VLIERODAM WIRE ROPES Ltd. - Maasmond Maritimenewsletter.maasmondmaritime.com/pdf/2006/189-03-10-2006.pdf2006/03/10 · Her group includes Greenpeace, whose protests drew attention

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 189

PSi-Daily Shipping News Page 1 10/3/2006

Number 189** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS ***Tuesday 03-10-2006 News reports received from readers and Internet News articles taken from various news sites.

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EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS

The POWER EXPRESS – Photo : Vroon BV ©

Suez to dismantle French naval frigate in deal prompted by toxic ship debate

Two Suez subsidiairies and another French company will dismantle a 64-year-old French warship in a deal announced Monday that they hope will lay the groundwork for a new European shipbreaking industry. The deal was driven by uproar earlier this year over the French aircraft carrier Clemenceau, laden with asbestos and stranded at sea amid concern about the safety of workers in India who were to dismantle it. Europe has no yards to break down such large ships, and the Clemenceau's saga underscored the need for a way to put them to rest.




The LUCIFER seen in Cherbourg - Photo : Piet Sinke ©

Suez SA announced Monday that subsidiaries Endel and SITA and another French company, Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie, have won a €3.3 million (US$4.18 million) contract from the French navy to dismantle the Lucifer, an anti-submarine frigate. "It's the result of the acknowledgment by the authorities, and by the players in our market, that we can no longer abandon boats just anywhere," said Jean-Louis Chaussade, director of Suez Environnement, said by telephone. Chaussade said the idea came out of the Clemenceau controversy, and called the project "the first stone" in a new European shipbreaking industry. No European countries are currently able to break down vessels larger than 5,000 tons — the weight of a frigate. Chaussade said some 700 vessels of that scale in Europe already need dismantling, calling it a potential €1 billion (US$1.27 billion) a year market. Environmental groups welcomed Monday's announcement. "We're very happy that several initiatives are being taken not only in France but in the rest of Europe to establish a shipbreaking industry," said Ingvild Jenssen of the NGO Platform on Shipbreaking. "This is what we called for several times." Her group includes Greenpeace, whose protests drew attention to the Clemenceau's fate and were instrumental in forcing the French government to bring it back to France. The Lucifer project will begin in 2007 and should take one year to complete, Suez said. It will be dissembled in dry dock in Querqueville on the Atlantic Coast, where it has remained since it was damaged in a fierce storm in 1997. Experts will first determine the levels of asbestos, fuel or other toxic waste on the ship and then determine acceptable conditions for workers, Chaussade said. The Lucifer was built in 1942 and decommissioned in 1959, and later served as a training ship for fire safety exercises. Many questions remain about how the new industry will develop, including where dismantling facilities would be located, and whether it could grow as a multinational consortium or as competing companies. Chaussade urged French companies to seek the lead in the lucrative industry. "It is not idiotic to try to place it in France," he said. Suez is also hoping to bid for a contract to dismantle the Clemenceau.



World Maritime Day in London broadens the shipping industry's outreach

Getting on for thirty shipping industry associations and organisations joined forces to participate in an event staged this week on the ship HQS Wellington, hosted by the Hon Company of Master Mariners and the International Maritime Pilots Association. The aim of the event was to broaden the outreach of the shipping industry by attracting visitors such as mainstream (non-shipping) media, schools, maritime colleges and universities, national representatives at the IMO. The event was opened by IMO Secretary General Thimio Mitropoulos. Lunchtime speakers were Spyros Polemis, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of the easyGroup of companies including easyJet and easyCruise, and founder of Stelmar Tankers, now sold to OSG. HRH Princess Anne visited the Wellington to tour the

event and make a number of presentations to cadets and students. (See attached picture First Sea Lord with Sea Cadet). Sir Stelios talked of the “new way of doing things” of the new generation of shipping leaders – a new way that still, however, involves having a “true love of shipping”, as learnt in his family tanker business. As someone who at one time simultaneously headed both a major tanker company and a major airline, Sir Stelios reminded those present that “unless airlines stay safe they do not have a business”, adding that, “the maritime industry needs to learn the same thing. Your reputation is built on how you operate.” The Round Table (RT) of international shipping associations (BIMCO, INTERCARGO, ICS and INTERTANKO) used the opportunity to call on governments around the world to participate in the new IMO Voluntary Member State Audit Scheme via Polemis’ lunchtime speech, with a Press Release and with press briefings on the Wellington. The RT, whose four chief executives were all present, believes that this scheme could prove to be the most significant regulatory milestone of the decade as maritime administrations become subject to external audit of how effectively they implement and enforce IMO safety and pollution prevention regulations. The Round Table associations have updated for World Maritime Day their well received brochure ‘International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade’, which contains some basic facts about the international shipping industry, its importance to the world economy and its impressive safety record and environmental performance, the critical need for global regulation for a global industry, and some basic information on the IMO’s Flag State Audit Scheme.

