Number 189 * COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS * Thursday …newsletter.maasmondmaritime.com/pdf/2008/189-17-07-2008.pdf · 2008. 7. 16. · Elbe is woensdag ongeveer 400

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2008 – 189

Distribution : daily 4500 copies worldwide Page 1 7/16/2008

Number 189 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Thursday 17-07-2008 News reports received from readers and Internet News articles taken from various news sites.

www.tos.nl TOS Rotterdam (+31)10 – 436 62 93 E-Mail [email protected]

The FAIRMOUNT GLACIER and FAIRMOUNT EXPEDITION seen off Gibraltar

PLEASE BE INFORMED THAT DUE TO TRAVELLING, THE LAST NEWSCLIPPINGS WILL BE SEND OUT

SATURDAY JULY 19th, IT IS EXPECTED THAT AROUND MONDAY JULY 28th THE NEXT CLIPPINGS

WILL BE SEND OUT AGAIN (PENDING ON INTERNET CONNECTIONS)



CONTENTS EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS

• Olie in Elbe na aanvaring • Nieuwe tegenslagen ss Rotterdam • Cruise ships: how big is too big? • Dismantlers cut, cart off 30 percent of ship's weight • Koos vaart niet meer • Nieuwe Maas gestremd door vliegshow • Ferry workers in Bangladesh demand wage hike • Rosyth to Zeebrugge route gets lifeline • Cable repair ship of SEA-ME-WE-4 consortium arrives

CASUALTY REPORTING • Greek ship clipped • Salvage tug to rescue stranded cargo ship • Tugboat Ruby E sinks in lower Mississippi River

NAVY NEWS • JAPANESE TRAINING SQUADRON ARRIVED IN AMSTERDAM • Evertsen vrijdag terug in Den Helder • First of Class 209PN Submarine for the Portuguese Navy launched in Kiel • Great planned exercises of Pacific Navy finished in Japanese Sea

SHIPYARD NEWS

• EC gives Poland deadline for yard restructuring rethink • Fifth product tanker launched at Aker Philadelphia

ROUTE, PORTS & SERVICES

• Bumi Armada to beef up FPSO operations • Sea Launch brings EchoStar XI satellite to orbit • NOL aggressive in demands for Hapag-Lloyd loan • Chang Jiang to order 6 bulk ships for USD 248 million • Port Klang plans to build a multi-purpose berth • Britain's largest container port Felixstowe invests in oil spill equipment • BART ONBOARD HAL’S AMSTERDAM TURNED 25 • Melbourne to deepen shipping channel • Maersk Line sees 08' global shipping growth at 7-8%



EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS HIGH

DEEP

HEAVY

EURO DEMOLITION BV Lijndenweg 5, NL 1948 ND BEVERWIJK

www.eurodemolition.com

Olie in Elbe na aanvaring Na een aanvaring tussen twee schepen op de Elbe is woensdag ongeveer 400 ton dieselolie de rivier ingestroomd. Dat hebben de Duitse hulpdiensten laten weten. Het anker van een vrachtschip sloeg ter hoogte van de plaats Geesthacht, ten zuidoosten van Hamburg, een gat in de wand van de olietanker Undine. Het lek kon vrij snel worden gedicht, maar ongeveer de helft van de lading diesel kwam vrij. De brandstof stroomt nu in de richting van Hamburg. Autoriteiten proberen te voorkomen dat de olie terechtkomt in twee beschermde natuurgebieden aan de rivier.

Nieuwe tegenslagen ss Rotterdam Tussen Rederij De Rotterdam bv en Imtech is een conflict ontstaan over een miljoenencontract voor werkzaamheden aan het historische cruiseschip de ss Rotterdam. Imtech heeft met onmiddellijke ingang de installatiewerkzaamheden aan boord van het te renoveren cruiseschip stilgelegd. Het is onduidelijk wanneer de werkzaamheden zullen worden hervat. Dat hebben beide partijen dinsdag bekendgemaakt. Het contract voor het aanbrengen van een nieuwe elektrische installatie (verwarming, licht, luchtverversing) heeft een waarde van euro 18 mln. Volgens Rederij De Rotterdam is Imtech contractueel verplicht het werk voor die som af te maken. Volgens Imtech is het door extra werk en extra wensen van de scheepseigenaar noodzakelijk om een nieuw en hoger contract af te sluiten. De ontstane situatie heeft geen invloed op de terugkeer van het schip naar Rotterdam begin augustus, aldus Rederij de Rotterdam, een 100%-dochter van woningcorporatie Woonbron. Wel zullen er aan de kade in Rotterdam langer dan gepland renovatiewerkzaamheden moeten plaatsvinden. In eerste instantie zou er aanstaande september al een symposium aan boord van het schip plaatsvinden. Nu streeft Rederij De Rotterdam naar een openingsdatum van 1 november.



De nieuwe tegenslagen komen boven op de eerdere problemen waarmee de eigenaren van de historische toeristenboot zijn geplaagd. Woningbouwvereniging Woonbron kocht het voormalige vlaggenschip van de HAL in 2005 voor een kleine euro 2 mln van het Havenbedrijf, dat het uit de failliete boedel van Joep van den Nieuwenhuyzen had. In eerste instantie dacht Woonbron de boot voor een bedrag tussen de euro 20 en 24 mln te kunnen opknappen en toegankelijk maken voor publiek. Dit voorjaar gaf bestuursvoorzitter Martin Kromwijk van Woonbron aan dat de tot hotel- en congresschip omgebouwde oceaanstomer 'zeker ruim meer dan euro 140 mln', en 'zeker ruim minder dan euro 200 mln' gaat kosten. 'Het is echt een hoofdpijnproject', aldus Kromwijk destijds. 'We hebben de complexiteit onderschat.'

