having a smaller
staff, and likewise the subcontracted staff are
able to take on work elsewhere whilst we secure
new orders.”
Currently Factorias Vulcano is working on
a number of projects for clients throughout
the world. This includes chemical tankers for
customers in Spain, Sweden, Chile, and Italy, as
well as three 30,000 dwt tankers for a client in
Russia. The latest deliveries of Factorias Vulcano
were a seismic vessel for a major Norwegian
entity, and a deep sea offshore construction
vessel for another client in Norway.
“In addition, we are also working on a ferry
boat that had its hull were stopped in Sevilla
Shipyard,” adds Jose. “We sent some of our
team to the yard where the vessel was based,
and finished the hull by installing all the steelwork
in the fore and aft parts, before launching and
towing it to our facilities in Vigo. We’re now
looking to sell the vessel into the market, and
are in contact with several different owners to
discuss the opportunities for it such as using it as
a cruise vessel.”
With the shipping market remaining unstable
and activity levels staying low, Factorias Vulcano
is sticking to its strategy of high technology
developments. This enables it to be much more
competitive against low cost manufacturers that
may not have the skills to deliver these more
complex vessels.
“It’s a very specialist market, but there
is always a niche for these kind of ships,”
agrees Jose. “We have a very long tradition in
shipbuilding, but as a smaller private entity we
need to be able to survive in the market so having
that added value of technical expertise is vital.
Likewise, the company has a very strong spirit at
all levels to ensure that we can keep on delivering
vessels to the sector,” he concludes. v
Factorias Vulcano www.factoriasvulcano.com• Long shipbuilding heritage• Focus on niche sectors• High technology vessels
124 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk80 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
ounded in 2009 Load Line Marine SA is a relatively young company, however in only a few short years it has proven itself to be
an expansive and dynamic player within the dry bulk sector. Under the guidance of its
founders, George Souravlas and Costis Calfoglou
the company has continued to grow and operate
in a market dominated by the effects of the
economic downturn. Managing director George
Souravlas and his team are able to offer extensive
experience in ship and project management
enabling the business to deliver world-class ship
management services.
The company began managing its first vessel
during January 2010; the M/V ‘Alpha’ was a
reliable 28,000 DWT bulk carrier built by Hitachi
in 1984. Following the success of this vessel,
Load Line was encouraged to expand its fleet.
The company invested in the construction of
two 34,000 DWT bulk carriers, which were
constructed by the Korean Dae Sun Shipbuilding
and Engineering shipyard. During June 2011
it took delivery of the M/V ‘Charlie’, which is
equipped with four 36 tonne cranes.
During July 2012 the M/V ‘Delta’ arrived,
further expanding Load Line Marine’s fleet and
capability as George elaborates: “The M/V ‘Delta’
is a 34,000 DWT bulk carrier with electric cranes
based on the innovative technology of frequency
converters by ‘Cargotec.’ It also features a
shallow draft compared to many other vessels
of similar capacity that enables her to operate
in restricted draft ports, which are often found
in emerging economies therefore expanding
the vessel’s employment potential. Another
advantage of the M/V ‘Delta’ is that she is
equipped with propeller boss cap fins (PBCF) that
have shown remarkable results in relation to fuel
efficiency. The result is that she has commercial
preference with many first class charterers
worldwide and has already been chartered by
Bunge Latinamerica LLC in the US, Ameropa AG
in Switzerland and D/S Norden A/S in Denmark.”
Handysize dry bulk carriers are most often
used in transporting commodities to and from
some of the world’s less developed markets
where port infrastructure makes loading and
discharge a far slower process meaning that the
vessels spend less time at sea. The decision to
partnerA handy
F
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Doric ShipbrokerSLoad Line Marine is a valued client of Doric Shipbrokers. The high standards of quality, professionalism and integrity found in Load Line Marine have been the catalyst of this association. Doric Shipbrokers, an established dry cargo broker offering chartering and consultation services, is proud to be part of Load Line’s continued success.By positioning itself with leading ship owners and cargo charterers, Doric Shipbrokers is able to offer discerning advice, as well as the efficient execution of ship and cargo transport brokering.
Profile: Load Line Marine
choose Dae Sun Shipbuilding and Engineering to
construct the M/V ‘Charlie’ and M/V ‘Delta’ sister
ships was taken due to the yard’s experience in
designs featuring exceptionally low drafts.
Another recent addition to the Load Line
Marine fleet was in September 2013 when the
M/V Foxtrot was delivered, a 35,000 DWT geared
dry bulk carrier vessel, built in October 2012 by
SPP Shipbuilding Co Ltd of South Korea.
Furthermore, by the end of October 2013,
Load Line Marine is expecting the delivery of a
significantly larger Supramax (Ultramax) dry bulk
carrier, the M/V ‘Copenship Eco’ with a DWT of
64,000 by China’s Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy
Industry shipyard. Expanding on the vessel’s
capabilities George says: “One of the most
remarkable features of this new vessel is that
her optimised hull form and propulsion system
offers a 17 per cent larger carrying capacity,
while at the same time offering a 15 per cent
lower fuel consumption rate than its 56,000
DWT competitors. This means that a combined
advantage of over 25 per cent reduction of fuel
costs is gained per tonne during transportation.
It is also believed that the vessel will demonstrate
the highest technological standards for economy,
reliability and durability as a result of choosing
the best possible equipment makers available at
the time.” Presently the company manages three
modern bulk carrier vessels and is scanning the
market for new opportunities.
The company’s commitment to modern, fuel
efficient and technologically advanced vessels
means that it is able to boast a competitive
advantage that makes Load Line Marine
the preferred ship management solution for
charterers compared to vessels of similar carrying
capacity. The M/V Copenship Eco for example,
has already generated a lot of interest with
partner
82 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Copenship A/S of Denmark offering the vessel a
long-term charter with superior terms compared
to current market rates.
