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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2009 – 101

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Number 101 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Tuesday 14-04-2009 News reports received from readers and Internet News articles taken from various news sites.

The DMS BLACKBIRD arrived at the Singapore Western Anchorage Photo : Piet Sinke ©

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The MAERSK TRACKER seen loading at the Mammoet premises in Schiedam Photo : Wil Kik ©

Somali pirates capture US tug: Kenyan official France's defence minister promised an investigation into the death of a hostage during a French navy commando operation that freed four other captives held by Somali pirates. Defence Minister Herve Morin acknowledged that it could have been a French bullet that killed hostage Florent Lemacon, during an operation that demonstrated the risks of using military force against sea bandits.



Pirates seized a sailboat carrying Lemacon, his wife, 3-year-old son and two friends off the Somali coast a week ago. On Friday, French navy commandos stormed the boat in an assault triggered by threats the passengers would be executed. Two pirates were killed, and Lemacon died in an exchange of fire as he tried to duck down the hatch. "There will be of course a judicial inquiry, therefore there will be an autopsy. We cannot of course exclude that during the exchange of fire between the pirates and our commandos, the shot (that killed Lemacon) was French," Morin said on Europe-1 radio. Still, he defended the action. "We, I believe, made the best decision possible," he said. France has been at the forefront of multinational anti-piracy efforts to protect the strategic shipping zone in the northern Indian Ocean - and has been more aggressive than many governments in responding to the seizure of boats holding its citizens. The president of Somalia's northeastern region of Puntland, the main hub for the country's pirates, called on other nations to follow France's example. "We call on any country whose citizens are taken by pirates to use force, because paying a ransom would only encourage more piracy," said Abdirahman Farole. France's government has in the past said it refuses to pay ransoms. In this case, exceptionally, Morin said French negotiators discussed a ransom with the pirates, but they refused it. Friday's operation was the third such raid by French commandos against pirates in the past year, but the first to result in the death of a hostage. The pirates fired with Kalashnikovs as eight commandos boarded the boat backed by firepower from 70 commandos on three French frigates. Three pirates were taken prisoner in the operation, and are to be brought to France for criminal proceedings, joining 12 pirates already jailed and awaiting trial here. The four freed hostages were brought to Djibouti, and were to be flown to a French military airbase on Sunday, Morin's office said. Lemacon's body was to be brought to France later for an autopsy. President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered the assault when all negotiations failed and the boat drifted toward the Somali coast, Morin said. France's policy is to refuse to allow French citizens to be taken ashore as hostages. The French rescue operation did not appear to be anywhere near the standoff between an American cargo ship captain and his Somali captors. Pirates threatened to kill the US captain after he jumped in the water Friday in a desperate attempt to escape. Both countries are part of anti-piracy task forces and patrol the risky waters around the Gulf of Aden and other parts of the Somali coast. There have been 65 pirate attacks in the region this year, and 15 vessels are currently held by pirates, with 243 hostages in the hands of pirates, according to the French Defence Ministry. Source : AP



The SMIT CYCLONE seen anchored over the wreck of the sunken car carrier HYUNDAI 105 in the Singapore Straits Photo : Piet Sinke ©

Foreign vessel stopped for poaching in Russia's Far East

A Sierra Leone-flagged ship has been stopped by border guards in Russia's Far East Sea of Okhotsk on suspicion of poaching, a regional coast guard spokesman said on Monday according to RIA Novosti. Border guards said the vessel had no documentation allowing it to fish in Russian waters or ship seafood. The vessel has been taken to a port in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for further investigation, the spokesman said. This year, Russia launched a crackdown on the illegal export of crab and other seafood. Since January, Russia's border guards have returned to the sea more than 246,000 live crab, with an estimated commercial value of over 170 million rubles ($6.1 million).

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The VOS SYMPHATY seen departing from Rotterdam equipped with salvage equipment of SMIT Salvage and FRAMO to be used for works at the sunken ICE PRINCE in the English Channel.

