Weekly Edition 13th of August 2009

High priority Nato in piracy pledge

 

Russian ‘hijacked’ crew may have been coerced No success yet in contacting owner of Arctic Sea, says

THE crew of a Russian general cargoship at the centre of hijacking speculation may have been acting under duress when the vessel reported to the British coastguard late last month, a spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency speculated yesterday.

ANL, Toll go strait together

THE TASMANIAN Government responded with all the optimism of Dr Pangloss last week to the news that ANL had joined forces on Bass Strait with Toll.

Flooded tank delays Botany departure

THE GOLDEN Georgia was unable to make her scheduled departure from Port Botany earlier this week as the 16,337 dwt chemical tanker underwent repairs to a flooded tank.

Port exclusion zone lifted

EMERGENCY services personnel have been unable to find evidence of a gas leak which caused the shutdown of a small area of the port of Brisbane on Tuesday.

Kilgariff to head ALC as Morris goes to CILTA

GAS industry lobbyist Michael Kilgariff is to take over as Australian Logistics Council (ALC) chief executive, with the incumbent, Hal Morris, taking the corresponding role at the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Australia (CILTA).

Australia to take bunker spill concerns to IMO

Australia was seeking international support to raise shipowner liability limits in the event of bunker spills, in a process that would start in two months, a spokeswoman for Federal transport minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed.

Search is on for head of CSIRO vessel project

A PROJECT director for a new generation marine research ship would likely be appointed as soon as September, CSIRO has said.

Spirit of Tasmania I returns

 

Rigid truck fatalities increase ‘unacceptable’

THE AUSTRALIAN Trucking Association has urged heavy rigid truck operators to upgrade their safety procedures as truck fatalities continue to increase.

ACCC set to review POTA-MCS deal

THE COMPETITION watchdog is reviewing the P&O Trans Australia (POTA) acquisition of transport group Maritime Container Services (MCS).

National rail reform lagging – ARA chief

AUSTRALIA was not meeting the challenges of rail regulation and operation quickly enough, Australasian Railway Association chief executive Bryan Nye has told a Melbourne conference.

Sea SA bucks the trend with revenue increase

SEA SA has defied the economic downturn posting an 11% rise in revenue, the Spencer Gulf ro-ro company has revealed.

Farmers seek better deal from rail

NEW South Wales farmers will ramp up pressure on the state government to give greater attention to rail transport for freight and produce.

Queensland shows willingness to keep cattle moving on trains

THE QUEENSLAND livestock industry’s battle to save cattle haulage by rail continued last week, with Agforce welcoming state transport minister Rachel Nolan’s move to allay concern that QR would ditch the services.

Hay Point back in business after protest

COAL loading at the Hay Point Coal Terminal, south of Mackay, resumed last Friday after a group of Greenpeace activists ended their two-day protest.

WA clears path for $50bn Gorgon LNG project

THE CHEVRON-led Gorgon liquefied natural gas project has won regulatory approval from the Western Australian Government subject to strict emission controls and fauna protection.

Rail fears stalk grain crop

THE NEW South Wales Farmers Association warns that the state’s existing grain transport system will be unable to move any substantial increases in grain output in the future.

Grain traders pressed on port access

WITH their export accreditation at risk, agribusinesses with port terminals acted swiftly last week to reassure the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that they took their access responsibilities seriously.

Gas trucks powering to reality in Tasmania

BOC WAS in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply discussions with major and mid-range mainland trucking firms with a view to creating deals similar to the one it has in Tasmania, the Linde Group subsidiary has confirmed.

Bank denies pledge to Burmese crew

THE firm representing a Japanese bank that arrested a reefership in Auckland has denied giving maritime unions an assurance that it would pay outstanding wages owed to the vessel’s 23 Burmese crew members.

Southampton terminal boss heading home

DP WORLD Southampton managing director Campbell Mason will leave the terminal operator at the end of the year and return to Australia.

Tasports complex opened

 

Botany’s US pricing model losing money

US WEST coast container terminal operators will keep their PierPass fee at the same level, despite losing money on the scheme which has since been used as a model for a proposed peak pricing scheme at Sydney’s Port Botany.

Reform will boost rail productivity, says the NTC

THE SEARCH for a rationalised and integrated transport system took another step forward, with the National Transport Commission (NTC) unveiling its Freight Rail Productivity Review findings last week.

Mermaid sets sights on oil, gas market with Vision

MERMAID Marine Australia (MMA) has taken delivery of a new anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel.

Survey finds transport jobs still going down

THE OLIVIER Job Index report for July showed continuing tough times in the transport labour market.

Cautious approach pays off

STOCKHOLM-based NYKCool has been relatively cautious in recent times as far as tonnage acquisition is concerned and the company seems likely to continue with its ‘wait and see’ strategy for a while longer.

Box rivals force rates issue

Downturn has been exacerbated by a shortage of squid cargoes from the Falklands and the South Atlantic, writes Clive Woodbridge

Hamburg Süd takes solace from reefer operations as dry bulk sector is hit hard

AS WITH all container carriers, Germany’s Hamburg Süd is facing difficult challenges in all market segments at the present time.

Investment pays for CMA CGM

FRENCH carrier CMA CGM has strengthened its position as one of the world’s leading reefer container operators, following a program of investment in new equipment that was undertaken in 2007/08.

Hapag-Lloyd to vote on state aid

THE SUPERVISORY board of Hapag-Lloyd was to decide this week whether to apply for government aid for the ailing container line.