Load Line Marine’s ships transport a diverse
range of dry bulk cargos including grain, coal,
fertilizers, minerals, steel products, sugar and
cement. However, despite operating in a broad
range of markets, 2012 proved to be a slow
year for the dry bulk sector in general. This was
due to droughts across the US, Russia and
Ukraine resulting in crop failure and substantially
lower volumes of cargo than usual during a time
of record new building deliveries. This placed
incredible pressure on the dry bulk market
during 2012 and early 2013. However, Load
Line has remained buoyant and dynamic and
is well placed to service the market as it begins
to show signs of recovery during the latter part
of 2013 and into 2014. Commenting on the
current market and on the company’s strategy
moving into 2014 George states: “During these
challenging times, Load Line has managed to find
ways to be more efficient and dynamic and has
developed by forming long-term relationships.
It has also invested in innovation, skillful human
resource management and advanced technology.
“The poor shipping market and the near
absence of shipping finance for new building
projects has reduced the number of orders
for new vessels, as a result many shipbuilders
have closed down. Furthermore, the strong
price of steel in combination to the poor charter
market has pushed many ship owners to
consider demolition of older tonnage, especially
those vessels that are less competitive due to
high fuel consumption. Finally, the commodity
transportation requirements are expected to
Profile: Load Line Marine
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Load Line Marinewww.loadline.com• Dry bulk specialists • New handymax vessels• Growing, modern fleet
rise as the American and European economies
are recovering from the crisis. We therefore
anticipate that the dry bulk shipping market will
recover in 2014 to levels similar to those seen
in 2010.”
As Load Line Marine continues to grow it is
committed to expanding and building a fleet
of modern, eco efficient and technologically
advanced dry bulk carrier vessels of various size
classes to provide a high level of quality services
to charterers worldwide. Commenting on the
vision that drives the company forward, George
concludes: “Opportunities always arise if you
keep your eyes wide open and they materialise
with hard work and strong focus, despite
adversities that may appear along the way.” v
ince the beginning of 2013 up to the end of September, the total volume has gone up around 12 per cent in
comparison to 2012, which was of course a challenging year for us and difficult for the shipping industry worldwide,” says Pekka Sundberg, port development manager at the Port of Pori. “However, in 2013 we have
seen volumes are going up; coal has gone up
by 71 per cent over the course of the year when
compared to 2012. We have had some 700,000
tonnes coming to the port this year and we also
had the MS Nordic Orion, the first bulk carrier
to traverse the Northwest Passage through
Canada’s Arctic waters, arrive at the port on
October 7th; this is another indicator of the north
gaining importance.”
Carrying coal for Ruukki Metals, a Finnish
steel producer, the 75,000 dwt MS Nordic
Orion was no challenge for the Port of Pori,
which is popular with larger vessels due to the
deep fairways. Tahkoluoto harbour offers the
deepest fairway in the country at 15.3 metres
S
Mäntyluoto. Photo courtesy of Port of Pori
No minor
developmentsand benefits from an excellent location for port
operations. In Mäntyluoto harbour the fairway has
been recently deepened to 12-metres. Port of
Pori has the best crane capacity in Finland. The
Masa crane in Mäntyluoto is the most powerful
harbour crane in Finland with a maximum lifting
capacity of 200 tonnes. It has been crucial to the
harbour’s core general bulk activities. In addition
to this, the potential for increasingly larger ships
has been supported by the LHM550, a Liebherr
mobile crane with a maximum lifting capacity of
144 tonnes; as the most powerful new crane in
Mäntyluoto, the LHM550 complements Masa and
helps cement the Port of Pori as one of the most
flexible ports in the country.
Based overlooking the Gulf of Bothnia, at
the northernmost region of the Baltic Sea, the
port’s proximity to countries such as Russia
and Sweden ensures that the Port of Pori will
be one of the most active ports in Finland in
the future as well. These logistical advantages
are certain to benefit the port over the coming
years, particularly when the 0.1 per cent sulphur
in fuel directive is introduced in 2013, as Jaakko
“
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Profile: Port of Pori
Nirhamo, port director at Port of Pori, highlights:
“There are only 14 months until the Sulphur
Emission Control Area (SECA) regulations will
come into force; this is the biggest challenge
the shipping industry has ever had to face and
is a challenge for all ports. Nevertheless, we are
positive about the future because SECA will result
in less small vessels and more large, newbuilds.
With our deeep fairway and excellent facilities, we
have the space, capacity and ability to serve all
types of vessels.”
In the process of a major 2011-2014
investment project to upgrade, expand and
extend port facilities, it has already built an entire
new quay, a new port entrance and installed
improved fairways. “We made our big investment
in 2011 when we dredged our fairway to 12
metres, so that was a major investment of around
30 million euros. The next thing we plan to do,
starting this year, is to update our chemical
harbour and renew our fire fighting system. We
have other plans in the pipeline, but it is too early
to discuss these,” says Jaakko.
Committed to continuous improvement and
customer satisfaction through enhanced logistical
networks, the port has been integrated with
the Bothnian Green Logistic Corridor and its
extensions. Running along the coast of the Gulf
of Bothnia in Finland and Sweden, the Logistics
Corridor combines the northernmost parts of
the EU to its central parts to create connections
to Russia and Northern Scandinavia; it also
offers the port the opportunity to improve both
sea and land connections, as well as enhance
co-operation between connection points on
the corridor in different countries. “The BGLC
Tahkoluoto
86 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
SAL HeAvy LiftSAL Heavy Lift owns and operates a modern fleet of 16 vessels with a combined crane capacity of up to 2000 mtons SWL. SAL assists, amongst other areas, in offshore subsea installations and in the transportation of heavy and unconventional cargo. It works together with multiple international ports and has a great outreach across the globe.Port of Pori, in the Gulf of Bothnia, is one of its trusted ports, which it has worked with for many years. It always strives for excellent and innovative solutions in terms of heavy lift shipping and offshore installations for its clients around the world.
