Weekly edition 22 March

Patrick, union tug-of-war drags on

ACCUSATIONS continue to fly in the long-running dispute between Patrick Terminals and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).

Incident report points to dangers of crews being unprepared

A NZ-REGISTERED tug’s gear break down in Queensland could have been avoided with better preparation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) signalled in its report on the incident.

Future of coal promises even cosier relationship with China

AUSTRALIAN coal is forecast to become ever-more dependent upon Chinese consumption over the next 20 years, according to the latest note from international research consultants Wood Mackenzie.

Seacare calls for feedback on changes in law shake up

SEACARE Authority, the Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority, has released its discussion paper on a new set of coverage provisions under the Seacare scheme, and is now calling for feedback by March 30.

Level playing field revisited as Tasmania struggles to compete

TASMANIAN state and industry leaders have banded together in an attempt to expand the state’s Freight Equalisation Scheme (FES) to cover exports to overseas destinations.

Conference urges Australia to take bull by the horns in primary exports

EXPORTS of live cattle are likely to take a hit owing to competition in the northern hemisphere, Indonesian import restrictions and the ongoing cattle slaughter abuse revelations, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES).

Drive to Geelong shows signs of stalling

PRESSURE is growing on the Victorian Government to ‘show its hand’ regarding plans to relocate the car trade from Melbourne to Geelong.

Weighty issues for heavylift cargoes in new legislation

WITH MAJOR construction projects such as Gorgon and Gladstone continuing to fuel the need for further project cargoes, it is timely to look at some of the legal issues that arise. New reforms to the regulation of Australia’s coastal shipping industry will have an impact.

Human error sends supply chain claims soaring high

NEARLY 80% of supply chain claims made to London-based logistics mutual insurer TT Club are avoidable and many involve human error.

China slams EU proposal for emission trading rules

CHINA has vowed to oppose inclusion of shipping in any European Union carbon emission trading scheme, saying that any such a unilateral measure would be against international law.

Gearbulk to bring in exclusively Asian crews on ships by 2013

GEARBULK, a major operator of open-hatched gantry and fixed-crane general cargo vessels, has said it will man its vessels exclusively with Asian seafarers by early 2013.

Inchcape will sweep away layers of bureaucracy

MARINE services provider Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) is back on the acquisition trail after completing a root and branch shake-up of the business that includes the departure of several senior managers and a new internal structure.

Contracts to raise Indian coal imports

INDIA’s insatiable coal demand for electricity generation was cited as a key driver of growth in the dry bulk shipping industry by shipowner Navios Maritime Holdings in the company’s latest financial results presentation – and an imminent new development is about to provide a further boost to coal imports on dry bulk carriers into India.

Richards Bay coal exports soar 33%

COAL exports at South Africa’s Richards Bay Coal Terminal soared in February, up 33% year on year to reach 6.1m tonnes, from 4.6mt in the same month a year earlier.

West coast ports clear the air

FEW MAJOR port complexes in the world are located as close to affluent residential areas as Los Angeles and Long Beach, a situation that has created considerable friction over the years.

Dry bulk ship values hit all-time low

SEVERAL small bulker sales at low prices show that the market for dry bulk tonnage has not bottomed out after all and although charter rates have found their way up again recently, asset values continued to dip last month as all three Baltic asset-value benchmarks for dry bulk ships hit record lows.

Half of dry bulk orderbook set to vanish

DRY BULK shipowners have voiced cautious optimism for the year ahead, noting cargo demand is likely to increase and vessel scrapping and cancellations will reach record levels.

Minister in pledge to restructure shipping

CHINA’S government will back shipping lines that restructure to survive an industry downturn “rarely seen in history”, according to the country’s transport minister, who is urging carriers to reorganise themselves to become more competitive and cut costs.

China Shipping to snap up distressed yards and ports

STATE-owned giant China Shipping Group (CSG) is looking at opportunities to buy shipbuilders and port operators to expand its vertical operations, seeking bargains during the industry downturn.

Easing will not save China’s struggling shipyards

AT FIRST glance, China’s latest round of monetary easing may alleviate its shipyards’ pain to a degree.

A year of mixed messages

One direct service has contracted, one has expanded, and the third is marking more than ten years virtually unchanged. All the while, relay options increase. Where is the Europe trade heading, Dale Crisp asks.