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A look at the ships still held by Somali pirates At least a dozen ships and more than 200 crew members are currently being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau and NATO. A look at some of recent examples: — April 11: Italian tugboat Buccaneer seized with 16 crew members aboard: 10 Italians, five Romanians and a Croatian. — April 9: Yemeni fishing boat Shugaa Almadhi with 13 crew hijacked. — April 6: British-owned bulk carrier, the Malaspina Castle, hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. It is carrying iron and has a crew of 24 from Bulgaria, the Philippines, Russia and Ukraine. Lloyd's Marine Intelligence Unit says the ship is owned by Navalmar U.K. Ltd. and managed by BNavi SpA of Italy. — April 4: German 20,000-ton freighter Hansa Stavanger seized 400 miles (645 kilometers) off the Somali coast. It has 24 crew members on board: 5 Germans, 3 Russians, 2 Ukrainians, 2 Filipinos and 12 Tuvalus. It is owned by Hamburg-based Leonhardt & Blumberg Schiffahrtsgesellschaft mbH & Co.KG. — April 4: Taiwanese ship, Win Far 161, seized near the Seychelles islands. It has a crew of 30, including 17 Filipinos, six Indonesians, five Chinese and two Taiwanese. — March 25: Panama-registered, Greek-owned Nipayia with 18 Filipino crew members and a Russian captain is seized by pirates. The Nipayia is managed by Athens-based Lotus Shipping. Source : Newsday

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Revenge Calls Somali pirates threatened revenge on Sunday (12 Apr) after two separate hostage-rescue raids by foreign forces killed at least five comrades, raising fears of future bloodshed on the high seas.



The latest raid by U.S. forces on Sunday that saved an American hostage and one by France last week have upped the stakes in shipping lanes off the anarchic Horn of Africa nation where buccaneers have defied foreign naval patrols. "The French and the Americans will regret starting this killing. We do not kill, but take only ransom. We shall do something to anyone we see as French or American from now," Hussein, a pirate, told Reuters by satellite phone. "We cannot know how or whether our friends on the lifeboat died, but this will not stop us from hijacking," he said. Sea gangs generally treat their captives well, hoping to fetch top dollar in ransoms. The worst violence has been an occasional beating. "We shall revenge," said another pirate, Aden, in Eyl village, a pirate lair on Somalia's eastern coast. Some fear the U.S. and French operations may make the modern-day pirates more like their more fearsome forbearers. "The pirates will know from now that anything can happen. The French are doing this, the Americans are doing it. Things will be more violent from now on," said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers Assistance Program. "This is a big wake-up to the pirates. It raises the stakes." PIRACY ESCALATION Piracy is lucrative business in Somalia, where gangs have earned millions of dollars in ransoms, splashing it on wives, houses, cars and fancy goods. After a wane in business early this year, pirates have struck back. They presently hold more than a dozen vessels with about 260 hostages, of whom about 100 are Filipino. Eyl, Haradheere and other pirate havens along the Indian Ocean coastline have come back to life with the windfall of successful operations. Somalia's anarchy -- whose 18 years of civil war have given sea gangs assault rifles, grenade launchers and little central control -- has long been ignored by world powers. The saga over the capture of cargo ship captain Richard Phillips has thrown international attention on the long-running piracy phenomenon that has hiked up insurance costs on strategic waterways where warships now patrol. "Killing three out of thousands of pirates will only escalate piracy," said Sheikh Abdullahi Sheikh Abu Yusuf, spokesman of the moderate Islamist group Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca. Source : ShipTalk

The TIMBUS seen at the Westerscheldt River Photo : Richard Wisse - www.richard-photography.nl ©



CASUALTY REPORTING

Florida boat slams into tug; 5 killed, 7 injured Five people were killed and seven seriously injured when a 22-foot pleasure boat crashed into the rear of a docked tug boat near St. Augustine Sunday evening, authorities said. The crash happened at about 7 p.m. on the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Johns County near the Palm Valley Bridge, about 20 miles northwest of St. Augustine, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Joy Hill. Three of the injured were airlifted from the crash site and all seven were taken to area hospitals, she said. The Intracoastal Waterway runs along Florida's east coastline. Hill was not sure whether those on the Crownline boat were tossed into the water during the crash. She said it doesn't appear anyone was aboard the 25-foot tug boat, which is registered to F&A Enterprises in St. Augustine. The victims names have not been released. The boat was carrying 12 people, according to Jeremy Robshaw of the St. Johns County Fire and Rescue. He told The Florida Times-Union newspaper that three of those injured were in critical condition, with the others in stable condition. Robshaw said the pier was under construction and rescuers had to lay down planking before they could get to the crash victims. Herb Davis watched the rescue from the dock at his home down the street. "There was a lot of moaning," he told the newspaper. "It was very clear, this lady was screaming so loud," he said.