De kosten voor de renovatie van het schip zijn enorm gestegen door de enorme kosten voor het verwijderen van asbest. Ook zijn meer vierkante meters voor het publiek ontsloten dan eerder gepland. De 228 meter lange oceaanstomer uit 1958 moet jaarlijks 600.000 bezoekers gaan trekken. Het voormalige HAL-schip is de grootste passagiersboot die ooit in Nederland is gebouwd. Foto : Jas Louwen © Woonbron verwacht geen winst te zullen gaan maken op de exploitatie van het schip, dat ook als opleidingsplek

moet fungeren voor beroepsonderwijs in de horeca. Woningbouw-directeur Kromwijk zei dit voorjaar te verwachten rond de zomer een commerciële partner te kunnen presenteren als mede-eigenaar van Rederij De Rotterdam. Het is onduidelijk of de nieuwe tegenvaller de zoektocht naar een nieuwe partner bemoeilijkt. Bron : Het Financiële Dagblad

VLIERODAM WIRE ROPES Ltd. wire ropes, chains, hooks, shackles, webbing slings,

lifting beams, crane blocks, turnbuckles etc. Nijverheidsweg 21 3161 GJ RHOON The Netherlands

Telephone: (+31)105018000 (+31) 105015440 (a.o.h.) Fax : (+31)105013843

Internet & E-mail [email protected]



Cruise ships: how big is too big? A cruise ship that carries over 5,000 passenger will launch next year. Cruise expert Carolyn Spencer-Brown says size isn't everything... Royal Caribbean's new Oasis of the Seas, weighing some 225,000 tons and carrying 5,400 passengers, will be the largest cruise ship in the world when it debuts next year - by a long shot. Some two thirds bigger than the biggest ever (its fleet mates Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas), Oasis will also be the world's most unusual. Already the cruise line is trickling out details about the mammoth vessel (which is currently being built in a shipyard in Turku, Finland).

Its got a series of seven neighbourhoods that evoke shades of New York's Central Park, complete with real flora and fauna, and Brighton's Boardwalk, with its merry-go-round. Other features include an Aqua Theater, an elaborate sun deck by day and amphitheater-like event space by night. The encroaching arrival of Oasis of the Seas has already begun to resurrect the "how big is too big" debate that surfaced some years back, when Cunard's Queen Mary 2 was on the horizon. These days, the 140,000-ton, 2,620-passenger Queen Mary 2 barely makes it into the top five. In a "Members Speak Out" poll on Cruisecritic.co.uk, more than 3,200

voters responded to questions about Oasis' sizeable impact on the cruise experience: 75 per cent thought the ship's immense size was a bad idea and 24 per cent were in favour. But even those who weren't yet convinced of Oasis' bigger-is-better philosophy are interested in trying out the ship - at least 10 percent so voted - even amidst concerns about declining quality levels of food and service, and a feeling that the ship's itinerary would largely be irrelevant as most people would cruise for the ship alone. What's ultimately important isn't that Oasis of the Seas will break cruising's record for largess. The real news is that cruise lines, under pressure to provide the similar varieties of features, amenities and activities that will appeal to a broader base of travellers than is traditional, have to build ships with enough room to house them. There isn't a line I can think of that's saying "hey, we're building a smaller ship this year". It's not happening. Every ship that's new (and even some that aren't - Fred Olsen, for instance, has taken the existing Balmoral and Braemar, cut them in half, and stretched them with new midsections) is larger than those it follows. Even luxury lines, whose ships are much smaller to begin with, are adding capacity and girth to newbuilds. There's nothing boring about today's newest cruise behemoths. P&O's new Ventura features circus workshops, complete with top-deck trampolines and a restaurant by Marco Pierre White. Holland America's new Eurodam boosts fleet-first features like a Microsoft series of workshops, an Asian restaurant, private poolside cabanas and the Silk Den, a bar that channels Miami's hip South Beach culture.



Norwegian Cruise Line, whose still-under-construction F3 series of ships - debuting in 2010 - has unveiled plans to incorporate a series of exclusive nightclubs onboard. Celebrity Solstice, to launch late this year, will feature The Lawn Club (cruising's first ever grassy expanse), with putting green and bocce court. In a few years, I predict, these avant garde innovations will be considered ho hum in the face of even more bizarre additions. Ultimately, the question isn't so much about whether cruise ships are too big. The question should be: How much bigger can they get? And here we're betting that ships may not top out at Oasis' level, but still won't stretch the concept too much further. There are too many challenges, at least for the immediate future, for ships that are bigger than that. Among them? Fewer ports that can actually handle both ships of such size - and disgorging uber thousands of passengers and fewer shipyards that can either build them - or fix and refurbish in dry-dock. Ultimately, I've found that there's no right or wrong when it comes to ship size. It depends on what you like - and more to the point what type of vacation you want. On a recent weekend minibreak cruise with colleagues aboard NCL's Norwegian Jade - a mid-sized ship perfectly designed for a party mindset - we had a blast, with choices of bars and restaurants and a spa. For a two-day trip we didn't need much more. Travelling with kids, the seriously big ships, like Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas and Princess Cruises' Emerald Princess are really perfect because there's enough diversion onboard to split up for the day (and both have excellent kids' programs) but come back together at night for dinner. For romance, though, bigger is not necessarily better; you need an absence of chaos and activity. My favorite cruise ever with my husband was on the 110-passenger, yacht-like SeaDream I, where there were no rules such as dress code or dinner table demands. Fortunately, the range of cruise styles available today is vast. You've got Fred Olsen trips for more sedate, traditional travelers. There's Carnival for the young (and, er, young at heart). Seabourn is ultra luxury. easyCruise is ultra cheap. And there's a whole range of choices in between.

