Weekly Edition 13th May 2010

Tankers forced into 1,000-mile detours to evade pirate attacks

BIGGEST: The VLCC Sirius Star, hijacked in November 2008, 450 miles south-east of Kenya was the largest ship captured by pirates, before Samho Dream, inset.

Oil disaster leads to delays, rerouting and hull cleaning

OWNERS hoping that spot rates for crude tankers loading and discharging in the US Gulf or Caribbean would rocket as oil continues to leak from the Deepwater Horizon wreck may be disappointed, according to a leading US investment bank.

Naval forces more willing to engage with pirates

FURTHER evidence of a hardening of resolve amongst international naval forces to directly engage Somali pirates in control of international merchant ships emerged when the Russian naval warship Marshal Shaposhnikov recaptured a Novoship tanker in the early hours of the morning on May 6.

Casualty Briefs - 13th May 2010

 

New era for Tasmanian rail

THE FIRST chief executive of Tasmanian Railway (TasRail) has been frank about what he and his company faces in turning around rail freight in the state.

Box fee challenge glee

SHIPPING Australia’s domestic sparring partner, the Victorian Transport Association, has welcomed a New South Wales tribunal decision that ordered a container line to refund box fees.

Weather problems dog Shen Neng 1 unloading

STRICKEN bulk carrier Shen Neng 1 will be in Australia for at least another two weeks while maritime experts unload her cargo of coal to ensure a safe towage overseas.

South African firm bites off big chunk of local shipping agencies

LEADING South African ships’ agency firm Sturrock Shipping has entered the Australian maritime market with a bang, taking control of Hetherington Kingsbury Shipping Agency, McArthur Shipping & Agency, Pacific Shipping Agencies and West Coast Shipping Agencies.

Truck leader quits over Sydney row

MIKE Moylan has resigned with immediate effect from his position as container section chairman of Australian Trucking Association New South Wales (ATA NSW) amid dissent within ranks of the trucking industry about the Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy.

Cargo ship runs aground in NZ

NEW ZEALAND’S maritime authority will investigate the grounding last week of the 447-dwt general cargo ship Anatoki near Nelson in the South Island.

Phil Rosser to leave Sydney Ports job

Sydney Ports Corporation is losing one of its senior managers, Phil Rosser.

Carrier wants to drive upturn

WALLENIUS Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) is gearing up to ride the global economic recovery wave as it crashes on Australian shores.

Toll confirms Concord Park acquisition plan

WITH analysts saying Toll Holdings might have as much as $1bn to call on for domestic and international acquisitions, the market is wondering what mid-scale road haulage firm might be next once Concord Park is digested.

Maersk NZ1 loses Brisbane

MAERSK Line is to drop Brisbane calls from its NZ1 (Southeast Asia-New Zealand) string, switching imports to the Boomerang service.

Balaclava set for go ahead

XSTRATA Coal’s proposal to build a $1bn coal export terminal between Rockhampton and Gladstone is a step forward with the Queensland coordinator general declaring it a “significant project”.

Victoria seeks input for plan to ease Melbourne container growing pains

THE VICTORIAN Government’s effort to combat port-related congestion will seek to replicate a port-to-door service, comparable with current road options.

Bulker clear to sail after fatalities

A DEAL has been struck with the distressed Burmese crew of the Panama-flagged TPC Wellington, allowing the vessel to depart New Zealand’s Marsden Point for Incheon, South Korea.

Maritime report pinpoints Australia’s box movements for next two decades

A REBOUND in Asian economies from 2012 is forecast to see the volume of Australia’s containerised exports increase more than threefold by 2030.

Transport leads jobs falls

UNCERTAINTY over the economic rebound was put into focus on Monday, with the Advantage Job Index for April showing online transport job advertisements leading falls in other sectors.

Truckloads of tension is penalty for slow progress at Port Botany

SYDNEY’S road transport industry could be suffering from an acute case of Stockholm Syndrome. That or severe and chronic memory loss.

Taxing times in the US Gulf

Away from the hubbub surrounding BP and Deepwater Horizon, the US taxman has shown up unannounced at the doors of several foreign shipowners on the US Outer Continental Shelf, reports RAJESH JOSHI

Why the US taxman came calling

The US Outer Continental Shelf is enshrined in a statute on “submerged lands”. These lands are defined variously as “lands beneath navigable waters” and “seabed and subsoil of submarine areas adjacent to US territorial waters, over which the US has clear jurisdiction”.