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India: Subsidy for shipbuilders in the offing The government is considering a new subsidy scheme for the ship-building industry to enable the sector to sustain its growth momentum. "The financing requirements of the ship-building industry needs to be reviewed in order to strengthen the industry," shipping secretary A P V N Sarma said here on Friday. The government had a subsidy scheme till August 2007, which entailed a 30 per cent ship building subsidy. While the government has yet to take a



view, most probably it will continue with the scheme, he said. Sarma was delivering the inaugural address at the first India International Maritime Logistics Expo 2009 being held at the World Trade Centre from April 10-12, 2009. Despite the current economic slowdown which has impacted the shipping industry, the government will go ahead with nearly 50 large projects which have been identified for the major ports with private partnership, he said. During 2008-09, the cargo handled by Indian ports witnessed a growth of 7 per cent as against 12 per cent in the previous year. Urging industry to invest in the shipping sector, Sarma said that the government has permitted up to 100 pe cent foreign investment in the shipping sector. This will open up greater avenues for investments in the shipping and ship building sector, he said. Referring to the country's coastal shipping and inland waterways, Sarma said that there was tremendous potential in the sector which remained untapped. Three more inland waterways projects have been announced by the government recently and the industry is aiming at augmenting traffic in inland waterways and coastal shipping in the coming years. Director general of shipping Lakshmi Venkatachalam said the directorate had already framed a draft coastal transport policy recognising coastal shipping as a dependable means of connectivity between ports. The draft policy aims at increasing the domestic cargo moved by coastal seaways to thrice its present size. Further, there is need to integrate ship-building and shipping services as an integral and concomitant part of the development of policy initiatives in other vital sectors in the economy - be it energy, defence production, agriculture and rural development, Venkatachalam said. Source: ENS

The TSHD CRESTWAY seen off Hoek van Holland with Teun Panter alongside Photo : Kees Bronkhorst ©

Turkey's shipbuilding takes 5th place in global ranking

Due to projects implemented by the Turkish ministry of transport in the last 4 years to increase shipyard capacity, Turkey’s worldwide market share in shipbuilding has risen from 0.9% to 1.4% making Turkey 5th in shipbuilding



behind Germany who occupies 4th place with a share of 3.6%. With these developments the Turkish ministry of transport’s bureau for maritime affairs has expanded its goals to become 4th by 2010. Mr Binali Yildirim Turkish minister of transport told Zaman’s Shipbuilding capacity has increased by an average of 65% in the last four years. The number of shipyards operating or about to start operating in Tuzla as well as in the Black Sea, Izmit Gulf, Yalova, in the Aegean or Mediterranean has reached 60. We used to build ships of up to 20,000 tonnes maximum but we are currently able to build ships of up to 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes. As per reports, Turkish shipbuilding capacity rose from 654,000 DWT to 1.4 million DWT since 2003 and the amount of sheet steel processed in shipyards has doubled. Maintenance and repair capacity have also seen a considerable increase. A million ton yearly capacity has been reached with the restructuring of some other shipyards. Source: Steel Guru

Cochin Shipyard to deliver 17 offshore orders by 2011

Cochin Shipyard Limited expects to deliver its orders of 17 offshore supply vessels and anchor handling tug supply vessels for the international owners by 2011. The report said that Cochin Shipyard aimed to deliver the orders for vessels on schedule despite the prevailing economic recession which has slackened the demand for vessels especially bulk carriers and tankers. Fleet owners worldwide were canceling orders, renegotiating orders or delaying construction schedules owing to lack of adequate funds, softening freight rates and falling prices of vessels. A company official told Business Standard that “Despite the economic downturn, CSL expects to deliver all its orders on schedule by 2011. The downturn has mainly impacted the bulker and

tanker segments of vessels and CSL exited both these segments in 2007.” Asked on the new orders bagged by the company, the official said that CSL is in the process of negotiations with its international customers for the new orders. The shipyard aims to tide over the prevailing economic downturn by building its core strengths and concentrating on emerging opportunities like coastal security, fishing, dredging and warship building. CSL has reached 100% capacity utilization in shipbuilding in the last few years and it plans to augment its capacity by adding a small ship division by October this year. This new facility would enable the shipyard to continue construction of commercial vessels along with the aircraft carrier project. Source: Business Standard

