Weekly Edition 19th November 2009

Success for Somali pirates as they venture further afield

SOMALI pirate attacks have reached an alarming 50% success rate in hijacking vessels since the end of the monsoon season, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

Erika appeal nears close

THE APPEAL hearing into responsibilities for the Erika disaster moved into its final stage last week as the advocate-general Françoise Mothes made the prosecution’s closing speech.

Chinese tanker ban reduces single-hull options

CHINA has confirmed that it will ban all single-hull tankers from January 1, further shrinking employment opportunities for the estimated fleet of 820 single-hull vessels.

China takes on greater role to protect ships in Gulf of Aden

IN THEIR SIGHTS: Chinese special forces carry out an anti-piracy drill onboard the Haikou destroyer, which has been deployed to Somalia.

Casualty Briefs - 19th November 2009

 

Rig strike threatens offshore chaos

THE OFFSHORE support and construction sector could find out today if a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) is to been endorsed or to expect further strike action.

McLeay thrown into NSW ports hot seat

JOE TRIPODI’S portfolio responsibilities were immediately divided as part of a New South Wales Government reshuffle this week.

Analysis: No time left for hesitation

REPORTS of Joe Tripodi’s political death had been greatly exaggerated.

Top stevedores defend rates after ACCC barb

THE NATION’S two main stevedores returned fire back at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week after its chairman, Graeme Samuel, had claimed that competition was conspicuous by its absence in container ports.

Fremantle Svitzer tug capsizes

A 500-tonne crane was used to right an overturned Svitzer workboat in the port of Fremantle’s Inner Harbour on Monday night.

Shareholders approve Brookfield stake in DBCT

BROOKFIELD Asset Management’s 50% investment in the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) was sealed this week after shareholders of the terminal’s parent voted in favour of the $1.8bn bailout proposal.

May hearing set for Adventurer master

PACIFIC Adventurer master Bernardino Gonzales Santos will face a five-day committal hearing in Brisbane from May 10 next year, a Swire spokeswoman confirmed this week. This follows the March spill of bunker oil in south-east Queensland.

RightShip: right place at right time

FEW MARITIME industry players are raising their profiles nationally at the same rate as ship-vetting firm RightShip. Fresh from passing the 100 external customers mark, apart from owners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto Shipping and Cargill Ocean Transportation, RightShip took out its second Governor of Victoria Export Award last month, this time in the “large services” category.

Newcastle navigates towards peace deal with its pilots after strike vote

THE NEWCASTLE Port Corporation has negotiated a new salary contract with its marine pilots in a move that is poised to end the threat of strike action and months of failed talks.

Now $100m intermodal hub planned for Bathurst

LESS than a month after the closure of Patrick’s intermodal terminal in Bathurst, another developer has announced plans to build a new facility there worth more than $100m.

‘Drip feed’ approach frustrates truckies

TRUCKING operators in Sydney were left scratching their heads last week after what they described as “drip fed” communication from Patrick’s Port Botany terminal.

Watchdogs paw port vehicle deals

VEHICLE stevedoring firm Australian Amalgamated Terminals (AAT) was facing operational constraints as national and Queensland competition authorities weighed up its dominant position in the market.

ROTTERDAM RULES – WHAT THEY MEAN

Since the new convention was first signed two months ago, a further five nations have inked their approval making eventual ratification more likely. But just what are the Rotterdam Rules? Stuart Hetherington explains

Cruise cancelled after Pacific Sun loses her bearing

P&O CRUISES had to cancel a seven-night Pacific Sun cruise that was due to start last week.

Mermaid is in the swim with second Gorgon deal

MERMAID Marine has won a second Gorgon-related contract, with a multi-million dollar towage and stevedoring deal announced last week.

Leighton, Saipem win jetty contract

THE WORK involves design, material supply, fabrication, construction and commissioning of the LNG jetty and marine structures, Leighton said.

Message to Somali pirates: do not bank on ransoms

Insurers are among those working on a long-term solution, reports Richard Neylon

Cruise leaders united in optimism

Five of the cruise sector’s top brass were unanimous in their assessment of the future prospects for the industry at this year’s Seatrade Europe event, write Anne-Christin Gröger and Katrin Berkenkopf

Yards feel the pinch as owners forego repairs

SHIPREPAIR facilities are struggling to gain more than minimal levels of work from shipowners desperate to cut costs during the downturn

Baltic in talks with LME on dry exchange

THE BALTIC Exchange has opened commercial negotiations with the London Metal Exchange (LME) to jointly establish an exchange for trading dry freight derivatives, with one major broker now apparently backing the contentious proposal.