Dismantlers cut, cart off 30 percent of ship's weight

The New Carissa is on a slimming regimen. Titan Salvage’s torches are burning through the 1999 shipwreck like calories on a StairMaster. By Monday, the torch crews had taken off about 30 percent of weight of the stern and the appearance from the beach on the North Spit has changed dramatically. Much of what people are accustomed to seeing from shore is gone. Monday morning, the salvage crew took off two chunks in quick secession. They were rigged and swung away by Titan’s “Big Red” crane and added to the growing pile of rusty, seawater-smelling pieces on the Karlissa B barge.



“There won’t be as many visible changes in the next week,” Titan Managing Director David Parrot said. Crews will be working inside the wreck, keeping the part of the hull intact as a breakwater against the waves, so workers can continue to cut. Within the next week, cutters may find they don’t have much left to work on. Crews are installing anchors for the pullers on the barges in preparation for the next phase. That’s when they will wrench the wreck out of the sand. “(Pulling) is the last big challenge of the job,” Parrot said. “Breaking it loose from the sand — it’s not as big a problem as we once thought.” He said wave action has scoured out a basin around the wreck about 15 to 18 feet deep. While the wreck is sitting on a plug of sand and the portion beneath the water has taken on sand, it is not buried very deeply in it. Parrot said one of three things could happen within the next week that will put Titan in a position to start pulling: * There won’t be enough space on the barges to store the pieces coming off the wreck. * Workmen won’t be able to cut down any farther. * Or, the pullers will be ready. Pulling up the wreck will allow crews to get to the engine room and propellor, where about 30 percent of the ship’s weight remains, without having to dive down into the water.

Nieuwe Maas gestremd door vliegshow Het scheepvaartverkeer op de Nieuwe Maas ondervindt meerdere dagen aanzienlijke hinder van het vliegcircus van de Red Bull Air Race. De belangrijke internationale vaarroute is vandaag, morgen en komend weekeinde tussen de Euromast en Erasmusbrug vele uren verboden gebied voor alle vormen van vervoer over water. Vandaag tussen 14.30 en 16.00 uur en donderdag (10.00-12.00 en 14.00-16.00 uur) zijn de eerste stremmingen. Tijdens die gesloten periodes mogen piloten met hun stuntvliegtuigjes van de Red Bull Air Race het op de rivier uitgezette raceparcours verkennen. Vrijdag is de Nieuwe Maas vrij voor de scheepvaart en valt het cruiseschip Queen Elizabeth 2 te bewonderen tussen 10.00 en 18.00 uur. Op zaterdag en zondag wordt de barst het vliegspektakel weer los en is de Nieuwe Maas afgesloten. Leuk voor vliegeniers, de organisatie van de wedstrijd en de honderdduizenden toeschouwers die het evenement naar verwachting trekt. Minder aangenaam voor wie het stukje rivier beroepshalve of recreatief gebruikt.



Het Havenbedrijf Rotterdam spreekt van 'de nodige overlast' voor het scheepvaartverkeer. 'Schepen moeten noodgedwongen wachten totdat de testvluchten en wedstrijden zijn afgelopen,' zegt woordvoerder Sjaak Poppe in het Algemeen Dagblad. 'Wij doen de de haven als continuebedrijf liever nooit op slot, maar we kunnen leven met de afwegingen die door hogerhand zijn gemaakt.' De stremmingen hebben wat hem betreft amper economische gevolgen. 'De meeste binnenvaartschepen vanuit het zeehavengebied die richting Rijn en Waal koersen, kiezen de Oude Maas, omdat dat de kortste route is. Echter, schepen die starten bij de Waal- en Eemhaven moeten vaak de Nieuwe Maas op. Zij moeten rekening houden met enig oponthoud of kunnen omvaren via de Oude Maas om het stremmingsgebied te omzeilen.'

Koos vaart niet meer

Links afgebeeld de laatste vaart van stuurman (allround medewerker) Koos van de veerpont Rozenburg - Maassluis. Tekst spandoek: "Dit is de laatste keer KOOS vaart hierna niet meer". Koos heeft 30 jaar op de veerpont Rozenburg - Maassluis gevaren. Koos heeft zijn eigen bootje weggedaan en gaat nu met de camper erop uit. Foto : Jan Oosterboer ©

Ferry workers in Bangladesh demand wage hike

Ferry workers in Bangladesh have gone on an indefinite nationwide strike as workers demand better wages. The workers said their meagre salary of US$27 a month was not enough to cover rising costs in essential commodities. With more than 125,000 workers employed in the water transport sector, crucial water transport services around the nation have come to a standstill. An estimated one million people travel everyday by launches or other forms of water transport while over 60 percent of goods are moved by water carriers. Talks between workers and ferry owners continue to take place.



Rosyth to Zeebrugge route gets lifeline THE EUROPEAN Commission has thrown the port of Rosyth a lifeline which could prevent the Scottish economy from freefall, says the Shetland businessman hoping to run the replacement to Superfast.