Diamond dredging equipment goes overboard Namibian newspaper New Era reports that diamond dredging equipment costing approximately N $ 28 million (approx R28.7m) has been lost overboard from an unidentified ship off South Africa’s Wild Coast. The loss took place last week as the equipment was being shipped from Malaysia to Walvis Bay for NamDebs offshore mining operations along the Namibian coast. The ship encountered seas with strong swells and was pounded by waves, resulting in the equipment being swept overboard. Due to the strong currents in the area and the depth of the water there is considered no chance of its recovery. The report said the ship was ‘in the vicinity of Durban and Port Elizabeth’ at the time. It added the crew had been so badly traumatised by the incident that they activated a distress signal. The ship later docked safely in Cape Town.



The equipment was intended for the CSD500SD cutter suction dredge and weighed a total of 255 tons. Diamond production in the section known as Pocket Beaches Areas 11 and 12 between Luderitz and Oranjemund will be set back by about three months while new equipment is acquired.

Old ROTTERDAM's Mast Saved by HAL Captain

When VEENDAM called at Los Angeles on September 28, an interesting maritime reunion in the making was revealed. In 1981, then chief officer Albert J. Schoonderbeek and Second Bo'sun Nico Pangamanan of the 1959-built SS ROTTERDAM removed the top nine feet of the ship's mast. The ship was sailing to Ketchikan, Alaska where low-hanging power lines at Seymour Narrows required the reduction in mast height. The mast was stowed on board until 1997 (when Nico Pangamanan had made Bo'sun), when they landed the mast at Ketchikan. The port agent had asked if it could become a flag pole, but for some reason this never happened and the mast ended up in a storage yard for many years. Returning to Ketchikan as captain of the MV VEENDAM, Albert J. Schoonderbeek and his Bo'sun, Nico Pangamanan, recovered the mast, intending to return it to the former Holland America Line flagship ROTTERDAM, now undergoing restoration in Germany. When VEENDAM arrives in Europe in 2007, the mast will be offloaded and returned to the ship from which it came.

The ROTTERDAM moored in Wilhelmshaven – Photo : Bram Plokker ©

Death of cruise ship passenger is ruled suicide A woman committed suicide on the Carnival cruise ship Conquest by jumping off of an upper deck and landing on the balcony of a cabin several decks below, Houston FBI Special Agent Shauna Dunlap said.



The CARNIVAL CONQUEST seen moored in Galveston – Photo : Piet Sinke ©

The 48-year-old woman's name and hometown were not released. The death occurred Saturday and the body was turned over to the Galveston County Medical Examiner's office for autopsy. Dunlap said there was no evidence of foul play in the case. The Conquest was on the last leg of a seven-day cruise that ended in Galveston Sunday, according to the cruise line. The woman was traveling with her spouse.

P&I MAN WARNS ON “MARKET GOSSIP” THE only real risk to continuation of the claims pooling agreement between the world's leading marine mutual insurers is ill-informed market gossip, according to managing director of North of England P&I club. Speaking in New York last week Rodney Eccleston noted that, in 1999 the European Commission gave a 10-year exemption from EC anti-cartel laws to the pooling agreement between the 13 members of the International Group of P&I Clubs. He stressed: “Changes made in 2004 to the procedure by which such agreements are notified to the Commission means that the reasoning which underpinned the decision to grant the exemption are likely to be much longer than 10 years.” However, he warned that ill-informed speculation and commentaries which call into question whether or not the clubs will continue to benefit from the exemption in 2009 are at best a distraction and at worst will cause senior club managers to expend a large amount of time explaining the true position.



“The last thing the industry wants or needs is an ill-conceived challenge to the agreement before the courts of an EC member state,” he said. “It is bound to fail but will divert the Group members from what they should be doing - which is managing claims, defending shipowners' and seafarers' rights and opposing the shift from fault-based compensation to strict liability.” Eccleston said the significance of the Commission's 1999 decision should not be underestimated. “It followed a rigorous and focused audit by one of the world's most sophisticated competition authorities. Furthermore it could not have been achieved without the wholehearted support of the International Group's collective memberships - which really showed what the shipping industry can achieve in its relations with legislators when it puts its mind to it,” he said.

Namegiving of Maersk Newbuilding On 2 October 2006 Odense Steel Shipyard presented its latest newbuilding, an 11,000 TEU container vessel, for the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group. Like her predecessor, "Emma Maersk", "Estelle Maersk" will be part of the series of the world's largest container vessels. Ships in this series will set new standards for safety and environment. Environmentally friendly silicone paint covers the hull of the vessel below the waterline - reducing water resistance and cutting the vessel's fuel consumption by 1,200 tons per year. With her 14-cylinder Wartsila RT-flex diesel engine which develops 110,000 BHP, "Estelle Maersk" will after delivery enter Maersk Line's worldwide service and thereby together with the other vessels contribute to a global, competitive and flexible transport for the Company's customers. "Estelle Maersk" will be registered in Hellerup and will be commanded by Captain Lars Peter Jensen with Torben Jorgensen as Chief Engineer.