Patchwork CO2 deal likely, says Brussels

A PATCHWORK of regional measures to enforce CO2 emissions reduction from shipping is the most likely scenario in the short term, according to the European Commission.

Getting into hot water – the whole Storey

THE NAME Storey & Keers is synonymous with shipping so it may come as a surprise to many people that the company also manufactures hot water boilers.

Ups and downs of a changing economic scene

PORT Kembla Port Corporation chief executive Dom Figliomeni summed up 2009 as a period of both “ups and downs.”

Coal terminal powers on regardless

PORT Kembla Coal Terminal emerged from the global financial crisis relatively unscathed with the company enjoying its fifth consecutive year of growth.

Taking the tour – first hand view

A NUMBER of brokers and freight forwarders were treated to a series of guided tours of Port Kembla this year. They witnessed first hand the latest upgrades and expansion work carried out at the port.

Recycling key for China yards

CHINESE shipyards should focus on becoming ship recycling facilities and the Chinese Government should remove import taxes on ships sent to China for scrapping, a leading shipowners’ representative has urged.

Chinese shipping leaders rail against US protectionism

A RAFT of China’s top shipping leaders have warned the looming threat of protectionism could derail the recovery in global trade and the shipping markets.

Box shortage looms from 2010

CONTAINER finance specialist Buss Capital predicts a shortage of containers from 2010 as virtually no new boxes were produced in 2009 and signs are emerging that demand will soon pick up again.

Box losses drag Maersk group deeper into red . . .

CONTAINER shipping is dragging AP Moller-Maersk deeper into the red, with the group still expecting to post a full-year loss of US$1bn as Maersk Line’s woes continue. Neither was there any relief in sight, with 2010 expected to be another difficult year for the world’s largest ocean carrier.

. . tankers are bleeding too

HISTORICALLY-low tanker rates saw AP Moller-Maersk’s tanker division lose around US$826,000 daily in the third quarter, as the Danish shipping giant warned there was no short-term improvement in demand for its fleet of oil and gas ships.

State aid harms market – Andersen

STATE aid for container lines will encourage illogical behaviour in the freight markets and postpone industry consolidation, AP Moller-Maersk chief executive Nils Andersen warned.

Smit and Boskalis agree to merge

DUTCH maritime services operators Royal Boskalis and Smit Internationale are set to merge in a €1.4bn (US$2.1bn) deal that ends nearly two years of cat-and-mouse takeover attempts.

China dominates coal

THERE was a distinct shift in mood at this year’s premier coal industry event Coaltrans.

Steel rally maintained as China powers on

CHINA continued its steel rally in October with 51.8m tonnes of the material produced despite a 30% drop in iron ore volumes.

Poultry trade brings relief to idling reefer vessels

EXPORTS of frozen poultry from the US Gulf have been a “blessing” for larger reefer vessels that are idling in Central America due to a lack of banana cargoes in the spot market.

Grim outlook for Asian container shipping

THE OUTLOOK for Asia’s container shipping market remains “grim” due to “anaemic” western consumer spending in 2010, according to a forecast from Hong Kong-based HSBC Global Research.

Containership sales up as prices drop

CONTAINERSHIP sale and purchase activity picked up in the third quarter after stalling earlier this year as the freight and charter markets collapsed.

Watching the global indicators for signs of recovery

THE SHIPPING industry is looking anxiously at global economic indicators for signs of recovery in trade volumes that will feed demand for shipping capacity.

Cutting sulphur from fuel could cause engines to fail: research

Increase in cutter stock compromises engines, reports CRAIG EASON

Container crane arrives in style at Fremantle

 

Navy brings help to Samoa in wake of earthquake

 

Port Botany changes should not incur cost penalty to operators

THE AUSTRALIAN Customs and Border Protection Service operates Container Examination Facilities (CEFs) at major Australian seaports utilising x-ray and other sophisticated technology to assist in the examination of cargo.

Pink breakfast brings shipping line women together again

ECU LINE recently held its annual Pink Breakfast for women in the shipping industry, to raise funds for breast cancer research