Profile: Port of Pori
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 87
Port of Poriwww.portofpori.fi/en• Second largest dry bulk port in Finland• General port handling all kind of cargo• Development opportunities• Has excellent facilities for mining industry
All photos courtesy of Port of Pori
project is part of the EU Baltic Sea Region
Programme; the target of the project is to find
and develop new traffic solutions such as new
routes to facilitate and speed up transport
and passenger traffic in the Bothnian corridor.
We are contributing to the project through
developing a study on re-opening the Pori-
Parkano-Haapamaki railroad line and using that
line for Finland’s mining sector. Furthermore, the
new track could open a new route for cargo to
Russia,” explains Pekka.
Having served the metals industry successfully
for several years, the port is now benchmarking
itself as the best ‘mining port’ for the Finnish mining industry. With experience in undertaking
domestic transit duties that see it taking in large
shipments of raw materials, transferring them
onto several smaller feeder barges and sending
those to the industry, the port has the capabilities
and expertise to expand its service offering. In
the previous article of Shipping & Marine, Jaakko
discussed the opportunity further: “We have the
strongest harbour crane in Finland and have
extensive experience in project cargo, all of which
are good preparation for the mining industry.
We could take in raw materials by barge then
send them out, much like with metals. It means
that more investments will be needed in our rail
connections, but I believe the Government will
be reasonable and make the right decisions to
improve our capability.”
According to the initial estimate, the required
investment for the re-opening of the Pori-
Parkano-Haapamaki track is approximately
250 million euros; therefore, the re-opening of the
track depends on finding transport flows strong
enough in quality and volume to market the track,
alongside its extension connections, as a solution
that replaces the huge investments going into the
main railroad network. The future role of the port
as the transporter of minerals and chemicals from
the new and existing mines is an integral factor
in the re-opening of the track, as is the benefits
of increased function of railroad traffic within the
country as a whole.
Boasting a 200-hectare site around the port,
in the immediate vicinity of both the Mantyluoto
and Tahkoluoto harbours, the Port of Pori’s
current focus is on the development of this land
through attracting major commercial partners
to adopt/lease parts of the site. Aiding in this
strategic aim is the port’s promotional website,
www.m20.fi, which advertises the benefits of
setting up shop in the M20 Industrial Park, these
include efficient and uncongested roads that
connect companies with the rest of Finland and
Russia. With these exciting long-term prospects
in development, it is certain that the Port of Pori’s
position as an integral location for industry will
continue to grow. v
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Profile: Harvey Gulf International Marine
ith a successful history dating back almost 60 years, Harvey Gulf International Marine
LLC has grown to become a prominent force servicing the offshore and subsea sectors within Alaska, French Guinea and the Gulf of Mexico. The New Orleans company
was founded in 1955 by Captain Numa J. Guidry
who assembled a fleet of inland towing vessels
to service the Gulf Coast transportation market.
The company was originally named Harvey
Canal Towing Company, however this later
changed when Captain Numa’s two sons joined
the business and together aided in expanding
the company into the offshore towing and rig
moving industry.
To reflect the company’s newly diversified
direction, it was renamed Harvey Gulf
International Marine, Inc.
Between the early 1960s and late 1990s,
Harvey Gulf maintained and operated a fleet of
both inland and offshore towing vessels, which
were used to tow assets including jack-up and
semi-submersible drilling rigs, bulk cargo barges
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W
Harvey War Horse I and Harvey War Horse II
Sisuaq
A growing
influence
Profile: Harvey Gulf International Marine
and large structures and facilities laden on
barges. The company was also regularly trusted
to transport liquefied natural gas (propane) filled
barges from Louisiana to ports in the Caribbean,
US East Coast and US Gulf of Mexico. Shane
Guidry became the third generation of the
Guidry family to operate the business during
1988, supporting and managing all aspects of
the business. Finally in 1997 Shane became
president and CEO of Harvey Gulf International
Marine, Inc.
Seeing the growing potential of the offshore
industry, the company later transitioned from
a full-service towing operator to a business
specialising in offshore towing, with particular
focus on large jack-up and semi-submersible
rigs in the deepwater and ultra-deep water
of the Gulf of Mexico. The transition saw the
divestment of the company’s liquefied petroleum
division and the sale of its inland towing vessels,
which were replaced with larger, more powerful
offshore towing vessels. During the same period
its current offshore towing fleet was retrofitted
with new equipment making the vessels suitable
for deepwater rig towing operations. With this
ESGShane Guidry, chairman & CEO of Harvey Gulf International Marine, best sums up ESG’s and HGIM’s successful relationship: “When we placed our first order with Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) for six offshore supply vessels, they were truly people of their word. They delivered the vessels on time, some earlier, and they stayed in budget. Their craftsmanship was outstanding. Our experience dealing with Eastern Shipbuilding Group has been very professional and we’ve just placed another order for six new vessels. If you have ESG build a vessel for you, you can count on their word and expect to get great value for your investment.”
transition and its investment in powerful, modern
vessels and equipment, Harvey Gulf developed
a reputation for operating the most powerful
towing vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and showed
a commitment to modern fleet development that
continues to this day. The company ensures
that its fleet is fitted with modern electronics and
navigation systems and onboard performance
and safety equipment including Shark Jaws,
bow thrusters and kort nozzles.
As the years progressed the market need for
further types of vessel to support deepwater
drilling and production became apparent.
