Weekly Edition 23rd December 2009

Suspected pirates held, but no one wants to prosecute

THE NETHERLANDS has released 13 suspected Somali pirates held on a Dutch warship, on the grounds that no country was willing to prosecute them.

Hijacked ship’s master is axed

THE GERMAN master of the Hansa Stavanger, which was in the hands of pirates for several months earlier this year, has been made redundant by shipowner Leonhardt & Blumberg.

AP Death toll mounts as livestock carrier sinks

RESCUED: Red Cross workers evacuate a man who was pulled from the water after the Danny F.II sank 11 miles off the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli last Thursday.

Casualty Briefs - 23rd December 2009

 

Hutchison to berth

HUTCHISON Port Holdings says there is more than enough room for a third major stevedore in Australia, with volumes expected to be “more than booming” by the time its Brisbane and Sydney operations come online.

New year resolution: rate rises all round

CARRIERS appear to be trying to maintain peak import season momentum with new year rate rises in a number of trades.

IMO still carrying the ball after Copenhagen

THE INTERNATIONAL Maritime Organization (IMO) looks likely to control the shipping industry’s emissions reduction strategy for 12 months at least after climate-change negotiations ended at Copenhagen on Friday.

Santos hearing adjourned

THE FIVE-day committal hearing for Pacific Adventurer master Bernardino Gonzales Santos has been postponed by two months, a Swire spokeswoman has confirmed.

Protesters disrupt Newcastle coal exports

COAL exports from the port of Newcastle were disrupted for six hours on Sunday when protesters blocked access to the Kooragang Coal Terminal. Twenty-three people will appear in Newcastle Local Court next month after being arrested and charged with a range of offences. The group was protesting what it saw as a failure to reach a legally-binding agreement at the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen.

Australia and Denmark disagree on crew fatigue

THE DANISH Maritime Authority has rejected an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) assertion that a six-hours-on/six-hours-off crew roster could lead to dangerous seafarer fatigue, an ATSB fatality report released last week reveals.

Now coastal shipping hits industrial relations squall

JULIA Gillard’s push to have international ships engaged in coastal trade subject to Australian workplace conditions appears to have hit the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) speed bump.

Swire takes strategic control of Consort

THE SWIRE Group has taken majority control of Papua New Guinea’s Consort Express Line after buying half of Lutheran Shipping’s shares.

Jebsens wins WA coastal contract

NORWEGIAN shipping company Jebsens is looking for suitable tonnage to work the Western Australian coastal run after winning the tender vacated by Sea Corporation (Seacorp).

Coastal shipping moves subject to further delay: draws frustration

AUSTRALIAN shipowners have aired their concern at the pace of shipping policy reform, given that the Federal Government has further delayed its long-awaited response to a key report on coastal shipping in Australia.

More offshore strikes as politicians join the fray

THE MARITIME Union of Australia (MUA) national secretary, Paddy Crumlin, has defended the union’s industrial action in the oil and gas sector, as a four-day strike targeted Total Marine Services (TMS) over the weekend.

Asciano debt deal clears decks for new strategies

ASCIANO has paid off debt due in May and will have no further repayments for 30 months, the rail and ports firm said this week after a deal with its banks.

IATA sees positive signs after aviation horror decade ends

THE INTERNATIONAL aviation industry is expected to record a US$5.6bn net loss next year, but the news for the Asia-Pacific region is upbeat.

Newest Australian ro-ro operator locks in Chrysler

THE NORTH American Pacific Asia (NAPA) service, owned jointly by Melbourne firm Praxis Logistics and Norway’s Partner Shipping, has cemented its relationship with the Chrysler Group in a deal to carry vehicles to Pacific Rim destinations, Praxis said last week.

Brazil trades up to her potential

IS IT now officially the “age” of Brazil, with the charismatic and populous South American nation picking up the rights to host both the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and of course the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016?

Protection racket

HAS there ever been a case that justified state intervention of the sort which containership operators fast running out of options are now demanding? And perhaps more importantly, has there ever been a case where such an intervention did not produce many more problems than it ever solved in the long run?

Longest bridge will reforge Hong Kong supply chains

DEVELOPMENT of the world’s longest sea crossing, a Yuan73bn (US$10.7bn) bridge and tunnel link across the Pearl River delta that will connect Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai, is set to change the dynamics of the region’s logistics sector, observers believe.

