Weekly Edition 11th of June 2009

US and Canada seal security pact

IN ORDER to enhance security in shared waterways and coastal areas, Canada and the United States have converted a so-called Shiprider pilot project into a permanent agreement between two countries, writes Leo Ryan.

IMO delegates raise concerns over arming of vessels

DEBATE among delegates to the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee continued on Friday over the issue of arming ships to prevent piracy attacks.

Crew claims against owners highlight duty of care issues

CLAIMS against employers by crew who have been hijacked and held hostage have yet to take off but two cases in Denmark and the US may set a trend if not a precedent.

Owners told to run checkson potential security firms

OWNERS considering the use of private security firms to counter the risk of hijacking face a challenge in making the right choice.

Registers turn to technology to spot ship deficiencies

WATCHING out for warning signs of impending safety problems takes an experienced weather eye but a little technology can also help.

Intercargo concern at increase in bulk carriers being detained over serious structural problems

LAST year saw a worrying rise in bulk carriers being detained for serious structural problems, undermining confidence the sector has put behind it the terrible record of the 1990s.

P&I club says stowaway claims cost $20m a year

STOWAWAYS are continuing to give shipowners and their crews headaches amid fears the global economic crisis is swelling the numbers of those seeking to find a better or safer place to live.

Somalia Attacks to top 300

PIRACY incidents off Somalia are on course to break all records this year, writes Mark Warner in Oslo .

Pirates accept cut-price deal for tug hostages

Relatives’ offer wins out after shipowner unable to pay $1m ransom

Red faces over Maersk Alabama hijacking

Investigation likely to centre on best practices

Somalia pirate attacks set to break all records

PIRACY incidents off Somalia are on course to break all records this year.

Pirates accept cut-price deal for tug hostages

RELATIVES and friends of 11 Nigerian seafarers held captive by Somali pirates raised more than $150,000 to secure their release, after a Nigerian tug operator pleaded that it could not meet demands for $1m, according to a Somali community group in the US that acted as an intermediary.

SYDNEY ROAD REVOLT

SYDNEY’S road transporters have rejected a peak pricing plan set to be introduced at Port Botany by year’s end, arguing they will be worse-off under the scheme and it will not deliver the targeted efficiency.

ASX spikes as Rio and BHP unite in Pilbara

SHARES in Pilbara mining group Fortescue soared last week on news of an alliance between rivals Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

McKew in transport post

MEMBER for Bennelong Maxine McKew has been appointed parliamentary secretary for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government.

Hobart tug fault evokes bridge tragedy memories

A 28-TONNE bollard pull North Western Shipping & Towage tug lost steering while escorting a tanker under the Tasman Bridge last month, Tasports has revealed.

Commodities lead to trade deficit

AUSTRALIA posted an unexpected trade deficit in April as a slump in commodity prices caused export values to plunge.

Time for tough choices

SYDNEY’S freight industry may well look back in five years and wonder what all the fuss was about.

Sydney road revolt – port charges draw fire

 

Drilling rig in Geelong for repair

THE MAERSK Drilling-operated Kan Tan IV rig arrived in the port of Geelong on June 3 for a six-week repair and refurbishment program.

Port of Brisbane still coy on charges hike

PORT of Brisbane Corporation could be up to three months behind on a scheduled review of its fees.

Collision: lookouts ‘ineffective’

AN INDEPENDENT investigation into the collision last year of the Australian fishing vessel Allena and the container ship Northern Fortune, found that the lookouts on board both vessels were “ineffective.”

A (very significant) year in the life of a Gen Y-er

A year is a long time in the freight transport and logistics sector, especially for younger workers with no experience of recession. A year ago, Bobbie Sloane presented the view from Gen Y to an AFIF conference eager to understand a challenging generation. Now she reflects on a different world

Transport, logistics salaries stay solid

TRANSPORT and logistics salaries are expected to continue showing resilience despite the economic downturn, according to the results of two newly-released salary surveys.