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Coast Guard to induct new patrol vessel Meera Ben On the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, the Indian Coast Guard has said it will today induct a sophisticated patrol vessel named after Meera Ben, a foreigner who voluntarily adopted a life dedicated to Gandhian values. The vessel, to be stationed at Gujarat's Okha Port, will enhance the Coast Guard's efficiency in combating piracy, apprehending drug traffickers and preventing infiltration of insurgents, district operations and plans officer B K Singh said here today. The ship is designed to project the Coast Guard as a leading maritime force in the subcontinent, he said. The new induction will swell the Coast Guard's fleet strength in Gujarat to 17 ships and a craft.




£25m project turns Ark Royal into one of a kind The Royal Navy’s biggest warship, HMS Ark Royal, heads out into the North Sea for trials after a £25 million refit to transform her into the service’s only combined troop and aircraft carrier.

Photo : Johan Ritman ©

Work carried out on the vessel at a shipyard in Rosyth, Fife, will enable her to transport up to 600 Royal Marines around the world. Commander Simon Petitt said: “She is one of a kind, the only ship in the service which can carry out the dual roles of troop and aircraft carrier. She now represents a highly mobile and formidable potential strike force, one of the most flexible fighting ships in the world.” Portsmouth-based Ark Royal has also had a third mast installed to improve her electronic communications. She left for trials yesterday and will rejoin the fleet before Christmas.

Mounts Bay Moves to Fleet Command Operational command of the first of the Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) vessels – RFA Mounts Bay – transferred to Fleet on September 15, just two months after it achieved its in-service date. A small ceremony of dedication was held at Falmouth, due to be attended by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathan Band. The ship completed her pre-Fleet handover assisted maintenance period at A&P’s facility in Falmouth which resolved some design issues, identified during her Part II capability trials. Trials took place following the vessel’s acceptance off contract from BAE Systems Naval Ships last September.

Photo : Ian Denton © Some examples of the changes that have been made, as a result of these trials, include modifications to the external red and blue lighting systems that allow the ship to covertly offload via Mexifloates in darkness and to operate with full night vision device compatibility. Bowman communication equipment has been fitted to give future embarked forces an improved suite of communications equipment; improved buoy mooring facilities have been fitted on the mooring



deck to give a safer and quicker securing method; additional power supplies to the galley have been fitted to power new defrost facilities and the future fit of blast chillers that will significantly ease ship’s staff workload and improve food hygiene. Tony Graham, the LSD(A) IPT leader, said:

"The ISD declaration for RFA Mounts Bay is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the IPT, ship staff, industry and stakeholders over a number of years. “However, the IPT can hardly draw breath as we have both RFA Largs Bay and RFA Cardigan Bay close on her heels. This is all good news and I am very proud of the IPT and what it is achieving." RFA Mounts Bay will now undertake her role within the Amphibious Task Force and operate in close support of the Landing Platform Dock and the Landing Platform Helicopter ships, in moving troops, ammunition, vehicles and stores strategically to wherever they are required in the world and deploy them tactically as a fighting force directly into operations. Mounts Bay will shortly be undertaking the role she has been designed for when she participates in her first operation on deployment. Largs Bay and Cardigan Bay are scheduled to be brought into service in early 2007. Lyme Bay, the fourth and final ship of the class, is undergoing her commissioning with BAE Systems Naval Ships in Glasgow and scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in November 2007. RFA Cardigan Bay, the third of four new LSD(A) vessels, was accepted off contract from BAE Systems Naval Ships at a ceremony at its Govan shipyard in Glasgow last month. Work has now begun on preparing her for her capability trials to be held shortly on the south coast in readiness for achieving her planned in-service date in early 2007.