Three cruise ships in Victoria for refit Hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars are on their way into the Greater Victoria economy starting this month with a refit and upgrading of the first of three cruise ships. The Golden Princess arrives at the Graving Dock in Esquimalt on April 18 and leaves May 3, said Malcolm Barker, general manager of Victoria Shipyards. This is an "extremely large project," Barker said this week. "There will be a number of specialized contractors coming in from around the world." Victoria Shipyards' portion of the project will be worth from $5 million to $6 million, said Barker, who does not release exact values of contracts with the private sector. Work for local tradespeople puts money into the local economy and there are many more economic benefits coming from visiting workers and crew, whose spending activities include shopping, taking taxis, and visiting restaurants, clubs and spas. The ship's casino is changing decks and other work includes 30 more passenger cabins, he said. A total of 600 local shipyard workers will be dedicated to the Golden Princess. At least 600 sub-contractors will be flown here to work on the Princess Cruises' vessel, he said. The ship's 1,000 crew members will also be here, Barker said .



The subcontractors and crew will stay on the 951-foot-long ship, with capacity for 2,600 passengers, during its refit. It is common for cruise lines to use the same sub-contractors for vessel upgrades. Mivan, of Antrim, Northern Ireland, has announced it will be part of the Golden Princess project, saying it has secured a "significant contract to outfit the Golden Princess." This ship will be the fifth Princess vessel outfitted by Mivan in the past six months, said the company, which has done work for several of the world's leading cruise lines. The firm recently finished a similar job on the Caribbean Princess in Freeport, Bahamas, the company's website said. "The scope of works for both ships includes manufacture and installation of joinery for the Horizon Court [eating] area, waiter stations, crew IT training area, smoking area and a number of retail boutiques." The joinery is pre-fabricated at Antrim. Following the Golden Princess, Holland America's Amsterdam and then the Celebrity Millennium will be in for refit, also totalling millions of dollars worth of work. Barker would not be more specific about contract values. Work wraps up in late May. Each of those two refits will use 300 to 400 local shipyard workers, he said. Source : Canwest News Service

China Eximbank loads up support for shipbuilders

China Daily citing Mr Zhu Xinqiang bank vice president as saying that the Export-Import Bank of China, a policy bank led by the State Council, granted shipbuilding-related loans totaling CNY 102.46 billion and USD 7.45 billion through the end of 2008. The bank also issued bank guarantees of USD 20.3 billion which supported export of 2,698 vessels totaling 92.58 million deadweight tons. Not long ago, the bank granted credit of CNY 100 billion and CNY 60 billion respectively to China State Shipbuilding Corp and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, the country's two largest shipbuilders, to help them tackle the deteriorating shipbuilding industry worldwide. Mr Zhu said the bank plans to

offer new services to fund Chinese shipyards in research and development and mergers and acquisitions. The bank is also working on detailed clauses of financing policy as part of the stimulus package for the shipbuilding industry.Source: SteelGuru

Third 156,000-dwt Suezmax tanker laid down in China for Novoship

Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries (China) has laid down the keel of the third 156,000-dwt Suezmax tanker (of the series of 6 vessel) for Novoship OJSC. The vessels are being built within the framework of the company’s fleet renovation program. The vessel will be named NS Breeze, Nrnews.Ru reports. Metal cutting for the sixth tanker of the series started in the middle of March. The tanker is designed for crude transportation. Its length will be 274 m, breadth – 48 m, draft – 17 m, speed 15.1 knots. The construction is supervised by Lloyd's Register. The construction is to be completed by the end of this year. Besides, Novoship will get 4 more Aframax tankers for transportation of large batches of oil products. Novoship's fleet totals 55 modern vessels aggregating 3.7 million deadweight tonnes. . The tanker fleet is one of the youngest in the industry – the vessels are 9 years old on average. . At present there are 14 new vessels on order representing 1.4 million deadweight tonnes to be delivered by the end of 2010.