Dryships posts 2011 loss due to charges

DRYSHIPS, the George Economou controlled dry bulk giant, reported a net loss of US$6.2m for the fourth quarter of 2011, as impairment charges on the sale of three vessels drove the company into the red.

SCFI gains a fifth as box rates soar

CONTAINER lines were turning their attention to the Pacific this month after managing to push through some very sizeable rate increases in the Asia-Europe trades that have lifted the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI) by almost a fifth over seven days.

US outbound boxes hit record 12m teu high

US CONTAINERISED exports hit record levels in 2011 despite a reversal in the final months of the year as Europe’s economic woes hit demand from the region.

Monthly box figures show some recovery

A NEW monthly container traffic index of 72 box ports worldwide reveals tentative signs of a recovery in late 2011 and early 2012,with the first index of container throughput for January this year showing a score of 111.1 points.

Seaspan aims to spend another US$50m on its own shares

SEASPAN appears to have decided that buying back its own shares at current attractively low prices is the best use of its cash in an uncertain economy, as the company earmarked a fresh tranche of US$50mfor this purpose.

Hapag-Lloyd fleet lands EEDI

GERMAN liner company Hapag-Lloyd has had its entire fleet certified under its own management under the Energy Efficiency Design Index by Germanischer Lloyd.

Industry demands more time to launch its CO2 measures

A GROUP of leading shipping associations want the industry to have time to implement and analyse the benefits of agreed CO2 reduction tools before others are made mandatory.

Shipping defaults could wipe out some banks’ equity

THE WIDELY predicted wave of shipping defaults will put pressure on European banks involved with the maritime industry, wiping out their entire equity in some cases, influential figures in the investment banking and ship finance communities believe.

Casualty briefs 22 March 2012

Maritime

Asian owners call for UN troops to guard ships and curb piracy

THE Asian Shipowners’ Forum (ASF) has called for a United Nations resolution that would see the international body sponsor and manage armed personnel on board ships sailing through pirate-infested waters.

BIMCO to publish security contract

BIMCO plans to publish its standard contract Guardcon on March 26.

Owner’s yes to scrubber ship system

DUTCH shipowner Spliethoff, which operates Transfennica ro-ro liner services, heavylift subsidiary BigLift Shipping and shortsea business Wijnne Barends, has become the latest shipowner to fit a SOx scrubber on a vessel operating in an emission control area.

Time is right for Greek LNG newbuilding spree

GREEK activity in liquefied natural gas carriers was always likely to tail off in 2012 following last year’s extraordinary ordering binge and on balance that is likely to remain the case when it comes to fresh contracting of newbuildings.

Greece should look to a shipping fix

GREECE and its shipping industry have been urged to leverage the country’s competitive advantage in the maritime industry to rebuild its shattered economy.

Forced sales to flood small boxship market

AN ARUBA court has announced the forced sale of two container feederships owned by German ship manager Phoenix Reederei, in a move that could herald a wave of similar sales of smaller container tonnage in the coming weeks.

Fredriksen builds US$1bn war chest for acquisitions

JOHN Fredriksen is lining up huge sums of cash to pounce on distressed asset sales and low newbuilding prices to increase his shipping portfolio. It is at a time when other large tanker owners and operators are reporting colossal losses and arestruggling to tread water.

Lack of green spend hits manufacturers

SHIPOWNERS’ reluctance to invest in nonobligatory environmental equipment has begun to hit some of the industry’s technology providers.

Clyde & Co’s Asia push led by Nash move to Singapore

LAW FIRM Clyde & Co has appointed marine specialist Brian Nash managing partner for its Singapore office to lead the firm’s regional growth and development as a member of its Asia regional board.

Shipping debt surges above 1000%

BIG NAME shipping outfits are carrying huge debt-to-equity ratios (DERs) that in some cases have risen to high three-figure and even four-figure percentages, according to a watch list of major companies contained in a report by investment bank Nomura.

Lloyd’s List leader

Welcome voices

Ships can’t fly

Current plans for emissions trading systems look impossible to realise, writes NIKO WIJNOLST*

This week in maritime history

Looking back – South Australia’s quest for a deepwater port

Perth party for heavylifters

SAL Heavylift hosted its annual cocktail party on February 22 at Halo Restaurant in Perth, WA.

The Grill

In this inaugural column of Lloyd’s List Australia’s new social feature, The Grill, Paul Zalai steps up to the plate.

LETTER: 

Immunity concerns raised over new navigation laws