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Aker Yards Press Release Aker Yards, Cruise & Ferries business area combines the long tradition of Finnish and French shipbuilding, benefitting from a unique design competence and strong industrial synergies. The integration process was named 1 + 1 = 3. Since January 4, 2006 when the news of joining forces of the two giants in cruise ship building was published, the traffic between the cities of Saint Nazaire in France and Turku in Finland, where the two Aker Yards´ post-panama yards are situated, has been busy. The busiest travellers have been the members of the 14 task forces consisting of both French and Finnish employees, which were established for the integration process. When shaping of Aker Yards new Cruise & Ferries business area they have been e.g. evaluating potential synergies and gathering best experiences in both countries in order to prepare suggestions for the executive management team´s approval. The joining of the forces of the French and Finnish companies was the result of Aker Yards Cruise & Ferries business area´s need to increase its Post Panama business with new capacity. By capitalising on the French yard´s position to construct very large ships, the plan to create one of the world leaders in shipbuilding came true. The new unit benefits from a unique design competence, combining the long tradition of French and Finnish cruise shipbuilding that has produced icons such as SS France, Queen Mary 2, the Voyager class and the Freedom class ships. In Aker Yards capacity and capabilities are utilized cross national borders. As to France and Finland, the team work between the yards started already before the integration - sections of a cruise ferry in the Finnish orderbook were manufactured in St Nazaire due to available capacity. Aker Yards is known for innovative design prototypes. Besides the world´s largest delivered vessels - first Queen Mary 2 in France, then Freedom of the Seas in Finland - innovations like the first all-outside-cabin cruise ships, prefabricated cabins and bathroom modules, Azipod propulsion and indoor promenade originate from Aker Yards. After signing on 7 September 2006 the biggest contract ever in Aker Yards`history, two new type of big cruise vessels for NCL, Aker Yards has built, or are building, all twelve of the largest cruise ships in the world. "We think the best way to predict the future is to create it" says Yrjö Julin, President of Aker Yards Cruise & Ferries. "There are certainly many more innovations to come - especially now that we feel we have the best facilities for cruise vessel and ferry shipbuilding in the world." "Aker Yards´ key objective is building trust towards our suppliers and partners. The new arrangement also opens opportunities for the marine industry networks to find new working and supplying contacts both in France and Finland and also elsewhere in Europe", Julin continues. The Aker Yards Cruise & Ferries business area now consists of five yards: Aker Yards, St.Nazaire and Lorient in France and Aker Yards, Turku, Rauma and Helsinki in Finland. The legal names of the French and Finnish companies are Aker Yards SA and Aker Yards Oy respectively, but the names Aker Yards, France and Aker Yards, Finland as well as the locality names are used for branding and communication purposes. The Finnish yards are all amongst the largest yard facilities in Europe. The yard in Turku with total land area of 144 hectares is one of the biggest and most modern shipyards in Europe, building post-panama size cruise vessels. The newbuilding dock measuring 365 x 80 m is served by a gantry crane of 600 tons.



Also the yard in Saint Nazaire has over the last few years turned into one of the world leaders in the important market of cruise ships. With an area of 108 hectares the yard comprises a huge dry dock, 885 x 65 m served by a gigantic gantry crane of 750 tons. The yard in Helsinki is specializing in car-passenger ferries, and the Rauma yard is the world`s leading ferry builder, and is also specialized in small cruise vessels, multipurpose icebreakers and naval craft. The yard in Lorient produces hi-tech vessels of between 30 & 140 metres in length. The number of personnel in Aker Yards Finnish yards amounts to some 3,800 employees. The company`s "assembly yard" concept means employing directly these "own" people and lots of others in co-operation companies, thus boosting the whole surrounding economic region. In France Aker Yards employs some 3,200 people. The ca. 6.5 billion EUR order intakes of Aker Yards, Cruise & Ferries consist of 17 newbuildings: The world`s three largest cruise vessels for Royal Caribbean, two new type big cruise vessels for NCL, four luxury cruise vessels for MSC Cruises, a cruise vessel and two fast day ferries for Color Line, a cruise ferry and a fast passenger ferry for Tallink, a ropax and a passenger ferry for Brittany Ferries and a fast passenger/car ferry for Viking Line. In addition, there are five options; with RCCL, MSC, NCL, Color Line and Viking Line. Besides Cruise & Ferries, the international shipbuilding group Aker Yards ASA (www.akeryards.com) is focusing on two other business areas, i.e. Merchant Vessels and Offshore & Specialized vessels. Aker Yards comprises in all 17 yards in seven countries (Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Romania and Ukraine) and has approximately 20,000 employees. Aker Yards is part of the Aker Group (www.akerasa.com), a leading multi-industry powerhouse with more than 50,000 employees and EUR 10 billion revenues. Aker owns 50.4 per cent of Aker Yards, and the group is also a significant participant in the oil & gas business as well as the fisheries industry.

Order book fills up for Hanjin's Subic yard THOUGH still in the construction stage, Hanjin Heavy Industries' newest shipyard in Subic Bay has an order book which is fast filling up with new orders. During last week's visit to the shipyard, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that the US$700 million shipyard already had 12 container vessels in its order book worth roughly US$60 million each. 'Subic is bound to become one of the four largest shipbuilding facilities in the world,' she noted as she toured the facility. Beginning with just four 4,300 TEU containers ships worth US$250 million from France's CMA-CGM, Hanjin's Subic shipyard's order book has been swelled by eight more container ship orders from European shipowners such as Germany's NSC and NSC Schiffart. The Subic facility is Hanjin's, South Korea's fifth-largest shipbuilder, first overseas yard. With little space available for expansion at its local shipyards and a sharp increase in market demand for newbuildings, Hanjin has been forced to look overseas to increase its shipbuilding capacity. The Philippines, with a large pool of skilled and low-cost technical manpower, has proven ideal for Hanjin's needs. In March this year, Hanjin began construction of the 350-hectare shipyard in Subic Bay Freeport. Work on the yard's dry dock area should be completed by March 2007. This would enable the building of the initial order of container ships to commence in time for the delivery of the first vessel in 2008. When fully completed by 2010, the shipyard will have the capacity to build liquefied natural gas carriers; very large crude carriers; floating production, storage and offloading tankers; offshore drilling rigs and other offshore structures. Other international shipyards with facilities in the Philippines are Singapore's Keppel Corp and Japan's Tsuneishi Heavy Industries.