A newbuilding hull without a name seen in Shanghai Photo : Guido Fliek ©

Dung Quat shipyard wins many contracts The Dung Quat shipbuilding industry corporation has signed many other contracts with its domestic and foreign partners until 2010, apart from working on the 104,000-tonne ship for the Dung Quat oil refinery. Under the contracts, the corporation will build three 105,000-tonne ships for the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and twenty-two 54,000-tonne ships for the Ocean Transport Company and its foreign partners. As scheduled, the corporation will launch one 104,000-tonne ship by June 2009 and one 105,000-tonne ship by the end of this year. According to deputy general director Dinh Tien Dung, his corporation call up engineers from northern shipyards and train staff in order to fulfill the recently-signed contracts. It will also speed up infrastructure development, upgrade facilities, invest more in production and improve the professional skills of its staff in line with international standards. Source: VOV News

The SIRIUS I seen in drydock at the Scheldepoort in Flushing East Photo : Inge de Bue ©

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The OCEAN DREAM seen arriving in Willemstad (Curacao) Photo : Kees Bustraan ©

Shipping giant confirms cut in workforce A TOTAL of 41 compulsory redundancies have been made by Immingham-based shipping giant DFDS Tor Line as it comes to terms with falling volumes during the recession. This follows the announcement in January that 10 per cent of the workforce could be cut as the firm deals with the impact on key cargoes such as cars, construction materials and steel. Managing director Jens Nielsen yesterday confirmed the figure of 41 was reached as a result of a number of voluntary redundancies and a period of not replacing those who left the 700-strong workforce, adding that good dialogue with the union aided the consultation period. Recent months have seen Corus hit a 50-year low for steel production, and sales of new cars down more than 11 per cent year on year. Mr Nielsen said: "We are not in a position where we can see there are too many positives in the market place at the moment. "March has been a busier month than January and February, so there are signs it is getting slightly better, but it is very early days." The issue of increased and backdated port rates, which Mr Nielsen attributed 25 per cent of the job losses to, remains unresolved, and he is confident something can be done as political and legal challenges continue. It comes despite renewed vows from Local Government Minister John Healey in the Commons this week that the Treasury will not back down. He said: "We are still continuing with the lobbying. "We still remain positive that there will be some movement from the Government on this matter.



"We appreciate that Mr Healey appears to seems to have dug his heels in but there will be other people in Government more likely to listen than he appears to be. "We never expected it to be a short campaign or an easy campaign, it is a long campaign and we are continuing." As reported, delays in changes to the way business rates are collected on the ports have led to back-dated rates issued from April 2005. DFDS alone faces a £3-million demand based on the 175-acre facility at Immingham. Source : thisisgrimsby

Shanghai International Port (Group) Co postpones Belgian port acquisition

Shanghai International Port (Group) Co has postponed its stake purchase in a Belgium terminal from A.P. Moeller-Maersk Group and expects slower container throughput growth this year as a slowdown hits global trade, a company executive told Reuters on Monday. Shanghai port, China's biggest port operator, signed a framework agreement in September 2006 to buy 40 percent of a container terminal in Zeebrugge, which was built by APM Terminals, part of A.P. Moeller-Maersk. It marked SIPG's first overseas foray, having snaffled many stakes in its hinterland along the Yangtze river. "We have decided to put the project on hold as the outlook in global container traffic is very different from two years ago," Jiang Haitao, the company's board secretary, told Reuters. "But we have not shelved the project." Jiang clarified a report by the China Securities Journal which said the Chinese port operator had completed the stake purchase in 2006 but was only delaying cooperation in running the terminal. "It's not accurate. If we had bought the stake, we should have been jointly running the Belgium port already," he said. Container throughput at Shanghai port is expected to grow to 29m teuin 2009, up 3.6 percent from a year earlier, slowing from a 7 percent increase in 2008, Jiang added. Last year, the port's net profit jumped 26.9 percent to 4.62 billion yuan ($676 million) on a 13.8 percent rise in revenue. Source: seatradeasia-online

Above seen the Panama registered bulk carrier Belle Masuka loading logs at Port Chalmers , NZ. for Inchon. The vessel has a gross tonnage of 17979 and was built in 2008.

