Weekly Edition 1st of October 2009

Ukraine president calls for UN anti-piracy centre

African office is needed for seafarer protection, says Viktor Yushchenko

Somali pirates murder second seafarer this year

Four others injured in shoot-out as master refused to divert ship

Keeping track of pirates

THIS rumour is possibly apocryphal, but deserves to be true, even if it isn’t. According to Last Word’s authoritative sources — OK, a trade union official we had a few beers with as the UK Labour Party conference opened in Brighton this weekend — there was something of a muddle over maritime security issues at the Trades Union Congress annual get together a couple of weeks back.

Turkish Navy holds attackers

SEVEN suspected pirates were arrested off the coast of Somalia on Saturday after attacks on two separate Panama-flagged merchant vessels that appear to have been the work of the same gang, reports from the region indicate, writes David Osler.

US proposes legal immunity for mariners who kill pirates

PROPOSED legislation introduced in the US House of Representatives will give a US mariner immunity from criminal prosecution for harming or killing a pirate while defending his or her ship, writes Rajesh Joshi in New York

Gorgon gorges contract coups

THE $43bn Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project’s logistics task is promising to be every bit as monstrous as the development itself.

Freightliner makes move

IT COULD be one of those win-win situations that only market forces can create.

Domestic shippers under federal wing

FEDERAL Department of Climate Change deputy secretary Blair Comley gave shipowners a qualified cause for comfort from the government on World Maritime Day last week.

Emergency demands fast response from safety body

The unique circumstances of the Montara oil leak leave AMSA holding the baby . . . and rising to the responsibility, reports Rob McKay

Ship waste reception audits moving on to Fremantle and Port Kembla – AMSA

PORT Kembla and Fremantle will be the next ports to undergo ship-waste reception facility audits, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), with the process already underway.

Queue for Dalrymple Bay gets longer as rail fails to keep up

THE LONG queue of ships waiting at Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) will probably still be there until the middle of 2010 as the supply chain struggles to keep up with capacity at the world’s third-largest coal export terminal.

Convoy put off – more boxes needed

THE KINGLAKE Convoy, which is aimed at delivering empty shipping containers to bushfire-affected residents of Victoria, has been postponed until next year in the hope that more containers will be donated.

BBI wary of new suitor

A SECOND potential investor group has come forward with a refinancing proposal for the debt-laden Babcock & Brown Infrastructure (BBI), whose transport assets include Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal and the UK’s PD Ports.

DBCT is unaffected – BBI

RECENT efforts by Babcock & Brown (BBI) to recapitalise its debt laden business will not affect the sale process for its Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) in Queensland.

Optimism takes to the air as July figures show solid rebound

THE REBOUND in Australia’s air cargo industry in July is a signal that the nation is recovering from the economic downturn that is still crippling other parts of the world.

Grain train paper inside two months

THE WESTERN Australian Government could receive the Strategic Grain Network Committee proposal before December.

Australian frigate defuses piracy attack

AN AUSTRALIAN naval vessel thwarted a suspected attempt to hijack an Antigua-flagged general cargo ship 50 miles off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden on September 20.

Shipping is target for training

THE FEDERAL Government wants to educate companies in the Australian maritime sector about subsidies available for training and up-skilling employees.

Raft of US green legislation is about to make its impact felt

Coast Guard and environmental watchdog push for greater regulation of ships within US waters, reports JERRY FRANK

New life for lighter ships

Composite materials could cut fuel consumption, make ships greener and boost cargo capacity, reports CRAIG EASON

Non-tank’ owners urged to respond

SEPARATELY, the US Coast Guard has proposed that owners and operators of non-tank vessels prepare and submit oil spill non-tank vessel response plans (NTVRPs).

Lass is ready to hit the market

THE FIRST phase of Lass, the lightweight construction applications at sea project, has resulted in three of the participating companies forming an alliance to try to market the possibilities in the maritime industry.

ASA backs emissions plan

A CAP-and-trade system for global shipping will be both consistent and compatible with other carbon emission schemes, a conference in Melbourne has heard.

Industry push to retain IMO leadership on CO2 reduction

A DIPLOMATIC charm offensive is under way to convince governments that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) should be entrusted with the overriding responsibility for reducing the shipping industry’s carbon dioxide emissions.

CMA CGM silent over reported debt deal

A FRENCH press report has claimed that container line operator CMA CGM was looking for a one-year moratorium on debt repayments as one of a number of options for extricating itself from its current financial difficulties

Chinese yards to halve orderbook

CHINESE shipyards could see the volume of new orders plummet by 50% over the next five years as overcapacity in the merchant fleet, coupled with the weak global economy, takes its toll on shipbuilders, the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) has predicted.

Iron ore demand will not save dry bulk sector from new lows

MAJOR Asian dry bulk owners and operators have warned that the worst is yet to come for the market as an onslaught of newbuildings enter the fleet, outstripping demand.

Fee failure may bear bitter fruit

The Federal Government’s new quarantine fee structure has been thrown out of the Senate but the end result may be a reduction in AQIS services that could cause higher costs.

Containing noxious gases before they get the chance to do serious damage

RESIDUAL toxic gases in containers often go undetected through ordinary sense of smell, so early detection and safe removal of these poisons must be urgently carried out to avoid serious health problems, Nordiko Quarantine Systems said.

Methyl bromide – trading one dilemma for another

IF THE Montreal Protocol achieves its ultimate goal, methyl bromide will not be used anywhere from January next year.