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European Commission to enforce EU competition rules for the tramp sector

This week European Union (EU) Member States' ministers responsible for competition unanimously agreed to follow the European Commission's advice and repeal Regulation 4056/86. This Regulation, which has been in force since the late 1980s, has effectively not only exempted liner conferences from the general provisions of EU competition rules, but also deprived the European Commission of the implementation powers necessary to enforce these rules in the non-liner ("tramp") shipping sectors. Despite the fact that the tramp shipping sector has all the time been subject to the rules of the EC Treaty’s Article 81 (concerted practices) and Article 82 (abuse of dominant position), this week’s change is significant because it will bring the tramp shipping sector much more to the forefront as far as EU enforcement of the competition rules is concerned. The Council decision, which in legal terms lifts the exclusion of tramp shipping services from the scope of the general Commission implementation rules for competition laid down in Regulation 1/2003, has already been published in the Official Journal of the EU (on Thursday 28 September 2006) and will become effective on 18 October 2006. Publication in the Official Journal only three days after the decision is extremely fast by normal standards – it can often take up to three months – and this emphasises the importance being attached to this regulation. The tanker shipping industry, as well as other maritime transport operators, would accordingly be well advised always to take the provisions of the EU competition rules into account when planning and providing its services. As frequently reported in INTERTANKO's Weekly NEWS, the decision to repeal Regulation 4056/86 and consequently bring the non-liner sector within the scope of regulation 1/2003 has long been expected. Monday’s Council decision comes on the back of a three-year long revision process, which again has been part of a complete overhaul of the way the EU enforces its competition rules across all sectors. Significantly for the maritime transport sector, this process does not entirely end with this week’s repeal of the current rules. There will be a two-year transitional period ending in October 2008 for liner conferences. However, since the material rules (as opposed to the implementation rules) are being left unchanged as far as the non-liner (tramp) shipping sectors are concerned, a similar transitional period has not been granted to maritime transport as a whole.

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However, one might hope that during this two-year period, the Commission will be cautious in its application of the rules also for the tramp sector, particularly as far as fines are concerned. One reason for this is that in the absence of relevant jurisprudence in the field of EU competition rules and tramp shipping, the Commission will meet the industry’s request for legal guidance on how the provisions of Articles 81 and 82 are to be understood in the non-liner sector. Such legal guidelines will now be developed in close consultation with Member States and industry stakeholders during the forthcoming two years. INTERTANKO, together with other industry associations, will actively participate in this forthcoming process with the aim of assisting the Commission in producing viable guidelines which are well suited to the realities of the shipping markets. The Commission will also receive input from a soon-to-be-delivered expert report on the functioning of the tramp markets, which was commissioned by the EU Commission earlier this year. (See Weekly NEWS No. 31/2006 of 4 August 2006). Industry operators should be aware, however, that despite all the industry input which the Commission will now be receiving in order to develop the guidelines, the Commission will, from 18 October this year, also have the legal powers required to enable it to request any further information it considers necessary from commercial operators in order not only to police the markets but also to develop its future guidelines.

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Shock for thousands of passengers as MSC Monterey cruise season cancelled

Thousands of passengers have had to be re-accommodated after the cancellation of MSC Monterey’s extended Southern African cruise season.

Clifford Foggit of Starlight Cruises, which markets the Southern African cruises operating out of Durban and Cape Town, said the ship, which was due in South Africa later this month, had encountered boiler problems which prevented the vessel from developing a normal operating speed. While the ship had been able to complete its Mediterranean cruises at reduced speeds, the seas around South Africa require the ship to have full power available at all times and for safety reasons MSC was withdrawing the ship until repairs have been completed. However, given the age of the ship and the complexity of repairing an aging

boiler it is highly possible MSC Monterey may be withdrawn completely and scrapped. New maritime regulations coming into force make it doubtful that Monterey would have remained in service much longer anyhow.

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The 20 046-gt, 600-passenger Monterey was built as a US Maritime Commission C3 freighter in an American shipyard in 1952 and converted a few years later to a passenger ship for Matson Navigation. After successive ownerships she has been in MSC hands since 1990 shortly when MSC acquired Star Lauro Lines and since then has spent a number of summer seasons cruising out of Durban on behalf of both MSC and Starlight. The ship became highly popular with local passengers partly because of her large public areas, accommodation and deck space and was only replaced when her popularity bred success and with it a requirement for a larger ship. As recently as early September Monterey, while cruising in the Mediterranean was described as being in pristine condition. Monterey was due in Durban later this month (October) and was to remain in local waters until May 2008, undertaking all-year-round cruises from both Durban and Cape Town. These included the longer cruises to Mauritius and Madagascar and from Cape Town to Walvis Bay. It would have been the first time in several years that a cruise ship had operated here throughout the winter and was also the first time that Starlight had offered regular cruises as an option from Cape Town. Thousands of passengers had already booked for the Cape Town cruises and have had to be re-accommodated or reimbursed. During December another MSC cruise ship, MSC Melody is due to cruise locally during the summer months only. Her summer season may be extended slightly. Foggitt said that MSC had offered to replace Monterey but this was not considered viable as the only available ship – MSC Rhapsody - was too large for the smaller number of passengers expected in winter. He said that Starlight has refunded those of the Cape Town passengers who particularly wanted to cruise along the southern Cape coast or to Namibia. Many other Cape Town-based passengers had agreed to transfer to cruises operating from Durban.