Carnival predicts a flat year

CARNIVAL was projecting flat profit trends for fiscal 2010, after reporting a halving of fourth-quarter profits for this year amid what chairman and chief executive Micky Arison described as the “most challenging economic environment in the company’s history”.

MOL issues seven-year bonds to repay loans

MITSUI OSK Lines has completed a ¥20bn (US$221.5m) bond issue in Japan. The seven-year unsecured bond carries a coupon of 1.1% with an AA- rating from the Japan Credit Rating Agency.

Copenhagen turns its gaze on new taxes for shipping

THE SHIPPING industry’s worst fears appeared to be coming true as high-level support for a multi-billion dollar global tax on shipping and aviation fuel outside of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) control was growing at the Copenhagen climate change talks.

Yemen Navy protection – at a price

THERE is one way to repel Somali pirates: hire the Yemen Navy. UK-based Gulf of Aden Group Transits has an exclusive commercial contract with the Yemen Navy, underscoring to international shipowners that anti-piracy protection comes at a price.

Farewell to world’s largest as she heads for scrap yard

THE WORLD’S largest ship, Knock Nevis, is heading for demolition in India four weeks after her former owner, Norway’s Fred.Olsen Production, said she had been sold for floating crude storage.

High oil prices will help green push, says Maersk

AP MOLLER-Maersk chief executive Nils Andersen has welcomed an eventual hike in fuel prices as a result of ongoing climate talks.

Los Angeles cuts port rent in a bid to help box tenants

THE PORT of Los Angeles has unveiled a 6% discount on the rent it charges its container terminal operators, as part of a relief package that is projected to save the tenants US$26m next year.

Hapag-Lloyd hits the ‘bottom’

GERMAN container line Hapag-Lloyd reported an operating loss of €675m (US$982m) in the first nine months of this year, but may not need to use government guarantees to back its loans should markets recover next year

China Cosco issues new profit warning

CHINA Cosco Holdings, the listed arm of China’s largest shipping company China Ocean Shipping (Group), could post a full-year net loss of around Yuan5bn (US$735m).

CMA CGM buys time with US$500m credit line

FAMILY-owned CMA CGM has finally bowed to pressure from banks by agreeing to appoint a new chief executive and bring in outsiders to its board as part of an interim rescue package that will protect cashflow while debt restructuring talks continue next year.

Chevron to target deepwater and LNG projects worldwide

DEEPWATER oil developments and liquefied natural gas projects will dominate US oil major Chevron’s upstream spending next year as it strives to increase oil and gas production during the next decade.

Boost for Hancock’s Galilee coal project

QUEENSLAND will declare the coal rail corridor from Alpha and Kevin’s Corner to Abbot Point an infrastructure facility of significance, the state government announced last week.

K Line in for the long haul with Rio Tinto deals

JAPAN’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha has inked its first ever long-term charter agreements with Australian mining giant Rio Tinto with two deals that brokers said could be worth around US$186m for the combined life of the charters.

QR locks in $2bn Xstrata haulage contract

QR WILL haul coal from Xstrata’s Newlands, Collinsville, Oaky Creek and Rolleston mines in Queensland as part of a $2bn contract announced last week.

New Western Australian gas find near Gorgon

CHEVRON has found another large gas field off Western Australia to tie into the Gorgon liquefied natural gas project. The California-based company discovered 130metres of net gas pay in the Satyr structure it drilled into using the Ensco 7500 semi-submersible rig.

OOCL sees trade growth in 2010

BOX CARRIER Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) was set to scale back its program of redelivering chartered-in tonnage next year in the face of renewed growth in container volumes.

Right time for containership investment

NOW could be a good time to consider investing in containerships despite the poor state of the liner and boxship charter markets, according to chief executive of DVB Bank’s shipping division Dagfinn Lunde.

Vale John Spiers:  Editor and transport advocate

JOHN SPIERS, the former Daily Commercial News editor who died last week after a long battle with cancer, will be remembered for a lifelong fascination with transport in all its forms.

Cruising into local market with style

ROYAL Caribbean Cruises Australia (RCCA) took a little time out to celebrate its first birthday this month.