Australian hubs seen as threat to NZ’s future in liner services

NEW ZEALAND is in danger of losing direct liner services to transhipments from Australia, Ports of Auckland managing director Jens Madsen told the Transport New Zealand Summit last week.

Brisbane port, QR in asset sale

QUEENSLAND plans to sell off the Port of Brisbane Corporation, Abbot Point Coal Terminal and Queensland Rail’s above and below rail coal business, premier Anna Bligh said last week.

Navigation Act set for overhaul

THE FEDERAL Government will re-write Australia’s maritime law, the Navigation Act 1912, infrastructure and transport minister Anthony Albanese said last week. The move would ensure the act “better supports the needs of the industry”, he said.

Freight and roads the big winners in SA Budget

ROAD freight and traffic amelioration were major beneficiaries of last week’s South Australian Budget.

Stable haven in turbulent era

The LNG sector shows no sense of the panic gripping other maritime sectors despite historically low freight rates and a threat of lay-up.

Newbuilding demand to return in ‘late 2009’

THE short answer to when demand for liquefied natural gas carriers will return and what shipbuilding nation will directly benefit, is probably contained in last month’s announcement that UK energy company BG Group and China’s oil major CNOOC are jointly to order two LNG carriers.

Japan loses its thirst for gas but looks ready to regain the taste

THE SEVERE impact of the global financial crisis has stalled Japan’s taste for gas but its appetite is set for an early return.

Floating LNG system now looking buoyant

FLOATING liquefied natural gas production is moving from the design board into reality as engineering and oil companies push ahead with their innovative plans.

The new prescription to cure Maersk Line’s blues

AP Moller-Maersk could end 2009 in the red, with results dragged down by its container shipping division. JANET PORTER spoke to group chief executive Nils Andersen and Maersk Line boss Eivind Kolding about how the world’s largest liner shipping company is coping with an unprecedented collapse of cargo volumes and a ferocious price war

Residual terror threat hangs over shipping in Sri Lanka

Following the demise of the Sea Tigers and death of the Tamil leader, there is new potential for significant port investment in a peaceful Sri Lanka, writes JOHN DRAKE

STX set for three-way listing

SOUTH Korea’s STX Group said it wants to raise Won2.5trn (US$2bn) over the next 18 months through stock sales and listings of four affiliates.

Red faces over Maersk Alabama hijacking

THE capture of the Maersk Alabama was “a bit embarrassing”, according to BIMCO head of security Giles Noakes.

China eyes iron ore price cuts of 33%

CHINESE steelmakers have been tipped to accept iron ore price cuts averaging around 33%, similar to those agreed last month by South Korean and Japanese mills.

Pirate attacks to top 300

PIRACY incidents off Somalia are on course to break all records this year.

A tale of two ports – to be continued

TALK port development in South Australia and Port Bonython inevitably comes up.

Flinders take ‘horses for courses’ approach

FLINDERS Ports was looking forward to the first of its two ZPMC-built post-panamax cranes arriving in Port Adelaide by the end of the year, chief executive Vincent Tremaine said last week.

‘Richest mine’ promises major impacts

BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam project should have major impacts on South Australia, if its draft environmental impact study (EIS) is anything to go by.

Roads drive the future

RAIL infrastructure spending failed to get a mention in this month’s South Australian State Budget but continued funding to unblock Adelaide’s road freight arteries is seen as crucial to improving efficiency.

Worst said to be over in China ports decline

CHINA Merchants Holdings (International), China’s largest port operator, said the decline in port throughput at its eight main ports centres in China and Hong Kong had bottomed out in May.

P&I clubs claims to stay high

MARINE mutuals can expect claims levels to remain high despite the downturn in the shipping markets, the Britannia P&I Club has warned.

Norwegian pilots set to strike

HARBOUR pilots in Oslo were set to join a strike last week in support of demands for better pensions.

Upturn seen ahead for idle car carriers

THE SIZE of the idle car carrier fleet has tripled over the past three months as shipowners struggled to match the collapse in demand for their services.