John White, who is in the advanced stages of setting up two new services linking Fife to Europe, said the commission’s commitment to providing a 30% subsidy to maintain the route could prevent business being lost to England once Superfast pulls out of Rosyth in September. Left : The BLUE STAR 1 moored in Zeebrugge Photo : Henk Claeys © Since May, when Superfast

announced it would be axing the service, freight operators have started taking their business south of the border. Mr White said there was no time to waste in establishing a replacement service and said he was confident he would be able to have a ship ready to complete three return trips a week, soon after Superfast’s last sailing. He said he was “90% down the road to finding a solution” for the Rosyth-Zeebrugge route and it would not be possible without the European subsidy granted under the Motorways of the Sea scheme. “The 30% funding could be the difference between yes and no,” he said. In addition to the Rosyth-Zeebrugge service, Mr White plans to set up a service operating between Rosyth, Zeebrugge and Kristiansund in Norway, named the Norshukon Link. For this he is seeking financial support from the European Marco Polo fund. He said separate funding packages were being sought for the two links and although the money was not yet in place he had little doubt he would secure grants. Each service would be served by one boat geared towards freight but with room for some passengers and modest facilities, similar to the vessels used for Irish Sea crossings. While Mr White is confident his Rosyth-Zeebrugge link can take over from Superfast in September, he said he aimed to have the Scandinavian link up and running by the end of the year. He told The Courier he was aware some regarded him as Rosyth’s “great white hope” but stressed he was embarking on a purely commercial venture. “I’m doing everything I can to make sure a replacement is provided,” he said. “I do believe the route is viable. Rosyth is Scotland’s only direct route to Europe and if it goes we will have major problems. “When pollution charges start to add to the other costs of driving down Scotland to the south of England, it doesn’t take much to work out it would be cheaper to base a company in England rather than central Scotland. “A lot of people’s jobs depend on that ferry.” Euro MP Alyn Smith, of the SNP, is backing both ferry projects proposed by Mr White. “I would be staggered if he did not get Marco Polo funding,” he said. “I like his style and will be pulling out all the stops to support what he is doing.” Although other operators had expressed interest in taking over the Rosyth-Zeebrugge route, Mr White’s proposal was at a much more advanced stage than the others, said Mr Smith. And he said as well as the economic benefits of shifting freight by sea, getting more trucks off the roads would mean less emissions.



Cable repair ship of SEA-ME-WE-4 consortium arrives

Sensing the gravity of the situation, the consortium of South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe-4 (SEA-ME-WE-4) has dispatched cable repair ship from the Middle Eastern port that arrived at the site of damaged submarine cable to restore connectivity and avoid further delay, it is reliably learnt. Sources told Business Day that the cable repair ship, 'Asean Explorer' arrived some 21 kilometres (11.33 Nautical Miles) off coastline from the cable station with the crewmembers and commenced repairing and searching operation of the broken portion of submarine cable, which break into two portions caused by a 'dragging anchore' of a ocean going vessel on July 6, at about 3.30 pm. The engineers found one portion of the broken cable while they were searching for the other part with the help of mechanised-camera mounted grabber to send undersea. The cable ship arrived after a period of 10 days at the damaged submarine cable site.

Half of the country's Internet traffic that usually routed through submarine cables experienced slow down across the country and the telecom utility did not give deadline for the restoration of SEA-ME-WE-4. Sources in the telecom sector said that the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) feared a long delay last

week of about 15 days, but the consortium sensing the gravity of the situation arranged cable repair ship much earlier. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) routed all existing traffic to the alternative submarine cable SEA-ME-WE-3 without prior information to the users. The submarine cable is approximately 18,800 kilometres long and provides the primary Internet backbone between South East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and the Europe. The SEA-ME-WE-4 is an optical fibre submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunication between Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria and France. The SEA-ME-WE-4 cable system was developed by a consortium of 16 telecommunication companies, which agreed to construct the project on March 27, 2004. The construction of the system was carried out by Alcatel Submarine Networks (now Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, a division of Alcatel-Lucent) and Fujitsu. The 18-month construction project was completed on December 13, 2005 with an estimated cost of $500 million. Segment 1 construction, running 8,000 kilometres from Singapore to India, was done by Fujitsu, which also provided the submarine repeater equipment for Segment. On January 30, this year, the Internet services were widely disrupted in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent following damage to the SEA-ME-WE-4 and FLAG Telecom cables in the Mediterranean Sea. Disruptions of 70 per cent in Egypt, and 60 per cent in India were reported along with the problems in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The search for second portion submarine cable is going on till the filing of this report. Source : Imran Farooq



CASUALTY REPORTING

Greek ship clipped Panamax bulk-carrier Atlantic Eagle damaged after striking object off Western Australia. A Greek panamax bulk-carrier is believed to have been damaged after colliding with an object off the coast of Australia. The 74,100-dwt Atlantic Eagle is said to have suffered damage to its steering after striking the unidentified object off the coast of Albany, Western Australia early on Tuesday.

Salvage tug to rescue stranded cargo ship

A salvage tug is on its way from Fremantle to tow a damaged cargo ship from Albany. The ship was damaged yesterday morning after it collided with an object off Albany. The Atlantic Eagle, a bulk carrier managed by Inchcape Shipping Services for the Australian Wheat Board, spent last the night anchored five miles from the coast. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure, the Albany Port Authority and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) are coordinating the salvage of the damaged ship. “So far there have been no reports of pollution, however AMSA, DPI and the ship’s crew are continuing to monitor the situation and assess the damage,” a Department for Planning and Infrastructure spokeswoman said. “The situation is believed to be stable. “Given the details we know at present we believe the vessel is unlikely to be grounded, however, the department has deployed a team of specialists to Albany in the event that the situation changes.”

Tugboat Ruby E sinks in lower Mississippi River

The Coast Guard established a safety zone on the Mississippi River early this morning from mile marker 101 to mile marker 102 permitting only one vessel to pass at a time due to a sunken 56-foot towing vessel, Ruby E, at mile marker 101.8 near Westwego, La. The Coast Guard is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to fully reopen the waterway to vessel traffic. Coast Guard inspectors are on scene aboard the motor vessel General Kelly which is operated by the Port of New Orleans to assess the situation and develop a salvage plan for the Ruby E. No injuries have been reported. The cause of the incident is under investigation.