Eidesvik orders X-bow vessel Norway's Eidesvik Offshore ASA has entered into a contract with Ulstein Verft AS for delivery of a large Subsea Construction vessel, type SX SX121 with the innovative Ulstein X-BOW hull. A limited partnership company (Kommadittselskap), controlled 60% by Eidesvik Offshore ASA and 40% by others, is the buyer. The value of the contract is approximately NOK 660 million (about $100 million) including an offshore crane. The vessel will be delivered in

November 2008. The new vessel is an inspection-, maintenance-, repair- and construction vessel (IMR/OCV) with a length overall of 120.2 m, breadth of 25 m and a large cargo deck area of 1470 square meters. The vessel has accommodations for up to 90 persons and will amongst others be equipped with a moonpool, an active heave compensated offshore crane, ROV-hangar, diesel-electric machinery and a helicopter deck. The construction vessel is the first ship Eidesvik has ordered from the Ulstein Group.



Stena Bulk in major deal with Neste Oil Stena Bulk has sold 50 per cent of the tanker Stena Arctica to the Finnish oil company Neste Oil, which will also operate the vessel on a 10-year charter from 1 January, 2007 - mainly to transport oil from Primorsk to the Finnish port Porvoo in the Baltic. The 117,100 DWT Stena Arctica was delivered at the end of 2005 from the shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and is the world's largest tanker with the highest ice class (1A Super) currently in service.

Photo : Piet Sinke ©

"Together with sister company Concordia Maritime, Stena Bulk has worked closely with Neste Oil for many years. Finland and Sweden are probably the two countries with the longest experience of shipping in icy waters and particularly in a capital-intensive industry such as shipping it is natural, and even necessary, to exchange experiences in order to be able to continue to develop in the future," says Ulf G. Ryder, President of Stena Bulk. The Stena Arctica was named in January, this year, in the Port of Gothenburg and has since been deployed on the spot market transporting oil from Primorsk to Europe. Originally, the Stena Arctica had been booked for a long-term charter to a Russian company, but has now been replaced by her sisters Stena Antarctica and Stena Atlantica. Stena Bulk's sister company Concordia Maritime, which is listed on the Nordic Exchange (former Stockholm Stock Exchange), and Neste Oil each own 50 per cent of the Stena Poseidon and the Neste Polaris, currently under construction in Croatia. These vessels will have a deadweight of 75,000 tons and are being built to ice class 1A specifications. The Stena Poseidon will be delivered at the end of 2006 and the Neste Polaris at the beginning of 2007. Both tankers have been contracted on long-term charters by Neste Oil. In 2008, Stena Bulk, together with Concordia Maritime, will operate a fleet of 12 large, ice-strengthened tankers.

Facts: Stena Arctica: Length: 249.8 m, breadth: 44 m, draft: 15.4 m, deadweight: 117,100 tons, no. of cargo tanks: 7, cargo: crude oil. The hull is heavily reinforced and the vessel's power output is substantially larger than that of a normal tanker in order to be able to operate safely in the icy waters of the Baltic.

Ice class When ice forms on the water, the authorities impose restrictions on maritime traffic. Ships have to satisfy certain requirements in order to be eligible for icebreaking assistance. Swedish ships are built in accordance with joint Finnish



and Swedish ice class regulations. In this system, the lowest ice class is 1C and the highest is 1A Super. The Stena Arctica is built in accordance with Ice Class 1a Super regulations, which means that she can sail under her own power through 1 metre thick ice.

Saldanha Iron Ore Terminal at a standstill Following the breakdown of one of the two ship loaders at the port of Saldanha, iron ore exports have been severely affected until repairs can be completed. The breakdown of shiploader no.2 last week coincided with the first ship loader being down for routine maintenance. The second loader has suffered structural damage and SA Port Operations is conducting an enquiry into the circumstances. Meanwhile arrangements are being hurriedly put in place to return ship loader no.1 to operation so that exports can resume. Delivery of iron ore from the Sishen area by rail is continuing normally and being discharged at the stockpile. Iron ore is carried on a conveyor system to the ships side where the ship loader loads it into the vessel. As a result of the maintenance programme the conveyor system has been dismantled and will have to be restored. According to Kumba Resources, which exports iron ore from the terminal the restoration may take as long as two or three weeks, although contingency plans may help to reduce this.