The letter of the law

Lloyd’s List has obtained the letter that the US Internal Revenue Service is understood to be sending to shipowners. It is reproduced below, with names and identities removed:

Ports urge clean truck expansion

THE US west coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have presented to Congress their evidence in support of an expanded Clean Trucks Program.

Trans-Pacific box trade recovery gathers pace

FURTHER evidence of container shipping’s recovery emerged last week, with a sharp jump in the trans-Pacific element of the Shanghai Container Freight Index.

Battle looms on classification society laws

FLAG states representing more than half of the world’s tonnage are attempting to force the European Commission to downgrade the ambitions of its classification society legislation.

Hanjin buoyed by bulk trade revival and rise in box traffic

SOUTH Korea’s Hanjin Shipping saw a recovery in its financial fortunes in the first quarter after cutting net losses while posting a small operating profit, the company said on Monday.

Containers boost ICTS finances

MANILA-based port operator International Container Terminal Services posted an increase of 107% in net income to US$22.8m in the first quarter this year from US$11m in the same period last year.

Tankers face economic and political threats

THE GLOBAL tanker fleet faces “a very scary demand scenario” and a “fog of fundamentals” at the same time as the sector experienced a supply “bubble”, Clarkson Research head Martin Stopford said

Port Botany landside penalties introduced to mixed reception

REACTION to a system of regulated penalties for Port Botany has been mixed, but few can complain they did not have sufficient warning of what was about to come.

Coal-fired boost to maritime industry

THE NEW South Wales coal supply chain reforms are set to have a positive effect on maritime Newcastle. Svitzer is gearing up for increased Newcastle coal exports with a $22.7m expansion at the port.

Newcastle poised for new records

FUEL imports helped lift trade at the port of Newcastle by 5% in the first nine months of the 2009/10 financial year.

Where will shipping turn in the hunt for capital?

With lenders tending to their own balance sheets, traditional ship finance is tight. JULIAN MACQUEEN examines the options now for both money men and shipowners

China and India lead way in box recovery

RECOVERY in the container trades is very uneven, with North America and Europe lagging behind while the Indian subcontinent and China lead the way as volumes return to 2008 levels.

Bonuses on comeback for some

BONUS payments to select shipbrokers and chartering personnel have returned to levels last seen before the crash in the shipping markets, but junior employees and those who were employed at the lowest point of the slump have missed out.

European cargo index stays high

EUROPE’s cargo market is “firing on all cylinders”, with April’s benchmark index of freight forwarders at an “all-time high” for the second month running.

Asia-Europe trades leap 20% in the first quarter

CONTAINER shipping’s impressive recovery from last year’s market crash shows no sign of stalling, with the European Liner Affairs Association (ELAA) reporting growth of 20%-plus in Asia-Europe volumes for the first quarter.

Box lessors set for bumper year as demand surges

LEADING container-leasing companies predict increased demand for boxes will continue to be allied with limited supply, as this year’s liner shipping peak season approaches.

Vale boosts cost and freight iron ore sales

IRON ore sales transacted on a cost and freight (CFR) basis have increased for Brazilian mining giant Vale, while about 40% of all global seaborne trade – estimated to hit 1bn tonnes this year – is now sold on the spot market.

Tankers ‘not affected’ by lift in liability cap

THE TANKER industry is unlikely to be affected directly by efforts in the US to raise liability caps under the Oil Pollution Act 1990 in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon spill.

US distillates demand sees oil products hit 2010 high

US DEMAND for oil products has risen to a 2010 high, as improving industrial production boosts trucking and railway transportation and increases the need for distillates.

CMA CGM is prepared to forfeit newbuild deposits

CMA CGM is prepared to walk away from some of its newbuilding orders as it cleans up its balance sheet and brings in new investors.

Line slams state bailouts for struggling competitors

CMA CGM has joined critics that have complained about the provision of state aid for financially struggling container lines.

The long, slow road to recovery

Industry leaders caution that it is premature to celebrate the end of the crisis, writes JANET PORTER

CAREER CONSIDERATIONS

 

GREEK YOUNG SHIPPERS

 

LOCHING IN LAY-UP BENEFITS

 

Why lines are prepared to order new ships and leave others idle

ORDERS for new containerships are likely to be placed within the coming year regardless of how many others remain in lay-up.

Death of Australian containerisation pioneer and leader Captain John Jenkins