Photo : Ross Walker ©



The TAURUS seen enroute Rotterdam Photo : Hans Hoffmann ©

Shippers face higher insurance as pirates run amok

Shipping your oil across the Gulf of Aden? Don't forget your piracy insurance. As a ragtag group of gunmen face off against the U.S. Navy near the coast of Somalia, industry-watchers say shipping companies already smarting from the global downturn are forced to pony up extra cash for steeper premiums to cover multimillion dollar ransoms or take the long way around African continent in the hope of dodging hijackers. "The pirates were the only people who had a good year in 2008," said Crispian Cuss, a security consultant with the Dubai-based Olive Group. The Gulf of Aden, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, is one of the busiest and most dangerous waterways in the world. As pirates have become more aggressive, the cost of insuring ships has gone up. Some companies are spending more time training their crews, others are avoiding the area altogether -- taking long trips around the Africa's southern tip that can potentially add millions to the cost of each journey. While the coast of Somalia has been a problem for years, it was flagged in May as an area of particular concern by Lloyd's Market Association, and premiums have been rising -- at least tenfold, according to some media reports. Neil Smith, the senior manager for underwriting for Lloyd's Market Association, has said the exact figures are commercially sensitive in a highly competitive industry. Large ships generally carry three separate types of insurance. Marine -- or hull -- insurance covers physical risks, such as grounding or damage from heavy seas. A second type of policy, protection and indemnity, covers crew issues, while war risk insurance covers acts of war, insurgency, and terrorism.



Although war risk policies typically cover hijackings and piracy, insurers often charge extra for ships that venture into high risk areas such as the Gulf of Aden. Others, including Chicago-based Aon Corp. and London's International Security Solutions Ltd., have recently launched new plans specifically tailored to cover losses incurred by piracy -- for example by including ransoms and cargo delays under the same policy. The other option available to ship operators, taking the long way around Africa's Cape of Good Hope instead of the short cut through the Suez Canal, is also expensive. Routing a tanker from Saudi Arabia to the United States through the Cape of Good Hope, for example, would add 2,700 miles to the voyage and boost annual fuel costs by about $3.5 million, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration. In addition, it said using that route would mean the ship could make only five round trips a year instead of six, cutting delivery capacity by 26 percent. European economies stand to absorb most of any extra expense. The Maritime Administration says more than 80 percent of trade moving through the gulf is with Europe. While some shipping companies, such the world's largest, Maersk, have decided to take their oil tankers around the Cape of Good Hope, others have been reluctant to shoulder the extra expense, according to Graeme-Gibbon Brooks, the managing director of Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service, based in the English port city of Southampton. "We have had a couple of phone calls from people saying: 'It might well be safer to go around the Cape of Good Hope, but our competitors are not doing it,'" Brooks said. "The problem with any diversion, be it through the south of the cape or elsewhere, is that it's going to have a commercial impact which will ultimately be borne by the consumer." But one analyst said the global downturn may be making the southern route more attractive. "Because there are so many vessels plying the seas right now, it makes sense to take the leisurely way around Africa. ... You're removing capacity from the industry and helping to put upward pressure on freight rates," said Jim Wilson, the Middle East correspondent for Fairplay International Shipping Weekly magazine. As a result, demand for fuel on the West coast of Africa has surged as more ships coming from the east need to refuel after circling the cape, he said. At the same time, Egypt's revenues from Suez traffic are down sharply from last year. The pirate attacks have begun to spook some mariners. Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia, noted that the crew of one ship recently refused to travel from Mombasa, Kenya, to South Africa for fear of being attacked. Still, as security consultant David Johnson noted, taking the long way around to avoid the Somali coast doesn't guarantee safety from pirates. The Saudi supertanker Sirius Star was captured by pirates six months ago while deep in the Indian Ocean, far from the pirates' traditional hunting ground. "Whichever way you go you're going to run into pirate hotspots somewhere down the line," said Johnson, the director of U.K.-based EOS Risk Management. Insurance companies have also taken note of the pirates' increased range: "Until recently, insurers regarded vessels as being relatively safe if they kept a reasonable distance from the Somali coast," said Smith, the manager at Lloyd's Market Association. Writing in the February-March issue of Cargo Security International, he said the situation had now changed. The latest pirate attacks come at a particularly challenging time for the shipping industry. Dubai-based DP World, one of the world's biggest port operators, warned last month that a falloff in global trade that began late last year "shows little sign of easing" because of the global recession. Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. recently predicted cargo container shipments globally will drop 4.5 percent this year following decades of constant growth. Source: Associated Press



The HAPPY BUCCANEER seen moored in Batu Ampar ( Batam island) Indonesia Photo : Piet Sinke ©

Commercial Port of Vladivostok to have EUR 5 mln tug boat built at Damen shipyard (Netherlands)

One of the shipyards of the Dutch Damen will lay down a tug boat for Commercial Port of Vladivostok in May 2009, Vitali Sever, Financial Director of Commercial Port of Vladivostok says. According to the source, the vessel will cost some EUR 5 mln. Ice-class tugboat model 2509 and engines with total capacity of 3,000 h/p will be put into operation in late 2010. The tug boat is to be built within the framework of the company’s program aimed at renovation of production facilities. To finance the project Commercial Port of Vladivostok uses both its own and resources and loans, the company says. Some EUR 35 mln was invested in berth modernization, repair and renovation of utilities as well as purchase of production and handling during last 2 years. Commercial Port of Vladivostok OJSC owns and operates the property complex of the port of Vladivostok, one of Russia’s largest ports in the Far East. Commercial Port of Vladivostok operates 17 berths including container, passenger, motor car specialized berths. Commercial Port of Vladivostok is a part of FESCO Transport Group. In 2008, the company handled 5.914.8 million tonnes of cargo.