Bore converts two Finnish ro-ros to car carriers Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat confirmed on Wednesday the plannings that Turku-based company Oy Rettig Ab Bore is going to convert their ro-ro vessels (bought via the sale of shipping company Rederi Ab Engship) SERENADEN and HERALDEN to car feeders. The conversions will be done at Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard Co. Ltd in China and the first vessel (rumoured being SERENADEN) is planned to be completed in January 2007 and the second vessel in the end of February. The first one will head for China around October/November. They also will go on long-term charter to United European Car Carriers, UECC. Presently these ro-ros are serving for Transfennica between Hamina-Lübeck (-Rostock). Their older sister TRANSGARD was converted similarly in Poland last year and is sailing on long-term charter to UECC. It´s also informed that these ro-ros can be act as ro-ro vessels too after the conversion, because the present decks remain normally. Only a big garage will be built to the weatherdeck. The CEO of Bore, mr. Kaj Eriksson tells also that they are considering to rebuilt one ro-ro more to a car carrier in the future. If these plans come true, the vessel in question is Transfennica ro-ro SEAGARD

MOL, SEA CONSORTIUM LAUNCH NEW INDIA-STRAITS SERVICE

MITSUI OSK Lines (MOL) and Singapore-based Sea Consortium are starting a new container service linking the Indian port of Chennai and the Straits. They say the service will meet rising demand for cargo transport in the booming Indian Market. Each company will contribute one ship. A statement says: “This new service will bring the fastest and most stable services from Japan to Chennai port in Madras by linking to MOL’s Japan/Straits service. This new service will also connect to MOL’s worldwide service at Singapore.”

Marine Terminals may be sold



Marine Terminals Corp, the family-owned operator of terminals at 13 US West Coast ports, may be put up for sale, three people with knowledge of the plan said. The Oakland, California-based company is valued at as much as US$2 billion, one of the people said. Marine Terminals has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc to explore options including a possible sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because details aren't public. Fuelled by increased US trade with China, shipping volume is rising at US ports, making them more appealing investments. Los Angeles, the busiest US port, posted an 18 per cent increase in container imports in August from a year earlier. Mergers and acquisitions in ports and shipping have jumped 50 per cent to US$30.6 billion this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 'Port assets are very attractive as safe, infrastructure-based long-term investments with solid growth potential,' said Philip Damas, a research director at London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants. 'There are investors with large chequebooks who are prepared to pay very high multiples,' he added. About 80 per cent of global trade is done by sea. Sydney-based Macquarie Bank Ltd, which owns transportation assets in 24 countries, and US ports operator SSA Marine Inc are among potential bidders for Marine Terminals, according to the people with knowledge of the matter. Marine Terminals, founded in 1931, doesn't provide earnings figures on its website. It's a unit of closely held MTC Holdings in San Francisco. The chairman of Marine Terminals is Christopher Redlich Jr, descendant of one of the two families that founded the company. The company handled the equivalent of more than six million 20-foot containers last year, more than 25 per cent of the West Coast's total, according to its website. Port-related assets are attracting the attention of investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, which has started an infrastructure fund. JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley are considering similar moves. Australian funds and other investors are also flocking to the UK because of a dearth of port assets at home. A group led by Goldman Sachs also agreed in June to buy Associated British Ports Holdings plc, Britain's biggest port company, for £2.8 billion (S$8.4 billion), trumping an offer from a Macquarie Bank group. UK real estate billionaire John Whittaker's Peel Holdings Ltd said in August it's considering 'options' for its ports unit, which operates Clydeport in Scotland. The biggest transaction so far is DP World's US$6.8 billion acquisition of London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co last February. Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based DP World, the world's third-largest container port operator, agreed to sell P&O's interests in six US ports after US lawmakers called the takeover a national security threat and threatened to block it. DP World has asked five to eight bidders including private equity firms to participate in the second round of the sale process, P&O said in an Aug 31 letter to the US Congress. Orient Overseas (International) Ltd, Hong Kong's No 3 container shipping line, may raise about US$1 billion selling ports in North America, taking advantage of rising prices, three people familiar with the plan said in August.

Emma helps PSA, Maersk make peace Orchid named after late wife of Maersk magnate as biggest container ship docks in S'pore



Singapore named an orchid after the late wife of shipping luminary Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, in an enthusiastic celebration of the arrival of the Emma Maersk, the world's biggest container ship. Warm welcome: Captain Henrik L Solmer (centre, in cap) flanked on his left by Transport Minister Raymond Lim and on the right by PSA chairman Fock Siew Wah on the top deck of the Emma Maersk.