Responding to this, Harvey Gulf increased its
ongoing fleet expansion to include offshore
supply vessels (OSVs) during 2003. Matching
its modern towing vessels, this new generation
of vessels included sophisticated electronic
and navigational systems. Each of the new
OSVs were ABS classed with DP2 certification
and ranged from between 240 ft. to 280ft. in
length. In recent years the company has further
developed its fleet to include vessels that are
able to offer traditional offshore supply services
as well as deepwater rig mooring using reel
spooling units, surveying activities, offshore and
subsea construction, pipeline inspection and
repair and dive support services. This has given
Harvey Gulf an extensive equipment portfolio
that enables it to effectively support the needs of
the oil and gas sector in the region, making it a
valuable partner to operators working within the
Gulf of Mexico and beyond.
An important milestone in the company’s
history occurred on August 21st, 2008 when
Shane and Shawn Guidry, with the New York
based private equity firm, The Jordan Company
L.P. acquired Harvey Gulf from the Guidry
family. With Shane Guidry remaining CEO of the
company it is intended that the company will
combine the years of experience within the firm
with a partner with the dedication and resources
to expanding the company’s fleet and services
to meet the ever-growing needs of its customers
within the oil and gas market.
2013 has proven to be another defining
moment in Harvey Gulf’s history with the
announcement that it has purchased Abdon
Callais Offshore in a deal worth $460 million.
Callais traces its history back to 1945 when
Harold J. Callias, followed by his sons built a
company with a reputation as a trusted name
Profile: Harvey Gulf International Marine
in marine transportation and the provision of
technologically advanced OSVs. Prior to its
acquisition by Harvey Gulf, Callais operated
one of the largest OSV fleets operating in the
Gulf of Mexico, with 92 per cent of its vessels
dynamically positioned at DP1 or DP2 and the
majority of its ships coming in at 205 ft. in length
or longer.
Following B-Mar Offshore and Gulf Offshore
Logistics the acquisition of Callais was the
company’s third purchase in 12 months and
has added 58 vessels to its fleet, four of which
are currently under construction. Currently,
Harvey Gulf can boast 78 OSVs and including
its recent acquisitions, a further 12 under
construction, these vessels will be LNG ships
ranging from between 220 ft. and 340 ft. It is
widely expected that once all of these vessels
have been completed that the company will
own and operate the largest OSV fleet in the
Gulf of Mexico allowing it huge potential in
offering offshore and subsea support services.
In addition to the purchase of new vessels, the
company has also recently sold off six of its
older assets to Adriatic Marine for £72 million as
part of its commitment of maintaining a young
and modern fleet. As part of its commitment
to operating a diverse fleet, Harvey Gulf has
placed newbuild orders for two STXCV heavy
lift construction vessels (HLCVs) as well as
a sixth dual fuel OSV. Eastern Shipbuilding
will construct the heavy lift vessels, while TY
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 91
Left: Provider and Spirit, below: Harvey Deep-Sea.
KONGSBERGA world-class achievement. For KONGSBERG, the year 2014 is a huge milestone. For the past 200 years, the company has been a strategic cornerstone for Norway as a nation and has in more recent times also supported other nations with the supply of strategic products and expertise. KONGSBERG has survived the tides of change, adapting and grasping every opportunity along with the ebb and flow of time. Over the next year and leading up to the Group’s milestone anniversary on 20 March 2014, it will be sharing its achievements among its employees, showing how it has managed to rise from a modest weapons factory in Norway to a world-leading industrial group.
Offshore will construct the new OSV.
The HLCVs will be named the Harvey
Sub-Sea and the Harvey Blue-Sea and share
features including 250 metric ton active heave
compensated cranes, 12,000 square ft. of
usable deck space as well as accommodations
for 120 crew members in single and double
occupancy quarters, along with crew lounges,
fitness centres, conference rooms and a
48-person theatre. The dimensions of the
vessels will be 340 ft. x 77 ft. x 29.5 ft.
Prior to this the company had ordered a
STXCV 310 light construction ship (LCS), the
Harvey Deep-Sea from Eastern Shipbuilding,
which was delivered as of July 2013. The vessel
is currently on a four-year charter with DOF
Subsea who plan to commence immediate
mobilisation of the vessel, including structural
reinforcement and repositioning of the crane
boom rest, before the ship begins committed
work with an undisclosed client in the Gulf
of Mexico. Complementing the company’s
newbuild contracts, Harvey Gulf has also greatly
expanded its fleet with the acquisition of 11
DP 2 offshore supply and fast supply vessels
from Offshore Logistics. Commenting on the
recent vessel acquisitions CEO Shane Guidry
said: “The Gulf Offshore Logistics acquisition
will complement our existing fleet of vessels, but
most importantly it will bring additional diversity
to Harvey with the addition of fast supply
vessels. The two heavy construction vessels will
allow my company to maintain its position as the
largest United States flag owner of vessels with
the ability of deploying over 135 metric tons to
water depths of 3500 metres with lifting hook
heights of 40 meters above the main deck. My
commitment to our clients, the environment and
our industry is clear. We are the only company in
America building offshore supply vessels utilising
liquefied natural gas (LNG) as its fuel source
regardless of the fact that these vessels have a
construction cost of 20 per cent higher than a
conventional offshore supply vessel.”
In total the company has acquired an
impressive 49 vessels within the past 12
months. This rapid expansion will allow Harvey
Gulf to expand its customer base from small
independent operators to major companies.
This is not to say that the company has not
already developed a trusted reputation with
major operators within the oil and gas sector,
it currently works with Shell, BP, Exxon, ENI
and BHP, however, it is now well placed to offer
greatly expanded capacity through its extensive
fleet. Finalising the past 12 months’ rounds
Profile: Harvey Gulf International Marine
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of purchases Shane says: “This year we have
acquired 49 vessels totaling exactly one billion
dollars. We also have an additional 12 vessels
under construction totaling $75 million. The
vessels range in size from 150 ft. – 170 ft. mini
supply vessels. Our DP2 range in size from 220
ft. – 300 ft. and our construction vessels range
from 300 ft. with active heave compensation
cranes to 340 ft. with 250 metric ton active
heave compensation cranes.”
