Weekly Edition 18th of June 2009

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

Nato sends six replacement ships for Gulf of Aden patrols

NATO has agreed to send six vessels to take over from the five-warship fleet currently on anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden, with a short gap anticipated between the departure of existing assets on June 28 and the arrival of the replacements.

EU and Nato to extend anti-piracy missions

THE European Union has extended its anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia by 12 months, warning that the “serious threat” to shipping is set to continue, write Richard Meade and Keith Wallis.

Watchdog to rule on Toll tilt for Perkins

THE WIDELY-anticipated plan by Toll Group to buy Perkins Shipping still needs Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) support to go ahead.

Harbour precinct may retain working role

THE NEW South Wales Government has flagged the need to keep Sydney’s Glebe Island and White Bay precincts for at least partial use as a working harbour, reports Sam Collyer.

Smart advice: move faster

IN THE five years to 2007, Australia not only shed market share but also lost billions of dollars in revenue across all bulk export commodities, a supply chain conference heard last week.

Taking the honours

SHIPPING Australia’s Captain Doug Bourne-Jones was among a host of personalities from the shipping, transport and logistics industries named in the Queen’s Birthday honours list last week.

Asciano banks on rights issue to deal with debt

ASCIANO was free to consider capital investments now that its debt concerns had been dealt with, chief executive Mark Rowsthorn said this week.

ANALYSIS: Riding the cycles

NEWS that Grand China Logistics is considering a new weekly container service between China and Australia (Lloyd’s List DCN, May 28, 2009) has been welcomed by some in the exporting community, who have been finding recent difficulty in securing northbound space at a price they like to pay.

Qantas Freight’s new NZ service

QANTAS Freight expected to launch a new freighter operation between Australia and New Zealand from this week if regulatory approval was gained.

Adelaide’s improved cruise terminal upgrade underway

A JOINT Flinders Ports-South Australian Government effort will see the passenger terminal at Port Adelaide’s Outer Harbour undergo a major revamp.

Cathay, Dragonair feeling the pinch

THE AMOUNT of air cargo and mail carried by Cathay Pacific Airways and its domestic subsidiary, Dragonair, dived in May as local and international demand weakened.

Sino-Global’s joint venture on hold

US-REGISTERED agency Sino-Global Shipping America and Australian coal firm Rocklands Richfield have put their bulk shipping joint venture on the back burner, the companies said last week.

Cathay chief to lead IATA

THE INTERNATIONAL Air Transport Association (IATA) has named Cathay Pacific Airways chief executive Tony Tyler as chairman of its board of governors for the next year.

Hunter coal chain wins accolade

THE HUNTER coal industry has won the inaugural New South Wales Government award for supply chain innovation.

Hunter coal chain wins accolade

THE HUNTER coal industry has won the inaugural New South Wales Government award for supply chain innovation.

Hunter coal chain wins accolade

THE HUNTER coal industry has won the inaugural New South Wales Government award for supply chain innovation.

Asian authorities could veto BHP-Rio alliance

CHINESE and Japanese competition regulators appear certain to attempt to intervene in the plan by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto’s to jointly operate their lucrative Pilbara iron ore assets.

Super department for NSW transport

THE NEW South Wales Government is to create a single department to manage its transport and infrastructure strategy, encompassing ports, rail and road.

GrainCorp appoints new CFO

LISTED grain handler GrainCorp has named former Ridley Corp executive Ian Wilton its new chief financial officer.

Judgment a liability precedent?

ARTICLE IV rule 2(a) of the Hague-Visby Rules protects a carrier in respect of loss or damage arising or resulting from “act, neglect or default of the master, mariner, pilot, or the servants of the carrier in the navigation or in the management of the ship”.

Insurers weigh risk of bigger ships

BIGGER ships and larger cargoes have ensured that shipping and its customers in recent decades have enjoyed ever-larger economies of scale – but for marine insurers this growth in size has brought increased risks and exposures.

Rail facing jobs black hole

THE RAIL industry is facing critical skills shortages in the near future at both ends of the employment spectrum. Less graduates and school leavers are choosing rail-based careers and up to 40% of the current rail workforce is expected to leave or retire in the next five years.

WestNet moves WA grain haulage to road

WESTERN Australia’s grain industry is preparing to move its freight task from rail to road because of a lack of support from the state and federal governments.

Road taskforce to discuss Botany benchmarks

THE PORT Botany Road Taskforce was to this week discuss proposed benchmarks for the port’s landside operation.

Private equity eyes shipping

Shipping has become an attractive sector as firms prepare to swoop to acquire undervalued assets, reports TONY GRAY

Globalisation stumbles

The forces of globalisation have been pulled up short by the economic crisis. The western dominance of shipping will be the biggest casualty in the long term, writes Mike Grinter

Asia seizes the moment

IN THE face of a global economic meltdown Asian governments acted quicker and with more monetary largesse than counterparts in the US and Europe.

Feeling the draught of change

Port of Melbourne experience giving valuable insights into strengths and areas for refinement for under-keel clearance technology, reports ROB McKAY

Single pilot plan draws fire on safety and efficiency grounds

Pilots rely on ship and crew to meet basic equipment and safety standards but current trends risk increased casualties, reports Sam Collyer

Contributing factors to ship incidents

AUSTRALIAN Transport Safety Bureau statistics show that 20% of the factors causing accidents relate to deck operation, navigation and knowledge skills and experience.

Vital role in a precious environment

THOUGH pilotage is as old as shipping itself and shares many of the industry’s constants, the companies involved are not immune to change and development.

Learning the ropes – lines boost safety

A TUG, her crew, and her towlines, are a working relationship that is constantly put to the test. The nature of their business and the working environment is hard on towlines and in return, handling the ropes can be hard on the crew.