The Vietnamese tanker Dai Minh seen arriving 10.04.09 at Lyttelton, New Zealand. While in port the vessel discharged petroleum product from Singapore. It is believed that this is the first time a ship flying the Vietnamese flag

has visited Lyttelton. Photo : Alan Calvert ©

Airline, cruise firms to lift RP tourism Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said the bullish transport sector in the Philippines would play a key role in boosting the arrival of tourists in the country this year. Durano cited the expansion activities of airlines, including those of Philippine Airlines of tobacco and airline magnate Lucio Tan, John Gokongwei’s Cebu Pacific, and the entry of Europe’s leading cruise company. “We are confident that despite the challenges, we can expect a big volume of arrivals this year, as already indicated by initial reports of our partner stakeholders in the transport sector,” he said. Philippine Airlines opened additional flights to local summer destinations led by Boracay and Busuanga and international routes such as Vancouver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Cebu Pacific, meanwhile,registered a 28 percent growth in passenger volume to 1.97 million in the first three months of the year. Durano added that Costa Cruises of Europe had announced the launch of its new ship plying the Philippine route. Costa Cruises recently launched Costa Classica to double its trips to the Far East. Costa Classica will make calls on the port of Manila in October, seeking to increase its scheduled visits to the country by 43 percent. Durano said Holland America Line also met with him recently to discuss the MS Volendam’s itinerary in the Philippines this month. “We are exploring proposals with MS Volendam to augment the frequency of their trips to the country, as they carry European tourists mostly from the high-spending segment,” said Durano. The Tourism Department expects foreign tourist arrivals to stay this year due to the global economic meltdown. “The growth outlook for 2009 will continue to be weighed down by the contraction of outbound travel in key source markets. A zero to 1.9 percent growth for 2009 is likely, largely depending on the recovery of source markets,” the department said. Foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines last year inched up 1.5 percent to 3.14 million with its top traditional markets declining. Source : manilastandardtoday

PRISCO gas carrier with Sakhalin LNG leaves Prigorodnoye port for Great Britain



Supply of Sakhalin LNG to Great Britain has started from Prigorodnoye port. PRISCO’s Grand Mereya gas carrier has left the island’s southern port, Harbor Master service reports. Great Britain is the third country to accept Sakhalin LNG. LNG shipment from Prigorodnoye started on March 29. The first country to buy Sakhalin gas was Japan, then Korea. The capacity of Sakhalin LNG plant is 9.6 million tonnes of gas per year.

Launching of the Forth Bridge rescue craft Photo : John Forsyth ©

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StatoilHydro receives consent to use mobile facility Mærsk Inspirer on Volve field

The consent is for the drilling and completion of pilot wells 15/9 F-10 and 15/9-F-10A, as well as production well 15/9-F-10 B. The consent is an extension of the previous consent granted 23 January 2007. In April 2005, Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for Volve was approved by the Prince Regent in Council. The Volve oil field is located 200 kilometers to the west of Stavanger. There are several gas and condensate fields in the area around Volve. None of these fields have an infrastructure which would make it practical to phase in Volve. As a result, Volve was planned as an stand-alone development.



The development concept for Volve includes the use of the jackup drilling and production facility Mærsk Inspirer and a storage facility (Navion Saga) for the storage of stabilized oil. Source: PTIL

SAS Pipelay sytem for a CNOOC pipelay barge seen on transport from Gouda to Rotterdam Photo : Wim van Santen ©

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Above seen the Munsterland which is serving for AG Ems the route between the Eemshaven and the German island of Borkum

Photo : Johan Wiersema ©



…. PHOTO OF THE DAY …..

The POSH Giant I leaving Lampung, Indonesia with a load of 3 Panamax Container Gantry Cranes for Port of Chennai, India

Photo : POSH Semco ©

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