Further expanding its operational capacity,
the company plans to construct the United
States’ first LNG marine fueling facility, which it
plans to locate at Port Fourchon, LA. The facility
will consist of two sites, each with 270,000
gallons of LNG storage capacity and the ability
to transfer 500 gallons of LNG per minute.
CH-IV International of Houston, Texas has been
secured as the EPC contractor to support the
development of the LNG bunkering facility. The
first site is expected to become operational
during February 2014, while the second
will follow soon after. As well as its marine
application the facility will be able to support
over-the-road vehicles that depend on LNG.
Commenting on the project Shane says: “To
date, Harvey Gulf is the only company in North
America that has committed $400 million to
build, own and operate LNG powered offshore
support vessels as well as two LNG fueling
docks.”
Supporting its rapid growth and fleet
development, Harvey Gulf operates with a clear
Harvey Energy
STX Marine STX Marine is currently under a design contract with Harvey Gulf and Trinity Offshore for the design of six liquefied natural gas (LNG) offshore supply vessels (OSV) powered by a dual-fuel solution provided by Wärtsilä. These OSVs will be the first US flagged dual fuel vessels and will have the American Bureau of Shipping’s ENVIRO+ certification. They will be constructed with certified, environmentally friendly, material and will meet the highest emissions standards.
94 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
mission statement and a strong commitment to
operating in a safe and respectful manner. The
company’s mission is to ‘provide its customers
excellent marine service and value while causing
no harm to people, assets or the environment
and to maintain a culture of professionalism
and mutual respect.’ The services that the
company provides are divided into four areas
that it defines as vessel services, offshore supply
vessel services (DP-2 Certified), multipurpose
vessel services (DP-2 Certified) and offshore
mooring line support services. Its vessel services
include; towing semi-submersible drilling rigs,
tower jack-up drilling rigs, tow out of TLP and
other production facilities as well as anchor
handling, pipeline installation support, salvage
support towing of unpowered ships and the
freeing of grounded vessels. Its offshore vessel
services include the transportation of deck
cargo, dry and liquid bulk cargo, methanol and
personnel. Its is also able to provide pipeline
maintenance and support as well as DP-2
work platforms in this area. Furthermore its
multipurpose vessel services offer DP supported
saturation diving, knuckle-boom crane services,
survey activities, subsea construction and
intervention (including crossing preparation,
jumper and flying lead intervention and pipe
and umbilical support). Harvey Gulf also offers
offshore mooring line support services including
mooring line transportation and spooling and
buoy transportation. All of the company’s vessels
are ISO 9001:2008 certified with a quality
management system that has been approved by
the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). Harvey
Gulf differentiates itself from other companies
in that all of its vessels are ISO certified on an
individual basis rather then simply having an ISO
certified operations office.
The company’s commitment to health
and safety is exemplified by its dedication to
rewarding its crews for optimal performance.
Harvey Gulf has recognised captain Buddy
Toups for commanding the Harvey Titan and its
crew without a recordable injury or an accident
resulting in lost time, achieving the company’s
‘Target Zero’ award for five consecutive years.
Similarly, it has recognised captain Perry ‘Buster’
Rich for leading the crew and vessel Harvey
Explorer for also achieving ‘Target Zero’ status
for five consecutive years. Additionally, Captain
Rich was praised by Shell in 2009 for responding
to the crew from the Shell Ursa Rig when the
engine of a rescue boat failed during a drill. The
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 95
Profile: Harvey Gulf International Marine
Harvey Gulf International Marine LLCwww.harveygulf.com• In 2013 acquired 49 vessels totalling $1 bn• Plans to construct LNG marine fuelling facility • Commitment to health and safety
captain was later gifted with a Shell-Swiss Army
watch, presented by Shell EPW manager Callum
Finlayson.
With a fleet that is rapidly becoming the
largest in operation on the Gulf of Mexico and a
diverse fleet with reach across the United States’
waters, Harvey Gulf has a firmly established
reputation as a trusted working partner in the
regions’ oil and gas sector. As it continues to
grow Harvey Gulf will consider a future move into
international markets, giving the brand a truly
global footprint. With its future developments
including new vessels and its pioneering LNG
facility the company is set be remain a key name
in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond for years to
come. In conclusion Shane comments: “I feel
there is a lot of growth left in the US and I am
positioning my company to capitalise on that
growth.” v
Right: Harvey Discovery.Below: Harvey Pioneer
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With over 80 years’ experience in ship owning and cargo transport M.H. Simonsen APS operates
with a culture of quality and safety and strives to transport its customers’ cargos in a professional and cost effective manner. The family owned business was founded in 1931
by Martin Hjorth Simonsen and is currently run
by his son Lars Hjorth Simonsen. During the
company’s first 30 years, between 1931 and
1961, its main focus was on dry cargo tending
the domestic molasses trade. Later during
1961 MS Simonsen acquired its first tanker,
the MT Brotank was purchased, signaling the
company’s move into tankers and later also the
Federation of Oils Seeds and Fats Associations
(FOSFA) regulated market sector. Since 1998,
M.H. Simonsen has been headquartered in
Svendborg’s Villa Svea mansion, which is
regarded as one of the most beautiful
houses in the town. Svendborg
is located on the island of Funen
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A familyventure
in south-central Denmark and is steeped in
maritime history. The town is considered to be
Denmark’s leading maritime educational centre
with links to the country’s cargo and container
industries.