NAVY NEWS JAPANESE TRAINING SQUADRON

ARRIVED IN AMSTERDAM

The Trainings ships 3508 KASHIMA and 3516 ASAGIRI and the destroyer DDG 158 UMIGIRI arrived in Amsterdam for a port visit

Photo top : Rob van Lieshout ©

Photo : Cor van Niekerken ©



Evertsen vrijdag terug in Den Helder Het luchtverdedigings- en commandofregat Hr.Ms. Evertsen komt vrijdag na een reis van vijf maanden terug in de thuishaven Den Helder. De bemanning heeft van 2 april tot 27 juni voedselschepen van de Verenigde Naties voor de kust van Somalië beschermd tegen piraten. De Commandant der Strijdkrachten Peter van Uhm en plaatsvervangend Commandant Zeestrijdkrachten Wim Nagtegaal zullen de bemanning verwelkomen. Het fregat was op 17 februari al vertrokken uit Nederland voor deelname aan het permanente NAVO-eskader in de Middellandse Zee. Toen de Tweede Kamer de missie had goedgekeurd, kon het schip doorvaren naar Somalië. Sinds de begeleiding zijn de VN-schepen niet meer overvallen. De Evertsen heeft tien escortes beschermd waardoor ruim 42.000 ton voedsel naar het door geweld geteisterde Somalië werd gebracht. Enkele miljoenen mensen zijn daar op de vlucht geslagen en afhankelijk geworden van noodhulp.

First of Class 209PN Submarine for the Portuguese Navy launched in Kiel

On 15th July 2008, the first of two Class 209PN submarines for the Portuguese Navy was launched at Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel. The submarine was named N.R.P. TRIDENTE by Dr. Alda Taborda, wife of the President of the Portuguese Parliament Dr. Jaima Gama. The new submarine has a combined diesel-electric and fuel cell propulsion system. Equipped with ultra-modern sensors and an integrated Command and Weapon Control System, it is optimally suited to its future reconnaissance and surveillance tasks. The contract for the two submarines was signed in 2004 between the Portuguese State and the German Submarine Consortium (GSC). In the 2nd half of 2005, Empresa de Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Electrónica, S.A. (EID) and the German company Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW) signed a contract for Integrated Communications Systems (ICS) for two submarines and an option for a third unit.

Great planned exercises of Pacific Navy finished in Japanese Sea

During exercises in the Japanese Sea, crews of battleships and auxiliary ships of Primorye branch of Pacific Navy (TOF) coped well with set tasks including test missile target gunnery, as the chief of TOF information and public relation service, captain Roman MARTOV reported to RIA Novosti. “Exercises of Pacific Navy Primorye branch with participation of over 20 ships and sea aviation were held in Russian waters of the Japanese Sea in the framework of summer battle training on July 8-15. During this time Pacific sailors did about 50 different exercises including gunnery,” the agency interlocutor noted. According to him, during the exercises trawler crews destroyed minefield, mass of maneuver repulsed “air attack.” Group shooting from missile cruiser “Varyag” and destroyer “Bystryi” with missile complex was the culmination of the exercises.” “The Pacific Navy commander vice-admiral Konstantin SIDENKO was in charge of the final stage of the exercises. According to him, the ships’ crews coped well with set tasks during the exercises,” MARTOV noted. Source: vladivostoktimes



SHIPYARD NEWS EC gives Poland deadline for yard

restructuring rethink The European Commission has given Poland until September 12 to rethink the restructuring of the Gdynia and Szczecin shipyards. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "We have now entered the second half of extra time..." Poland submitted plans for the two yards just within an earlier EC deadline. The EC has concluded that those plans do not comply with the guidelines on rescue and restructuring aid and that on this basis the aid paid to the shipyards would be incompatible with EC Treaty state aid rules and give rise to serious distortions of competition. However, the Commission says it "cannot exclude that recent expressions of interest from private investors could lead to an acceptable solution within a short space of time." In view of the formal undertakings given by the Polish Government to submit, by September 12 , alternative, viable restructuring plans that would comply with the applicable state aid rules, the Commission has postponed its decision. In the Commission's view, unless the new plans comply fully with EC Treaty state aid rules, and in particular remedy the shortcomings which the Commission has identified in the current plans, it will have no option but to adopt a negative decision and require repayment of the aid. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "In the last four years, we've made a tremendous effort to work with the Polish authorities to find a positive solution, to ensure sustainable jobs and the long-term profitability of the yards. Unfortunately, the restructuring plans on the table today are not acceptable for the Commission because they would not achieve that objective. Nevertheless, in view of ongoing negotiations with potential buyers of the two yards, and of the commitment of Prime Minister Tusk that new restructuring plans will be submitted by September 12, the formal adoption of the negative decision is postponed. We have now entered the second half of extra time and it is essential that the Polish authorities use this final opportunity to come up with solutions that will guarantee the viability of the shipyards without undue subsidies." The state aid measures in question were granted after Poland's EU accession in 2004. Gdynia shipyard benefited from various aid measures (in particular capital injections and loans) worth Euros 497 million and from production guarantees of Euros 915 million (nominal value). Szczecin shipyard received aid worth Euros 165 million, as well as production guarantees of Euros 570 million (again, nominal value). The two yards have been in constant difficulties since the 1990s, caused by internal deficiencies and cyclical demand for ships. In 2002, Szczecin shipyard went bankrupt, which undermined financial markets trust and caused liquidity problems for the yards. Increasing steel prices, the falling dollar and rising zloty have exacerbated the situation. Since at least 2004, neither of the yards has made a profit on any of the ships produced and neither would have survived in the absence of the subsidies. Poland notified restructuring aid for the two yards in April 2004 and the Commission launched formal investigations in June 2005 (IP/05/644). Poland submitted restructuring plans for both yards, in September 2005 and September 2006, both with substantial delays. Neither ensured long-term viability for the yards, and the restructuring was to be financed entirely by state aid (with no contribution from the companies themselves). An attempt of the Polish authorities to partially privatize Gdynia shipyard in 2006 failed.