Maersk pulls plug on struggling yard

ODENSE Steel Shipyard will cease all shipbuilding activity when its current orderbook of 14 vessels is completed.

Foreclosures ‘set to rise’

BANKS are expected to foreclose on more shipping industry loans towards the end of the year as breaches of loan covenants become ubiquitous across the industry.

QR feels the heat from private sector coming on down the line

Despite current conditions, the race is on to win customers as new coal projects come into production and the infrastructure and rolling stock must be put into place to cope with it

Opponents train sights on route of ARTC’s inland rail vision

THE AUSTRALIAN Rail Track Corporation’s (ARTC) first stage release of its Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail Alignment Study has met with opposition from industry and local councils, with opponents labelling the proposed rail alignment a “cheap and nasty” option.

Hanjin dips to second quarter loss

DOWNWARD pressure on freight rates in transpacific trade, on which Hanjin is highly reliant, was the main contributing factor in the company’s net loss of Won399.2bn (US$325m) in the second quarter.

Car market has bottomed out –Wilhelmsen

THE CAR carrier market has bottomed out, according to one shipowner. The message from the first-half and second-quarter results from Norwegian owner Wilh.

Loss is first for decade

OOIL reported a US$231m loss in the first six months of the year as container liftings fell 17.2% and revenue per container slumped 24.1%.

K Line presses on with newbuilding projects

JAPANESE operator K Line is taking delivery of seven car carrier newbuildings this year, the majority of which have already entered service.

Höegh turning to emerging markets

A KEY aim of the Norwegian vehicle carrier operator Höegh Autoliners is to target emerging markets with growth potential.

Yards in steel backdown

 

Chase for Indian exports

 

Volatility forecast with end of ore price system

THE 40-year benchmark pricing system that underpins sales of iron ore shipments – a key driver of bulk carrier freight rates –is “not sustainable”, according to investment bank Barclays Capital.

LNG freight sector may be over worst

OVERCAPACITY and low freight rates will lead to independent shipowners abandoning liquefied natural gas shipping, hindering the further development of the spot and short-term market, a leading energy research and consultancy firm warns.

Steel recovery to revive idle coking coal mines

ABOUT 20% of global coking coal capacity idled in late 2008 is expected to come back online over the next year as steel production recovers.

Nasser next to take helm at BHP Billiton

 

Dry bulk difficulties far from over, says Diana

 

Smit scotches Boskalis bid talk as profits rise

SMIT has confirmed it has not received a further approach from former suitor Royal Boskalis Westminster, as it reported a solid first-half result.

Hidden agendas lurk behind Navfor anti-piracy operation

DID you know the European Union is not actually in charge of the protection of merchant vessels sailing through the Gulf of Aden?

Seaspan refuses help

CONTAINERSHIP owner Seaspan is refusing to bow to pressure from either Hapag- Lloyd or CSAV to renegotiate charter contract terms, instead telling it has told its customers to meet their obligations rather than expect to be bailed out by others.

Containership market cheered as small tonnage begins to rally

A CONTAINERSHIP market devoid of any positive news for the past year is taking heart from some recent fixtures that suggest the worst could be over for small tonnage.

Number of idle boxships edges higher

AFTER several weeks of inactivity, the 11,400 teu CMA CGM Libra appears to be on the move and about to enter service for the first time since she was delivered to the French line earlier this year.

MSC levies box surcharge

A SHORTAGE of containers in parts of northern Europe has persuaded Mediterranean Shipping Co to levy an emergency surcharge to cover the cost of repositioning equipment.

Chinese ports get back on double-digit growth

CHINA’s major ports saw double-digit growth in throughput in July, the first such figures since last September.

Personal approach to diamond deliveries

THE MOST unusual link in the diamond logistics chain takes place on foot. Antwerp-based wholesalers send their produce for documentation clearance in bags carried by employees.

Who gets hurt? Sydney Ports’ conundrum

SYDNEY Ports Corporation has come a long way from the days when it had neither the reputation for nor the power to involve itself in day-to-day landside logistics.

Anger at Hansa Stavanger ransom deal

GERMAN politicians have criticised the payment of a ransom to Somali pirates to effect the release of containership Hansa Stavanger.

Peru steps up security after cruiseship robbery

AQUA Expeditions chief executive Francesco Galli Zugaro was holding talks with senior government officials in Peru last week after an armed robbery on board Amazon cruiseship Aqua on August 4.

Master charged for not telling full story

THE CHINESE master of the 26,800 dwt bulk carrier Full City, aground off southern Norway, has been charged with not reporting the situation his vessel faced.

MSC Jessica demolition fire kills six in India

A FIRE aboard the MSC Jessica, a frequent former visitor to Australian ports, has killed six demolition workers on the Indian ship-scrapping beaches of Alang.

Reefership arrested in Auckland

A JAPANESE bank has arrested a ship in Auckland that is associated with bankrupt New York-based shipping company Eastwind Maritime.

Tonga ferry death toll could rise to more than 60

Rescue mission: the ferry Pulupaki arrives with survivors at Pangai on Tonga’s Lifuka Island after the Princess Ashika sank last Wednesday.

South Korean navy thwarts pirate attack

SOUTH Korean naval forces seized and then released suspected pirates off the Somali coast, following a distress signal from a Bahamas-flagged vessel.

Casualty Briefs - 13th August 2009