Today M.H. Simonsen is primarily engaged
in two segments of the European small tanker
market with the majority of its fleet engaged in
the FOSFA market, while two of its vessels are
involved in distributing clean petroleum products
(CPP) in Greenland. The company’s mission is to
become the primary choice within the European
short sea FOSFA trade and to achieve this goal
M.H. Simonsen is dedicated to the delivery of
customer satisfaction through being flexible,
competitive and effective in providing ‘hassle free’
transportation. It is passionate about remaining
a small family run business with a focus on
long-term partnerships and a conscientious
attitude towards safety onboard its vessels and
the environment. “Environmental responsibility
should be a natural part of our daily life. We feel
that we should take care of our environment in
an orderly manner and thereby help preserve
and improve our day-to-day lives,” comments
general manager Henrik Hansen. “As an added
advantage, we are actually able by means of
simple procedures and change of habits to
achieve savings on the financial side.”
At present the company owns six tankers
ranging from 2000 dwt and 4500 dwt, all of
which are operated by Simonsen Chartering
APS. Its most recent acquisition was the MT
Orasund which was delivered as a newbuilding
in 2008. To ensure that all of its ships are
operated as efficiently as possible its vessels
are well maintained and the recruitment of
crew is undertaken in-house. This enables the
company to find the most suitably qualified and
experienced sailors from able seamen through
to captains. In February 1998, M.H. Simonsen
was issued its ISM Safety Management
Certificate and later during June 2000, the
company was one of the first to receive the
ISO 14001 accreditation for its environmental
management system.
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Profile: M.H. Simonsen
Operating as a family business with
80 years of experience within the FOSFA and dry
cargo industries gives M.H. Simonsen a number
of advantages over competitors operating within
the same market. The company has highly
experienced teams within the commercial,
operational and technical areas of its business.
Furthermore, as a relatively small business with
short communication lines M.H. Simonsen is able
to respond to the market in a fluid and dynamic
way as Henrik elaborates: “The main advantage
we have as a family business is the ability to
have a short decision making process, thereby
allowing us to react swiftly to opportunities and
challenges requiring a swift response. In today’s
fast-paced world, speed is one of the main
parameters for success and we are aware of the
fact we are able to make decisions faster than
most other companies.”
Partnership and co-operation are an integral
part of what makes M.H. Simonsen a successful
company. As well as seeking to maintain long-
term relationships with its customers, it is a
member of the strategic procurement company
Seamall. As an integrated player in the maritime
environment, Seamall offers businesses like M.H.
Simonsen access to a larger supply chain without
the associated expense of maintaining and
managing a larger group as Henrik explains: “As
we have a relatively small fleet of owned vessels,
through Seamall we are able to benefit from being
part of a much bigger group and an economy
of scale without being big ourselves. Another
important feature is the administrative workload,
which is lessened when dealing through Seamall.
This is important for us as we are keen to keep
the administrative burden as small as possible.”
The past four to five years have been
challenging for the shipping market across the
world, however M.H. Simonsen has weathered
the storm by transitioning through a period of
adjustments and skilled management of its
business. The company has recently sold three
vessels and also made adjustments to its staff,
which is not necessarily the preferred option
as it typically means letting go of competence,
however in a volatile market the company has
needed to respond dynamically. While it may be
too early to predict a vast increase in the shipping
market’s fortunes M.H. Simonsen is confident as
2014 draws nearer. “We are capable of a much
larger number of vessels under our commercial
control,” explains Henrik. “We will seek additions
to the present portfolio via time charter,
commercial management and other instruments
M.H. Simonsen www.mhsimonsen.com • Over 80 years of experience• Six well maintained tankers• Looking for future expansion
with the aim to boost the fleet and thereby ensure
that our highly competent commercial side
deliver their maximum and thereby also secure an
improved bottom line.” v
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iltanking Stolthaven Antwerp NV is a 50/50 joint venture between Oiltanking GmbH and Stolthaven Terminals
BV that offers customers the logistic support required for importing, exporting, distributing or holding products. Located
at the Port of Antwerp, one of the world’s most
extensive petrochemical and refining complexes,
the terminal provides exceptional accessibility
to national and international markets by either
water or land transport. With more than 30 years
of experience in handling chemicals, Oiltanking
Stolthaven Antwerp guarantees customers
product integrity through dedicated storage
systems and highly skilled personnel as well
as highly sophisticated storage and handling
infrastructure for oil products, chemicals and
gases.
“We have a very large customer portfolio at
Antwerp due to the fact we have the capabilities
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Tanks for everythingto handle a very wide range of gas, chemical and
oil products. You will not find such a complex,
unique terminal such as Oiltanking Stolthaven
Antwerp in the world as our two shareholders
are very aware of the importance of safety
processing and are focused on having a high
level of technical design. Both companies are
committed to ensuring the highest standards at
this terminal,” explains Yvan Tavernier, managing
director at Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp.
Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp is one of the
most important terminals in the group as it offers
a gateway to Europe via the Rhine and thus
provides significant flexibility in transportation
services. “Our location is definitely one of our key
strengths as the Port of Antwerp has a draft of
up to 15 metres, which allows us to take in the
biggest vessels in the world,” highlights Yvan.
“Furthermore, our synergy with Stolt Nielsen has
stabilised in some cases our customer portfolio
and given us more commercial opportunities
at the terminal, such as our recent contract
with LyondellBasell, a major customer of Stolt
Nielsen.”
On October 3rd 2013, LyondellBasell and
Oiltanking Stolthaven announced that Lyondell
Chemie Nederland BV and Oiltanking Stolthaven
Antwerp NV had signed a ten-year agreement
for the storage and handling of Vinyl Acetate
Monomer (VAM) and Glacial Acetic Acid (GAA) in
Antwerp. “GAA and VAM are industrial chemicals
that are in high demand. Europe has an increased
need for these imports and this agreement
allows us to solidify our commitment to the
European acetyls market and continue to serve
our customers needs far into the future,” explains
Yvan. “As part of the agreement we will invest
in new 13,000 cubic metres of stainless steel
storage capacity and rail loading infrastructure
at Antwerp.”