At the end of 2006, Poland committed to privatize the yards by mid-2007 and the Commission agreed to postpone its decisions until then. The privatization process was considerably delayed by Poland. First, in summer 2007, the Polish Government explained that additional time until the end of 2007 is needed. Finally, the Polish Government announced in January 2008 that the process would not be finalized before mid-2008. Negotiations with the only investor for both yards lasted for nearly five months but failed in May 2008, after which Poland attempted to find new potential investors. However, it became apparent that all the potential offers were conditional upon receiving very significant additional state aid. None of the investors was able to demonstrate that the yards would restore viability in the long run and create stable jobs or that they had sufficient resources to make a significant contribution to the financing of the restructuring costs. Prime Minister Tusk has now informed the Commission that the talks with potential investors are very advanced and has given a commitment to submit a complete restructuring plan for each of the two yards by September 12, respecting all the requirements of the state aid rules on rescue and restructuring companies in financial difficulties. Under EC state aid rules, the restructuring plans for the shipyards must: (i) ensure the long-term profitability of the shipyards (ii) include adequate compensatory measures to limit the distortion of competition caused by the aid and (iii) be financed to a large extent from the companies' own resources. Unless the new restructuring plans to be submitted in September remedy the shortcomings which the Commission has identified in the current plans, the Commission says it will have no option but to declare the state aid unlawfully provided to the yards since May 2004 to be incompatible and to order its recovery with interest. Source : MarineLog

Fifth product tanker launched at Aker Philadelphia

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, USA, has launched Hull 009, the fifth in a series of twelve product tankers to be completed by 2011 and sold to American Shipping Company. Late last week the 46,000DWT vessel was floated off its blocks and transferred from the building dock to the outfitting dock. While in the outfitting dock, testing, commissioning and onboard work will continue until the vessel embarks on sea trials, where it will be thoroughly tested prior to delivery to American Shipping Company and subsequent bareboat charter to OSG America. Hull 009 has been modified to incorporate three improved diesel-powered electrical generating sets to power the vessel’s electrical system. These diesel engines comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest Tier II requirements. When in operation these new engines will produce lower levels of pollutants such as NOx, SOx, than previous versions. The vessel’s emergency diesel generator, hydraulic power packs, and rescue and lifeboat engines have all been upgraded as well. “As the only shipyard to introduce double hull product tankers to the Jones Act since 1999 we enable the employment of these safe and environmentally friendly ships in place of single hull tonnage,” said newly appointed President and CEO of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Jim Miller. Source : Baird Online



ROUTE, PORTS & SERVICES Bumi Armada to beef up FPSO operations

It’s confident the segment will dominate earnings in future, Bumi Armada Bhd is looking to beef up contributions from its floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) segment. Executive director and chief executive officer Hassan Basma said the company would be obtaining at least one tanker for conversion into FPSO vessels for charter, with a total cost of US$250mil to US$300mil, per year. He did not specify if the company would be purchasing the tankers but noted that Bumi Armada would carry out the conversion work only upon securing FPSO charter contracts. “We expect the FPSO segment to dominate our bottomline going forward,” Hassan told a press conference after the unveiling of Bumi Armada’s latest offshore support vessel (OSV) on Monday. He remained optimistic about acquiring more tankers for FPSO purposes despite analysts’ forecasts of declining global demand (for tankers) currently due to high oil prices. “The (global) tanker market is expected to be soft in the next two years but we don’t foresee any issues. We already have two tankers so far and are planning to acquire more.” According to him, the FPSO segment currently contributed 7% to 8% to the company's bottomline annually. Bumi Armada had secured a US$150mil charter contract in December for its first FPSO, Armada Perkasa, for deployment in Nigeria. Construction of its second FPSO, Armada Perdana, is currently under way at the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore. Armada Perdana is expected to be deployed for use at Oyofield, off Nigeria coast, by September 2009. Hassan said the company expected the FPSO segment to contribute significantly by 2010. Meanwhile, Bumi Armada’s newest OSV, Armada Firman 2, which is also the company’s 46th OSV, would be deployed to Angola, Hassan said. Construction work is currently being done on its 47th OSV, Armada Firman 3, at the Drydocks World Shipyard in Tuas, Singapore. It is expected to be ready by year-end and the OSV will also be deployed to Angola. According to Hassan, the OSV segment currently contributed about 70% to annual bottomline. Bumi Armada is the largest owner and operator of OSVs in Malaysia. On its initial public offering status, Hassan said it was still in consideration but added that there were no immediate plans to go public due to poor market conditions. Source : The Star

REDWISE MARITME SERVICES B.V.Amersfoortseweg 12-E

3751 LK Bunschoten-Spakenburg The Netherlands

Phone : +31 (0) 33 42 17 860 (24 hr) Fax : +31 (0) 33 42 17 879 - [email protected]

www.redwise.com



Sea Launch brings EchoStar XI satellite to orbit

The Sea Launch Company launched the EchoStar XI direct broadcast satellite (DBS) at 10:21pm Pacific Time on July 15 (5:21 GMT, July 16), Itar-Tass reports. A Zenit-3SL vehicle lifted the 5,511 kg spacecraft to geosynchronous transfer orbit from the launch pad on the Odyssey launch platform in the Pacific Ocean. EchoStar XI will support the expansion of DISH Network capacity to 14 million customers throughout the United States. This is the company’s fourth launch this year. Sea Launch has already made 28 successful launches. The company’s partners are U.S.’ Boeing, Russia’s RSC-Energia, Ukraine’ s SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash and Norway’s Aker.