The ship made her first Asian port of call at PSA's Pasir Panjang Terminal The 11,000 TEU vessel is named after Emma Mc-Kinney Moller, the

late wife of 93-year-old billionaire Mc-Kinney Moller, who is the son of the founder of the world's largest container shipping group AP Moller Maersk. A high-powered government and Temasek Holdings delegation was at hand to welcome the arrival of the Emma Maersk, on her first Asian port of call, at PSA's Pasir Panjang Terminal. Transport Minister Raymond Lim, Minister of State (Transport) Lim Hwee Hua, Temasek chairman S Dhanabalan and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore chief executive BG Tay Lim Heng joined PSA chairman Fock Siew Wah, group CEO Eddie Teh and Maersk and PSA officials at the wharf, and later, on a tour of the ship. The arrival was not open to the media here, probably to keep the publicity for the ship's arrival at Maersk's new Asian hub at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia, where it is only due over a week later on her return journey. The orchid naming and maiden call signal a 'burying of the hatchet' after the traumatic 2002 pullout by the Danish shipping group that sparked much soul searching at PSA and an unprecedented purge of management ranks. The excitement and warm reception point to a realisation that both major players need one another in the world's shipping stakes, said a prominent Singapore-based shipowner. PSA International group CEO Eddie Teh thanked the Danish group for 'giving us this opportunity to be part of this landmark occasion to handle the world's largest containership' and expressed PSA's hopes to 'continue to service Emma Maersk' in her 'future voyages to Singapore'. Built by AP Moller Maersk's Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark, the 397 metre long and 56 metre wide vessel will ply Maersk's AE1 (Europe-Far East) shipping service, calling at the Suez Canal, Gothenburg, Aarhus, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Algeciras, Singapore, Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama, Yantian, Hong Kong, Tanjung Pelepas and Felixstowe. Transport Minister Mr Lim made the customary maiden voyage plaque presentation to the vessel's master Captain Henrik L Solmer. The Dendrobium Emma Mc-Kinney Moller is a specially selected orchid with a white purplish bloom. 'This orchid embodies the spirit of elegance, grace and feminine beauty,' said PSA in a statement to the media yesterday. The Emma Maersk sets new shipping standards in innovation, the environment and safety. The vessel represents a range of innovative solutions and new ideas such as a unique propeller design, use of environmentally friendly silicone paint, automations and optimisations via more than 8,000 data signals monitored by integrated computer systems, and a patented lashing bridge system. The vessel is able to travel 66 km using just 1 kWh of energy per tonne of cargo. A jumbo jet travels half a kilometre using the same amount of energy per tonne of cargo. PSA's Mr Teh said that port operator's expansion plan at Pasir Panjang Terminal (PPT) was well on track, with six new berths already commissioned and another nine to be progressively phased in by 2011. 'When completed, PPT will have a total of 21 state-of-the-art berths with depths of up to 16 metres, and fleets of super-post Panamax quay cranes capable of handling 22 rows across a container ship,' he said.



PSA has a total of 43 berths at its Singapore terminals, equipped with 139 quay cranes. PSA International operates a global network of 20 port projects in 11 countries across Asia and Europe.

Butinge Terminal Resumed Operations Replacement of Single Point Mooring (SPM) buoy at Butinge terminal has been completed, and the Terminal has resumed operations. Replacement of the buoy was performed in compliance with requirements of SOFEC (designer and manufacturer of SPM). Works have been inspected and certified by American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). The tanker "Sparto" was the first tanker which started loading again.

DFDS’ acquisition of Norfolk Line Containers B.V. approved

The German competition authorities have approved the DFDS A/S acquisition of the container shipping company Norfolk Line Containers B. V. with effect from the beginning of October 2006. Left : MAERSK VOYAGER of the NORFOLK LINE Photo : Jan Simons © As stipulated in the Stock Exchange Announcement of 15 August 2006, the acquisition will strengthen the DFDS position in the lo-lo market. Norfolk Line Containers B. V. operates six chartered lo-lo container ships on two routes between Rotterdam and ports in Ireland. As previously announced, the acquisition of

Norfolk Line Containers B.V. is expected to have a minor positive impact only on DFDS' results for Q4 2006.

The MAERSK VLAARDINGEN moored at the new terminal under construction in Vlaardingen East Photo : John van der Linden ©

The name of the company will, as a consequence of the sale, change to DFDS Container Line B. V.

Grimaldi Naples opens Libya Link



Grimaldi Group of Naples has inaugurated a new connection to Tripoli, Libya, from the Italian port of Salerno. The weekly link is served by the ro-ro Salerno Express, which offers 905 lane metres capacity and can carry 64 trailers or 209 containers, reported Fairplpay. During its rotation the vessel made an intermediate call at Valletta Grand Harbour, where a new concession is run by a subsidiary of the Singapore-based Portek Group. The service is part of the network branded as Malta Motorways of the Sea launched last year after the take over of Sea Malta failed at the very last minute. The new Libyan route raises the company's offer to a total of 22 sailings between Italy and Mediterranean ports.

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The FIGHTER departed with the SMIT ANAMBAS from Rotterdam bound for Gdansk Photo : Piet Sinke ©

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The AMSTERDAM of the Empros Lines seen enroute Antwerp Photo : Ricardo van Liere ©

The STEVNS ARCTIC departed from Schiedam with the JUMPING JACK bound for Esbjerg Photo : Piet Sinke ©

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Documents

VLIERODAM WIRE ROPES Ltd. - Maasmond Maritimenewsletter.maasmondmaritime.com/pdf/2006/189-03-10-2006.pdf2006/03/10 · Her group includes Greenpeace, whose protests drew attention