Able to guarantee long-term storage in an
advantageous location, the terminal regularly
O
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Profile: Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp
signs long-standing contracts with major oil
and gas firms; its recent contract with Evonik
Industries is no exception, reaffirming the two
companies ongoing positive collaboration as
well as Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp’s position
as a competent and reliable service provider for
petrochemical storage in Belgium.
“In order to accommodate the impending
expansion of Evonik’s C4 production installations,
Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp will take over both
the handling and warehousing of these additional
volumes of raw materials. Firstly, the existing tank
infrastructure will be modified to adjust to the
increased production of 1-butene, butadiene,
and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Secondly, five
new bullet tanks, each with a nominal capacity
of 3500 cbm, will be built as well as a new finger
pier with two berths,” explains Yvan. Currently
busy with the construction work for the bullets
and jetty, Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp is
confident it will meet Evonik’s required schedule
and have the new facility fully operational by the
first quarter of 2015.
Having doubled in capacity over the last couple
of years, recent investments have increased
the terminal’s capacity by 30,000 cubic metres
to 50,000 cubic metres; a number that is only
going to increase in the future. “Over the next
few years we will be exploring a lot of projects,
therefore investments will be ongoing to increase
capacity,” says Yvan. “We have plans in the future
as this is a very capital intensive business and our
shareholders are happily supporting this terminal’s
development with investment.”
On top of investment, Oiltanking GmbH
and Stolthaven Terminals are focused on the
development of its employees, increasing
leadership, process and safety training
over recent years. With safety a top priority
at Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp, its two
shareholders are keen to continue growth
through high quality customer service and
excellent safety standards. “Over the last five
years we have increased growth by 50 per cent,
so our strategic plan for the future is to
maintain this by catching the benefits of this
very large and complex terminal through
optimisation,high safety standards and training,”
concludes Yvan. v
Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerpwww.oiltanking.com• Part of Stolt Nielsen group• One of the most important terminals in group• Doubled in capacity over recent years
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ffering stevedoring, storage
and re-handling of bulk &
general cargoes at the Port
of Southampton in the UK,
Solent Stevedores has experienced rapid
development and impressive growth over
the past 13 years.
Last appearing in Shipping and Marine in
February 2013, the ensuing eight months have
been spent focusing on the integration of the
Jersey operation into the group, as Ian Jacobs,
managing director, explained: “We actually
tendered for the Port of Jersey Stevedoring
License in August 2012, and this involves the
responsibility for the handling of 98 per cent
of goods coming in and out of the island. The
licence runs for a period of nine years, and gives
us exclusivity to operate on the New North Quay
where most of the general cargo and lift on lift off
services operate from, together with the West of
Albert berth which is where the passenger ferry
services are based.
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Foundation for growth“We have two lift on lift off services, Channel
Island Lines and Channel Seaways that we
service and we have three cranes at our disposal
(two Stothert & Pitt and a Liebherr.) We have
also handled some dry bulk products at the
New North Quay, namely recycled metal, fertiliser
and lime.”
He continued: “Particular emphasis has been
placed upon up-skilling the Jersey stevedoring
team, as a great deal of refresher training was
necessary, together with imprinting the Solent way
on our team of how we do business,” he said.
Solent Stevedores has invested more than
£500,000 on its Jersey operations, mainly for
the Condor Ferries Freighter operation, as Ian
elaborated: “On the West of Albert berth, we
provide stevedoring services for the Condor
freighter ferries and also their Fast Cat passenger
vessels too. Our relationship with Condor Ferries
has expanded and our staff and now assist in
other roles such as baggage handling and vehicle
marshalling too.
“In terms of financial investments, it was very
clear to us that the ageing fleet of RO/RO tugs
used on a daily basis to service the requirements
of Condor Ferries needed replacing. So we
placed an order for five replacement RO/RO Tugs,
which have cost £500K, and arrived with us in
August. They are being used to tow lorry trailers
on and off the Condor Freighter vessels, which
is a daily task with very tight timeframes to meet
the needs of scheduling and to work around the
weather conditions that have a big impact on
island life.”
Aside from its Jersey operations the last year
has very much been focused on consolidation,
and after what Ian described as an ‘extremely
poor harvest in 2012’, the tonnages of grain and
animal feed handled in the first six months of this
year were significantly reduced.
Over the last year Solent Stevedores has
worked to develop its management team, with
a number of staff taking on different roles in line
with business expansion. “In the latter part of
O
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Profile: Solent Stevedores
2012 we took the view that the business needed
slightly restructuring to take account of the ever
increasing legislation affecting primarily the Dry
Bulks division. However, the other divisions have
not been immune to increased regulation either.
To enable us to stay one step ahead of the
game, we created the new role of Compliance
and Standards Manager, whose brief is to
ensure that we have a level of consistency
throughout all Group operations. We now have
greater strength in depth by having dedicated
operational management responsible for the
Southampton Dry Bulks, Jersey and London and
the Cruise divisions.”
In addition, the stevedoring team in
Southampton Dry Bulks team have been exposed
to further training in 2013 and Ian has no doubt
that this continual commitment to staff is giving
Solent Stevedores increased operational options
across all terminals that it manages. He added:
“We are now planning the next step which is
looking at ways in which we can develop the
management and supervisor teams in the
business.”
Such investment in growing and improving
both its employees and its business has
benefitted Solent Stevedores considerably
across its service range. “Our Cruise division has
once again performed very well this year with
approximately 300 cruise vessels being handled in
2013,” said Ian. “The real practical advantage that
we have in servicing the needs of Carnival, is that
their cruise vessel schedule is know a long time
in advance, which means that we can plan our
labour requirement accordingly. We have a small
team of full time employees that look after the
operations at the Mayflower, Ocean and Queen
Elizabeth cruise passenger terminals in the Port
of Southampton, then, when a vessel is calling at
Southampton we will secure additional manning
from our dedicated labour agency partner. The
dedicated skills of our team really do make a
difference to both the way we operate and how
we are seen by our clients.”
