Weekly Edition 2nd of July 2009

Operation Atalanta halves risk of Somalia hijacking

THE EU’s anti-piracy mission has more than halved the risk of hijacking off Somalia, according to the European Commission, though Brussels is still struggling to place armed teams on board as permission is not granted by vessels’ flag states.

Pirates rob Sigloo Discovery in South China Sea

PIRATES attacked a Singapore-registered liquefied petroleum gas carrier in the South China Sea at the weekend, robbing the crew.

New piracy warning for South China Sea

Shipping told to beware after three attacks in one week

Somali ransom sums set to soar

Record $3m payout at this week points to increasing demands

Nato must toughen up for piracy fight

From CR Kelso

Flag state obstacle to anti-piracy protection

Belgian owner unable to arm vessel on Luxembourg register

Change of tack Somalia aid plan needed

THE international community will not be able to stem the growing problem of piracy because it has no practical plan beyond existing naval patrols, an anti-piracy envoy of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government has told Lloyd’s List, writes Richard Meade.

Security firms deny collusion over ransoms

Steadily rising ransom demands for ships hijacked off Somalia have sparked a round of finger pointing within the security community

US House passes piracy amendment

AN AMENDMENT that requires the US Department of Defence to provide military personnel on US-flag ships carrying government cargoes through piracy-prone waters has passed the US House of Representatives.

Lessons of Viking Islay deaths go unheeded

MANY seafarers continue to lose their lives working in enclosed spaces, despite the lessons learned from the three fatalities in the Viking Islay incident almost two years ago, Nautilus International has revealed.

Giorgi urges unity after Hebei Two case

THE SHIPPING industry must use the momentum generated by the return to India of the Hebei Two to push through meaningful reform of seafarers’ rights in the case of casualties, V.Ships president Roberto Giorgi said last week.

Sulpicio Lines faces criminal charges over Princess of the Stars sinking

Princess of the Stars: more than 700 passengers and crew died after the 24-year-old vessel capsized during a typhoon last June.

Casualty Briefs - 2nd July 2009

 

ACCC parks ports case

THE CURIOUS and controversial case of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) legal action over the formation of Australian Amalgamated Terminals (AAT) looks soon to be resolved.

Sky is the limit for container automation in Brisbane

WORLD CLASS: Patrick showcases one of its new automated straddles introduced as part of its $125m AutoStrad facility at Brisbane’s Berth 10. The 39 ha facility, said to be the world’s first fully-automated marine container terminal, has 900 metres of quay length and will have capacity for 800,000 teu a year.

ABB lends Adelaide Brighton a helping hand

ABB Grain has stepped in to help Adelaide Brighton Cement maintain continuity of limestone shipments from its Yorke Peninsula mine.

Trucking tension building

TRANSPORT Certification Australia (TCA) has sought to rebut comments by road haulage peak bodies highlighting weaknesses in the implementation of intelligent access in New South Wales and Queensland.

Truce called as WA grain goes back onto rail with cash pledge

AUSTRALIA’S biggest grain handler, CBH Group, is relieved that it can put its grain back on Western Australia’s rail network after the reopening of four lines suspended by WestNet Rail on June 15.

Toll marching forward with big contract and acquisitions

TOLL sealed a three-year, $180m logistics deal with Chevron Australia to manage the Barrow Island supply base and logistics services operation for the Gorgon Project, the acquisitive logistics firm revealed this week. The Greater Gorgon gas fields are Australia’s largest-known gas resource and contain about 40trn cu ft of gas.

ANL’s arresting move on partner’s vessels

ANL Container Line’s Singapore subsidiary has taken the unusual step of arresting two ships owned by its AAX consortium partner, PT Djakarta Lloyd (Persero), over unpaid slot charter bills.

Energy agency slashes oil forecast

THE International Energy Agency has slashed its forecast for global oil demand growth because of the worldwide economic recession.

Woodchip exporters happy with benchmark price

AUSTRALIAN woodchip exporters have sealed a benchmark price with Japan at the current rate, ITC Limited chief executive Vince Erasmus said this week.

Local insurers wary of financial flu

PROVIDERS of Australian marine insurance have their work cut out in the next six months as they look to minimise the impact of the global financial crisis, according to Associated Marine Insurance Agents, a unit of Zurich Financial Services.

WA port mergers off despite political barbs

WESTERN Australia put the mooted super-port authority for the Pilbara firmly on the back burner last week – but did not reject it outright.

Norton Rose and Deacons Australia agree to merge

INTERNATIONAL law firm Norton Rose has announced it will join forces with Deacons Australia in a major move to boost its position in the Asia Pacific region.

Coal trucks to get full access to Port Kembla

TRUCKS are now free to move coal and bulk goods to Port Kembla Coal Terminal 24-hours a day, seven-days a week after the New South Wales Government removed a 27-year-old curfew.

Tasmanian rail freight back on track

TASMANIA’S north-south rail line opened to freight last week with the completion of track repairs following a May derailment in the Rhyndaston area.

Asia’s thermal coal demand falls for first time in a decade

ASIAN demand for imported thermal coal will wane for the first time in 10 years on reduced power consumption in key importing nations, an Australian government forecast has shown.

Iron ore, grain exports tipped for big increase

IRON ORE exports are poised to rise as miners such as Fortescue Metal Group ramp up their production, according to the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE) June quarter commodities report.

Half Qantas 787 fleet slashed

QANTAS has denied any connection between design flaws and delays to Boeing’s 787 and its decision last week to postpone or cancel delivery of almost half its original order of the new aircraft.