OOIL leads box lines through the storm

Chairman calls for cooperation between rivals even as antitrust exemptions come under fire, writes Tom Leander

China, India could save dry bulk, says Fortis

ABOUT 40% of the world’s outstanding dry bulk orderbook might never be delivered, Fortis Bank has said.

STX Pan Ocean signs 25-year, US$6bn Vale ore carrier deal

STX Pan Ocean said last week it would tie up eight very large ore carriers (VLOCs) to perform the largest consecutive voyage contract in shipping’s history.

Further container rate rises unlikely this year despite uptick, says Cosco

CHINA Cosco Holdings, the listed arm of China Ocean Shipping (Group), said its container business had seen some recovery in freight rates, but was unsure there would be further increases.

BHP reveals record ore, coal production levels . . .

IRON ore production volumes at BHP Billiton reached a record 114m tonnes this year, representing nine consecutive years of growth.

Graincorp confident on revised terminal plan

GRAINCORP is confident that its revised port terminal plan submitted to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week will satisfy the competition watchdog’s requirements.

Vale gets blamed for rates slump

CAPESIZE rates have tumbled more than 75% since they peaked for the year just three months ago. The average time charter rate has fallen to US$22,000 per day, according to the Baltic Exchange.

. . . but revenue falls by 15%

REVENUE at the miner BHP Billiton has fallen 15% over the past year to US$50.2bn as European and Asian demand for raw commodities has weakened.

OPEC to step up output

THE Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will increase oil production in October to meet growing demand in Asia.

Ukraine president calls for UN anti-piracy centre

THE UNITED Nations should lead the fightback against piracy in the Gulf of Aden as existing efforts to tackle the problem are insufficient, the president of Ukraine told the UN General Assembly in New York last week.

Chinese ports reveal a volume recovery

VOLUME throughput figures at China’s top container ports are suggesting the first signs of a recovery.

Russia set to pursue port expansion

RUSSIA is determined to go ahead with a raft of port projects to increase cargo handling capacity despite the current adverse economic conditions.

Political stability is key to Somali solution

THE continuing epidemic of piracy attacks off of the Horn of Africa cannot be fully eradicated until a stable government is established in Somalia, according to the Judge Advocate General of the US Coast Guard.

Signs good as Rotterdam Rules debut . . .

MARITIME industry groups have welcomed the official debut of the Rotterdam Rules as 15 countries, including the US, put pen to paper at the official signing ceremony for the new cargo liability regime last week.

. . . but long-time critics blast ‘low’ sign-up launch

EUROPEAN shippers have questioned the level of international support for the new Rotterdam Rules maritime liability convention, with the ink barely dry after last week’s ceremonial signing by 16 nations.

Carnival profits outlook cruising

A BETTER-than-expected return in its third-quarter fiscal results has prompted Carnival to sweeten its annual profit projection.

Exchange trading may boost brokers

SHIPBROKERS will earn an extra £1.3bn (US$2.1bn) in revenue from freight derivatives over the next decade if the market shifts from over-the counter (OTC) to exchange trading, a London Metal Exchange (LME) scoping study concluded.

Population boom to fuel grain shipments

INCREASING global demand for grain is the “future growth engine” of the dry bulk market, according to Fortis Bank Nederland.

Congestion drop-off sends rates falling

CAPESIZE congestion levels have fallen to just 10% of the 900-strong fleet as Chinese iron ore imports fall and newbuilding deliveries add to the number of ships available.

CBFCA National conference in pictures

MORE than 100 members of the international trade logistics and supply chain management community gathered at the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia (CBFCA) national conference last month to discuss important current issues in the fields of customs and quarantine. The focus of attention was e-freight and security but here, the camera focuses on some of the people that made the event.

Shipping Industry Golf Challenge

ONE OF the most popular sporting events on the Sydney shipping community’s calendar, the Shipping Industry Golf Challenge, will be played on Tuesday, October 20 at Mona Vale Golf Club.

Integrated Cargo System – four years on

WHILE the exports phase of the Integrated Cargo System (ICS) had been operational and working since October 2004, the ICS anniversary of October 12, 2005 is the date remembered by most of the import industry.

Associated British Ports fined over Ipswich death

ASSOCIATED British Ports has been fined £266,000 (US$434,495) after the death of a worker at one of its facilities in an industrial accident two years ago, with Ipswich Crown Court also holding the company liable for costs of around £75,000, writes David Osler.

India on alert for Black Rose bunker spill

INDIA is readying itself for a bunker spill following the sinking of a Mongolia-flagged bulk carrier off its coast earlier this month.

Casualty Briefs - 1st October 2009

 

Brussels asked for damages over Pompei hijacking

THE European Union has been asked if it is willing to pay compensation following the revelation that the dredger Pompei was refused Atalanta protection prior to its hijacking by pirates earlier this year.

EU urged to pay for failure to prevent hijack

Dredger Pompei held for 71 days had been refused naval protection

Somalia piracy is on the rise again

US naval forces report four attempted attacks since September 19

Pirates free Horizon 1 and her crew

Somali pirates have released Turkish bulk carrier Horizon 1 and her 23 Turkish crew, according to private security concern with knowledge of the region.

Ships warned to keep up guard after Horizon 1 release

JUST two merchant ships and two fishing boats are currently being held by Somali pirates, following the release of Turkish-owned bulk carrier Horizon 1 yesterday. However, security sources are warning against complacency, and are sticking to earlier predictions that the problem will re-emerge once weather conditions in the Gulf of Aden improve.