Capesizes above US$100,000 as rates double in two weeks

RATES for a capesize vessel broke the US$100,000 per day barrier last week, with Italian trader Coeclerici one of a raft of charterers paying a six-figure sum to secure tonnage in the Atlantic basin.

Newcastle coal exports on rise

COAL exports from the port of Newcastle continue to rise while the number of ships waiting to load coal has also increased.

CRT transport deal

CRT Group, a unit of Queensland Rail Ltd, has secured a contract to supply bulk transport and logistics services to Sugar Australia.

ACCC okay on grain deal

 

Cheap iron ore to China the key to dry bulk rates

THE DRY bulk boom, particularly for capesize bulk carriers, will continue only if the cost, insurance and freight rate for iron ore from Australia to China remains below US$70 per tonne, a leading commodities executive said last week.

Industry ready on emissions

BIMCO is poised to firm up its stance on reducing emissions from shipping after an undisclosed decision taken at the organisation’s general meeting in Athens. “We have a certain preference”, Robert Lorenz-Meyer, who has just taken over as president of the Denmark-based organisation, said.

Container volumes ‘to fall 10% by year’s end’

MORE gloom has been cast over prospects for a liner shipping recovery with one of the world’s largest sea freight forwarders estimating a double-digit tumble in global container volumes this year.

Container ports that take ‘expand-or-die approach’

Canadian ports united in mindset that expansion is the way forward

In the pipeline: bullish outlook

A SECTOR that has grown considerably on both the east and west coasts of Canada is project cargo, although Houston, Texas, remains the busiest North American hub for Canada-destined project shipments.

NOL and Zim receive fresh cash boosts to steady ships

NEPTUNE Orient Lines is raising S$1.4bn (US$974m) from a rights issue to repay debt and support investment opportunities, while Israeli line Zim has received a US$50m injection from parent company Israel Corp as its losses mount.

More need to exit the box sector – warning

SOME container lines may be forced to drop out of the industry given the huge number of new vessels to hit the market in the coming months, warns logistics company GAC.

Queensland for sale?

The Queensland Government’s decision to sell off some of its port and rail assets proved a hot topic for Lloyd’s List DCN readers last week. Online stories on the issue were among the most popular of the week according to Lloyd’s List DCN’s web traffic information. The issue also prompted comments on both the news and blog sections of the site. Here is an excerpt:

Planning for our trade growth

A national ports strategy will help Australia service an intermodal freight task that is expected to triple by the year 2030, writes NICK DIMOPOULOS

BIMCO leads move to keep ships unarmed

A POWERFUL cross-industry lobby led by shipping organisation BIMCO is gathering force against the use of armed private guards on merchant ships to counter piracy.

Hijacking risk may lead to higher East Africa box fees

EAST African shippers face a further increase in piracy surcharges as the risk of attacks in the region worsens.

UK navy boards skiffs in Gulf of Aden

A ROYAL Navy frigate has intercepted and disarmed two suspected pirate boats in the Gulf of Aden as part of the combined anti-piracy taskforce.

Iranians and Pakistanis among pirate crew

IRANIAN and Pakistani nationals were discovered among a group of pirates in the Gulf of Aden captured by the Russian Navy some weeks ago, according to Russian media sources.

Casualty Briefs - 11th June 2009

 

Tamil aid cargo blocked by navy

A SHIP carrying an aid cargo paid for by expatriate Tamils has been turned away by the Sri Lankan navy, after the Sri Lankan government claimed the ship had entered the country’s waters illegally, writes David Osler .

IMB urges ‘citadel space’ anti-piracy technique

THE International Maritime Bureau is urging shipping to adopt a “citadel space” if their vessels are boarded by Somali pirates, as it is proven to thwart hijackings, writes Marcus Hand in Kuala Lumpur.

Ransom demands soaring to astronomical levels

SOMALI pirates are squeezing bigger ransoms out of shipowners as they become savvier negotiators and some victim companies remain in the dark about the going rate, experts say, writes Nigel Lowry in Athens.

Owners must keep watch at night and in the Red Sea

Shift in tactics by pirates sparks warning from combined forces