Piecing together the European ports puzzle

European port operators cannot agree whether the economic crisis is bottoming out. Meanwhile, many fear the way southern Europe is lagging the north in terminal development, writes ANDREW SPURRIER

Brussels wants own Rotterdam Rules

THE BITTER industry dogfight over the yet-to-be ratified Rotterdam Rules has taken another twist, with a senior European Commission official saying Brussels will push ahead with an equivalent liability regime.

Ransoms set to soar

RANSOM payments for ships hijacked off Somalia have hit a new high of US$3m, and prices are expected to continue rising as third-party agents acting on behalf of both shipowners and pirate gangs manipulate negotiations.

Typhoon fears for lay ups

THE LARGE number of ships laid up in storm-exposed areas across Asia are “zip code” insurance risks, the London market has warned.

There is no second chance for Australian coastal trade

IF ONE thing is certain in an uncertain maritime world, it is that the Australian scene will change irrevocably once federal transport minister Anthony Albanese officially responds to this year’s coastal shipping report.

Lines straight on virtue of shipping

ANL will unveil its plan to expand coastal shipping before the end of the year, according to managing director John Lines.

Industry seeks policy shift as Australian flag falters

GOVERNMENT policy is now the focus of maritime representative bodies, the like of which has not been seen in the recent past.

Coasting to a new float in Queensland

QUEENSLAND Rail has a container-freight challenger in new shipping operation Q-Coast preparing to launch a Queensland coastal service within weeks.

Sea Swift welcomes competition

TOLL’S takeover of Perkins Shipping has left Sea Swift as the country’s largest independent shipping company, new chief executive Fred White believes.

THE FUNDING GAP

There is a US$250bn shortfall in financing for newbuildings in the current global orderbook. The maths is simple, but the solution is difficult, as TONY GRAY finds out

Container lines are sailing deep into the red

TOP container lines could see US$50bn or more wiped off their combined revenues this year as conditions continue to deteriorate, industry experts predict.

MOL liner restructure boost for Hong Kong

MITSUI OSK Lines’ Hong Kong office is to take a key role in a shake-up of its liner operations, the Japanese shipping company confirmed last week.

Kolding predicts 10% decline

MAERSK Line chief executive Eivind Kolding has reinforced grim market sentiment for the box trades by predicting that cargo volumes would drop 10% this year and show no sign of growth in 2010.

Suez Canal revenues set to fall

SUEZ Canal revenue is projected to decline by around 14% to about US$4.7bn this year compared with US$5.4bn in 2008, according to local reports quoting a Suez Canal Authority official.

UK port car jobs under threat

UP TO 100 jobs at the port of Sheerness could be under threat, after motor distributor Gefco UK pledged to review operations in the UK in the wake of being hit with a £3m (US$5m) retrospective rates bill.

China to toe line on ore

CHINA is set to agree to iron ore price decreases similar to those agreed by Asian rivals, according to Barclays Capital.

Streamlined exports part of $40m plan

THE FEDERAL Government will spend $40m to streamline export procedures for Australia’s agricultural industries.

Production to increase 25% by 2011

MORE than 430m tonnes of new iron ore production capacity is predicted to come on stream between 2009 and 2011, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

CBH revises ship system

AFTER MONTHS of customer consultations, CBH Group had finalised a revised shipping allocation for the movement of grain to Western Australia’s ports, Australia’s biggest grain handler said last week.

Kwinana coal exports reach record

The KWINANA Bulk Terminal at Fremantle Ports exported its one millionth tonne of coal to China and India last month, the port said. The 1m tonnes of coal used 25 ships, averaging 40,000 tonnes per ship, bulk business manager Mark Pearce said.

Shipping needs to have global emissions target

THE ONLY way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping is through binding international agreements, regardless of flag, Danish minister for economic and business affairs Lene Espersen said.

Bid to grant immunity to seafarers who kill

A REPUBLICAN Congressman has introduced a bill that proposes immunity to a US merchant mariner who wounds or kills a pirate in response to an attack.

Seafarer’s body in ship freed by pirates

SOMALI pirates shot dead a Ukrainian seafarer on board a general cargoship operated from the Netherlands, the country’s defence ministry has confirmed.

Encyclopedia of shipping’ dies aged 74

MAURO Terrevazzi, one of the great figures of the modern cruise industry and among its most perceptive and far-reaching influences, has died aged 74 in Monaco after a long illness.

Global slump may have hit bottom – OECD

RESEARCH from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OEDC) suggests that the economic slowdown is bottoming out but that recovery “is likely to be weak and fragile”.

Japan is importing less oil and gas

JAPANESE daily crude oil and gas imports fell by nearly one-fifth in May compared with last year, in response to a slump in demand.

Lloyd’s warns political risks on the rise as recession deepens

THE world’s economy is suffering the worst recession for 70 years and with no immediate prospect of recovery, risk specialists at Lloyd’s have warned the pressure is mounting on political systems worldwide.

Mitropoulos highlights industry’s death toll

INTERNATIONAL Maritime Organization (IMO) secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos has returned to the issue of maritime safety, saying that the number of lives lost at sea this year has already exceeded 800.

US judge opens the door to huge Cosco Busan fine

THE OPERATOR of the Cosco Busan has been unable to get a US judge to shield it from a potentially swingeing fine in the oil spill case spawned by the casualty.

Green ships join special club

Australian Marine Environment Protection Association (AUSMEPA)

Fore!-warders golf day

AFTER raising more than $23,000 for diabetes research last year, members of Australia’s freight forwarding industry will again swing their golf clubs for a good cause next month.

E-freight needs incentives to succeed

AFIF says when it comes to e-freight, perhaps less is more.