For Solent Stevedores, the skill and experience
of its personnel is key to current and future
success, and it is this area that Ian highlights as
being important over the coming years. “The
main focus looking forward to 2014 is to continue
developing our management team further and
to give greater exposure to other staff that we
identify as being potential managers of the
future too. Therefore we will be spending time
succession planning and executing a strategy
that helps the staff flex to the growing needs
of our clients and the business as a whole and
Solent Stevedoreswww.solentstevedores.com• Growing activities• Developing management team• Focusing on consolidation
which will provide a foundation from which we
can confidently expand into other stevedoring
activities over the coming years.” v
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The system was first developed in 1999 and was composed of two major parts, one of which was responsible for technological processes while the other was used for record keeping and managing document flow. The new version of Solvo.TOS already includes a unified database and is integrated with the most common types of hardware (konecranes, emerson etc.) and software (SAP ERP, etc). SOLVO.TOS is used for the management of all technological processes at the CTI terminal, where it has
been successfully operating since 2008. CTI runs a partial installation of the SOLVO.TOS system, which controls equipment and personnel, vessel planning, and yard management, in real-time. The SOLVO.TOS implementation team displayed tremendous skill, efficacy and dedication in their successful implementation, which was carried out in an impressive three-month period. Since then, SOLVO has secured contracts with other Ukrainian ports such as the Brooklyn-Kiev port in Odessa.
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SOlvO
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 103
The facilities at CTI were further improved in 2013 when in August a new customs inspection complex was completed. When the complex comes into operation, it will help to optimise clients’ auto transport usage
Profile: Container Terminal Ilyichevsk
eventy-five per cent of the whole maritime industrial potential of Ukraine is located in the Odessa region. The total
coastal line of the district exceeds 300 km, and
this area offers free access to the Black Sea
– Azov Basin and big river routes, giving good
transit benefits to the ports located there. As a
result of the multiple advantages of this location,
which occupies the northwest part of the Black
Sea, seven major ports are positioned there, one
of which is Container Terminal Ilyichevsk (CTI).
CTI specialises in container shipping, and
from its prime location it offers a range of
services to customers. These include basic
offerings, such as discharging of containers
from vessels, loading of containers onto
vessels, loading or discharging of containers
onto trucks or railway wagons and the storage
of containers. Furthermore, it also offers extra
services, including the stuffing and unstuffing of
containers and the transportation of container/
cargo to place of operations. In fact, CTI has a
stuffing terminal equipped with a warehouse of
3600 sq.m and railway lines for six wagons to
be handled simultaneously. It is also equipped
for cargoes that require special storage
conditions.
A new service was also introduced in
August 2012, which enabled CTI to provide
the weighing of containers. The weighing is
undertaken in the rear berth area and containers
can be weighed directly container without a
car. Customers will be able to visit the container
terminal to weigh their own transport or use
technological transport LPS.
The terminal itself is able to accommodate
vessels up to 8000 TEUs. In November 2012
CTI accommodated the m/v ‘Teno’ from Maersk
Line, and previously it had accommodated m/v
‘Tubul’, which also belongs to Maersk Line.
Ships of this size calling at the port represent
significant events, and illustrate the capacity
and capabilities of CTI in handling larger ships.
In order to service both these and smaller
vessels the terminal is equipped with a variety
of technology, such as ship-to-shore gantry
cranes; RTG, RMG, port tractors, straddle
carriers, stackers for empty containers, and over
600 plugs in its reefer yard.
The facilities at CTI were further improved
in 2013 when in August a new customs
inspection complex was completed. This
complex is situated in the rear area of berths
five and six, and has a capacity of 20 places for
simultaneous container inspection, planned to
technologyEmbracing
S
104 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
customs transit. When the complex comes into
operation, it will help to optimise clients’ auto
transport usage and will reduce non-effective
charges. That inspection complex is part of
a wide-ranging programme of client service
improvements currently underway at CTI.
Other examples of projects that have
been undertaken at the terminal include a
development programme called ‘4M’, which
was designed to increase its annual throughput
capacity up to four million TEU. The total
investment for this particular undertaking was
several hundred million dollars and in 2007 the
first stage of 4M was successfully completed
and annual throughput capacity increased up to
850,000 TEUs.
Technology is also an area where CTI places
a high degree of focus, and on November 16,
2012 the organisation started a trial operation of
the integrated automated informational container
terminal management system called ‘Conterra’.
Over the course of the works carried out, the
interaction module of commercial documents
and operational management system were
checked, as well as module exchange data
messages in EDI and XML formats.
On November 17 the terminal handled the
containership ‘Estebroker’ of MSC line in the
new system. In the preparations, electronic
communications between the information
systems of CTI and MSC Ukraine (in BAPLIE
and CUSCAR formats) were successfully
completed.
In the future, CTI plans to integrate a remote
time slotting and forwarders formalisation
system to get passes to the port via the internet.
It is clear from the above that embracing
modern technology implementation is one of
CTI’s fundamental principles, and this stands
alongside several other tenets that form the
foundation of the company’s success. These
include a dedication to operational process
efficiency, continuous improvement of handling
procedures and a commitment to always
providing the highest levels of customer service.
Going forward, the terminal can look forward
to further investments and modernisations, all
of which will benefit both staff and customers
alike. v
Profile: Container Terminal Ilyichevsk
Container Terminal Ilyichevskwww.il-ct.com• CTI offers a range of services• New customs inspection complex completed• Keen to embrace technology
Shipping&MARinEThe magazine for mariTime managemenT
www.shippingandmarine.co.uk
Schofield Publishing Limited Unit 10, Cringleford Business Centre, Intwood Road, Cringleford,
Norwich, NR4 6AU, UKTel: +44 (0) 1603 274130 Fax: +44 (0) 1603 274131
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