Sector salvages hope despite downturn

Tug orderbooks remain buoyant until 2010, writes Jack Gaston

Engine makers cutting staff and focusing on after-sales

MAN Diesel and Wärtsilä are both looking to strengthen their after-sales service activities as the ship engine manufacturers struggle to make efficiencies in a “substantially weakened” global maritime market.

Rotor tugs use radical design for strength, flexibility

WHEN the new rotor tug, RT-Rob, left the yard of Niigata Shipbuilding and Repair in Japan after extensive trials, it marked another advance for the ‘rotor tug’ brand incorporating the unique triple Z-drive propulsion system. RT Rob is the first of a series of vessels to be built to a new innovative RT80-32 blueprint resulting from close collaboration between designers KST in Rotterdam and operator Kotug International.

Rotterdam signals cargo recovery

ROTTERDAM, Europe’s largest port by volume, believes cargo volumes will recover during the fourth quarter of 2009 and strengthen in 2010.

Downturn takes big toll on Hong Kong throughput

HONG Kong recorded double-digit falls in container and cargo throughput in the first three months of this year as the global slump took its toll on China’s export led economy.

China stimulus boosts ports

CHINESE ports have seen a significant rebound in cargo volumes for three consecutive months since March as a result of the country’s stimulus package.

Vale slashes ore price

BRAZILIAN miner Vale has slashed 2009 benchmark iron ore prices by as much as 48.3% for Japanese and South Korean steelmakers.

Economou says dry bulk orders ‘a bloodbath’

UP TO 50% of the dry bulk newbuilding orderbook will be cancelled or suffer delivery delays in the next three years, according to DryShips chairman and chief executive George Economou.

Dry bulk asset values predicted to fall

THE dry bulk market is approaching a false horizon and asset values are set to fall before they strengthen any more, industry experts have warned.

Nine-tenths of trade by sea’ is just myth

NEW research from Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit (LMIU) shows that the widely used statistic that 90% of global trade is carried by sea is inaccurate and that the real figure is about 75%.

Ransom demands soar 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.

Maersk backs US$12bn worldwide bunker levy

AP MOLLER-Maersk and the Danish shipping industry, which transports a 10th of all international trade, have lent their backing to a global bunker fuel levy that could raise up to US$12bn a year.

Developing nations key to recovery

DVB Bank head of shipping Dagfinn Lunde has issued a bullish forecast of increasing demand for shipping, but warned that protectionism, a potential banking collapse and massive oversupply all still threaten recovery.

Hong Kong green light

TRANSPORT officials in Hong Kong are pressing ahead with plans to build a tenth container terminal costing US$1bn, despite the slump in container volumes.

Scheme repeats errors

THE DANISH levy scheme is “very similar” to a previous initiative that left out items critical to its success, according to an expert on sustainable shipping.

Box lines face unthinkable as rates head back towards zero

CONTAINER lines have just a few weeks to reverse the slide in Asia-Europe freight rates or risk going out of business.

Brussels lays out plan of action on emissions

THE EUROPEAN Commission has draft plans in development to reduce shipping carbon dioxide emissions unilaterally if the International Maritime Organization (IMO) fails to agree an acceptable international strategy next month.

Local kids can’t contain their interest in port life and times

SHIPPING lines and a terminal operator have teamed up with the Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) to give nearby schools a window into the roles of the port, shipping and international trade.

Spotlight on electronics to ease cargo burden

Brokers and forwarders want more incentives and cost savings to be offered to encourage electronic transactions for freight, writes PAUL ZALAI*

Wilhelmsen inspects damage to vessel after platform crash

WILHELMSEN Ship Management has moved the offshore support vessel Big Orange XVIII to a yard in Denmark to inspect damage incurred during a collision with a platform on the Ekofisk oil field in Norway.

Flushed out AktiN refloated successfully

NETHERLANDS-based Multraship Salvage and URS Salvage & Maritime Contracting of Belgium have successfully refloated the tanker Akti N after the Liberia-flagged vessel ran aground near a popular Dutch tourist attraction on last week, writes David Osler.

Casualty Briefs 18th-June 2009

 

V.Ships’ Sea Owl aims to detect piracy threats

SHIPMANAGEMENT giant V.Ships has developed maritime threat-detection technology that it hopes to see deployed soon in the Gulf of Aden as a non-lethal response to pirates, writes John McLaughlin .

BIMCO stands firm on armed guards for ships

THE world’s largest shipowner organisation has pledged to fight mounting pressure from within the US State Department for shipowners to use the services of armed guards to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden, writes David Osler in Lisbon.

USCG omits sea lanes list from piracy directive

A LIST of sea lanes around the world that the US Coast Guard deems “high-risk waters” is conspicuously missing from a declassified version of the federal agency’s maritime security directive on piracy that was made public this week, writes Rajesh Joshi.

Germany abandons hijacked Hansa Stavanger rescue mission

GERMANY sent 200 crack anti-terror police to the Horn of Africa last month in an attempt to rescue a German-owned containership hijacked by Somali pirates, but abandoned the mission for fear of triggering a bloodbath, writes David Olser.

Interpol given details of 23 Somali pirate suspects

FINGERPRINTS and photographs of 23 Somali pirate suspects have been entered into Interpol’s global database, making them accessible to police forces in any of the organisation’s 187 member states.

Europol to co-ordinate anti-piracy investigations

EUROPOL is to marshal its intelligence-gathering activities on Somali pirates and their international criminal networks, following a high-level meeting in the Hague.

Japan to vote over North Korea vessel search scheme

JAPANESE lawmakers will be asked to vote in the next few weeks on whether to allow the Japanese Coast Guard, backed by naval forces, to stop and search North Korean vessels for missile parts or other strategic armaments.