NOL aggressive in demands for Hapag-Lloyd loan

Neptune Orient Lines , undaunted by the global credit crunch, is seeking bold terms for a loan of up to $7 billion to finance a takeover bid for Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, banking sources said on Tuesday. NOL is seeking a "covenant-lite" two-year loan, with an indicative price of 150 basis points above London Interbank Offered rate, sources said. The premium over LIBOR includes fees and margins. The covenant-lite loan looks like a traditional syndicated loan, but does not carry the legal clauses that allow investors to track the performance of a borrower or declare a default if financial measures are breached. "It is a borrower's term sheet," a banker, who has seen the term sheet, told Reuters, adding the terms were

aggressive in current market conditions, where the year-long credit crisis has significantly raised the cost of borrowing globally. The OTTAWA EXPRESS Photo : Henk de Winde ©



According to Reuters Basis Point, Hong Kong-based PCCW <0008.HK>, which is controlled by billionaire Richard Li, is looking to raise $3 billion at 170 basis points above LIBOR to refinance existing debt. The time period of the NOL loan was not clear, but typically such loans are made at three-month Libor plus a premium. Bankers believe the backing of a Singapore sovereign wealth fund may help NOL secure better terms. NOL is 66-percent owned by Temasek Holdings, which is rated AAA by rating agency Standard & Poor's. NOL declined to comment on the deal. One banker said banks which are pitching for the deal have been given until the end of July or early August to submit their proposals. The release of the term sheet came despite the resignation of NOL's German chief executive, Thomas Held, last week. Most analysts believe the new chief executive, who used to head the firm's container-shipping arm, will pursue the bid. Banking sources told Reuters recently that NOL was talking to Singapore's three local banks -- DBS Group , Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank , as well as with some foreign banks for the loan. Reuters Basis Point on Tuesday named BNP Paribas , Citigroup , HSBC , the corporate banking unit of Mizuho Financial Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and the banking unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group as among the other banks in the race. The merger of NOL and Hapag-Lloyd could potentially create the world's number three container shipping group, behind Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk and privately-owned Mediterranean Shipping Co. NOL has a market value of $3.4 billion and several analysts have said any merger will require the financial support of major shareholder Temasek. NOL has said it is interested in Hapag-Lloyd but has never confirmed it was in takeover talks. It has yet to launch a bid. Source : reuters

Tel: +31 115 645000 - www.multraship.com

At the Chittagong scrapyard, Bangladesh, each year hundreds of obsolete vessels are scrapped by a rag-tag army of manual workers. The vessels are deliberately grounded at full speed onto the beach where after they will be

dismantled. Above seen the beaching of the former Tamba Maru. For her last voyage she has been renamed to "Oceanic". It goes without saying that scrapping vessels on the beach is bad for the environment.

Photo : Piero Corona ©



Chang Jiang to order 6 bulk ships for USD 248 million

Bloomberg reported that Chang Jiang Shipping Group Phoenix Co will order six bulk ships for CNY 1.7 billion on rising use of inland and coastal waters for cargo shipments. Wuhan, Hubei province based company in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange said that the 45,000 DWR vessels will be delivered between March 2011 and December 2011. Each ship is expected to make a profit of more than CNY 26 million. Mr Fu Yuning chairman of shareholder China Merchants Holdings Co said that China wants to move more coal, grain and other goods by sea and river as this is cheaper, less polluting and more reliable than road haulage. Shanghai Port China busiest eventually aims to move 30% of domestic cargo via the Yangtze River. Source: steelguru

Port Klang plans to build a multi-purpose berth

Port Klang Authority plans to build a multi-purpose berth to increase the port's occupancy rate to 65 percent, Business Times reports. The berth will be built within the next two years, and could cost up to US$18.5 million. The lack of the berth is one of the main reasons why companies like Technip, Dialog and many Middle East oil and gas companies are not entering the port, general manager and chief executive officer Lim Thean Shiang told Business Times. The Port Klang Free Zone had a throughput of 6,000 TEUs last year compared with 4,000 TEUs in 2006. The Port Klang Authority was originally set to dredge the north channel, but this move has been re-looked as it is not excepted to improve throughput. The port is also in talks with the highways authority on a two-year plan to build another road to Pulau Indah to enable the port to be a supportive feeder for air cargo. Source:cargonewsasia

Britain's largest container port Felixstowe invests in oil spill equipment Felixstowe, Britain's largest container port, has taken delivery of two marine oil spill containment booms. The oil booms are each 250 metres in length and are able to withstand up to two tonnes of pressure. The booms will allow the port's emergency services to isolate and contain oil spills from vessels of any size. ''As the UK's largest port, we treat environmental safety as paramount,'' said Chris Lewis, chief executive officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited, which owns Felixstowe port. Port officials said marine oil spills at Felixstowe were rare, but there was a need to be prepared at all times. ''The new equipment is an essential asset to our operations and will provide us with the most effective protection in the event of an oil spill,'' said Lewis. ''The Port of Felixstowe has always co-operated with other ports in the Harwich Haven, as part of the Haven Oil Working Group, to provide a combined response to any pollution incidents. ''By pooling all of the equipment at our disposal, the ports are able to offer a more efficient response and to maximise the level of environmental protection available,'' he said.



The new equipment is manufactured by Vikoma International Ltd and made from high-quality polyester, PVC and nitrile polymer. Felixstowe port has also invested in additional skimming to allow workers to recover any oil trapped by the boom, and set aside tank equipment to store recovered waste oil for disposal. Source: sustainableshipping

BART ONBOARD HAL’S AMSTERDAM TURNED 25

Onboard HAL’s AMSTERDAM it was celebrated that engineer Bart turned 25 years young From left to right: Wessel, Jacob, & Rob, and offcoars Bart all with a Montecristo’s and birthday pie in Endicott Arm,

Alaska

Melbourne to deepen shipping channel The Kevin Rudd and John Brumby governments in Australia have won the right to shut down the Blue Wedges’ protest group opposing the US$978 million plan to deepen Melbourne's shipping channel, the Australian reports. The project, currently 20 percent complete, is intended to boost efficiency by allowing large freighters to enter and leave the port. Source: cargonewsasia

Maersk Line sees 08' global shipping growth at 7-8%

Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping firm and a unit of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk , said the global shipping industry is expected to grow 7 to 8 percent this year. "Asia is the factory of the world, so Asia doesn't grow anymore than the U.S. and Europe is willing to buy," Maersk Line's Asia Pacific Chief Executive Jesper Praestensgaard told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. "But the intra-Asia trade is growing relatively more than between the regions, so Asia is probably more shielded from a downturn in the U.S. and Europe." Maersk Line, which operates over 500 container vessels and 1.9 million containers, earlier this month ordered 16 ships for delivery in 2010-2012, in addition to 18 new ships ordered in June for 2011-2012 delivery, as it sees continued strong shipping growth between the east coast of South America, Asia and Europe. A.P. Moller-Maersk is planning to slash about half its container handling capacity in Taiwan's Kaohsiung, Asia's No. 6 port, when some leases expire in October, as the container shipping industry comes under pressure from a slowing world economy and rising fuel prices. Source: in.reuters



First sand was pumped by the BOSKALIS dredger “SEAWAY” in the reclamation of Port Rashid Dubai UAE. Port Rashid deep water port was first opened in October 1972. The former port area is being reclaimed for building development. A section of quay wall will remain in service for the expected arrival of the QE2 in October.

Photo : D.Shackle ©

MOVEMENTS

SVITZER OCEAN TOWAGE Jupiterstraat 33 Telephone : + 31 2555 627 11 2132 HC Hoofddorp Telefax : + 31 2355 718 96 The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected]

The WATERGEUS arrived with the loaded WAGENBORG BARGE 1 at the Nieuwe Waterweg bound for Alblasserdam Photo : Ruud Zegwaard ©



MARINE WEATHER THIS SECTION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY :

Internet: www.spos.eu Tel : +31 317 399800 E-mail : [email protected]

Today’s wind (+6Bft) and wave (+3m) chart. Created with SPOS, the onboard weather information & voyage optimisation system, used on over 1000 vessels today.

…. PHOTO OF THE DAY …..

The CMA CGM UTRILLO seen departing from Rotterdam - Photo : Piet Sinke ©



B O E K B E S P R E K I N GDoor : Frank NEYTS

“Harde Heelmeesters”. Bij Uitgeversmaatschappij Walburg Pers verscheen onlangs het boek “Harde Heelmeesters. Zeelieden en hun dokters in de 18de eeuw”. Het werd geschreven door Arnold E. Leuftink. Zeelieden ten tijde van de VOC hadden een onzeker bestaan. Kapers, oorlogen, maar vooral ziekten leidden dikwijls tot een voortijdig zeemansgraf. Dat veel opvarenden niet levend terugkeerden, was dan ook een ingecalculeerd risico. Toch is het een mysterie waarom ziekte en sterfte onder zeelieden in de 18de eeuw ineens tot dramatische hoogten stegen. Gezondheidsproblemen aan boord verzwakten de slagkracht van marine en VOC en speelden zeker een rol bij de ondergang van het handelsbedrijf over zee. Een buitengewoon interessant boek over een minder gekend aspect van de handelsvaart ten tijde van de VOC. “Harde Heelmeesters. Zeelieden en hun dokters in de 18de eeuw” (ISBN 90-5730-543-7) telt 287 pagina’s en werd als

hardback uitgegeven. Het boek kost 39.50 euro. Aankopen kan via de boekhandel of rechtstreeks bij Uitgeversmaatschappij Walburg Pers, Postbus 4159, 7200BD Zutphen. Tel. +32(0)575.510522, Fax

+31(0)575.542289.

PLEASE BE INFORMED THAT DUE TO TRAVELLING, THE LAST

NEWSCLIPPINGS WILL BE SEND OUT SATURDAY JULY 19th, IT IS EXPECTED

THAT AROUND MONDAY JULY 28th THE NEXT CLIPPINGS WILL BE SEND OUT

AGAIN (PENDING ON INTERNET CONNECTIONS)

The compiler of the news clippings disclaim all liability for any loss, damage or expense however caused, arising from the sending, receipt, or use of this e-mail communication and on any reliance placed upon the information provided through this free service and does not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information. If you want to no

longer receive this bulletin kindly reply with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

Documents

Number 189 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Thursday …newsletter.maasmondmaritime.com/pdf/2008/189-17-07-2008.pdf · 2008. 7. 16. · Elbe is woensdag ongeveer 400

Number 189 * COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS * Thursday …newsletter.maasmondmaritime.com/pdf/2008/189-17-07-2008.pdf · 2008. 7. 16. · Elbe is woensdag ongeveer 400