Weekly edition 25 November

Terror attackers revealed

AN OFFICIAL US Government maritime body has confirmed the identity of the militant group that perpetrated the attack on Japanese oil tanker M. Star earlier in the year.

DP World debacle causes container chaos in Sydney

STEVEDORE DP World committed the cardinal sin in shipping last week when it was forced to stop working on ships at its Port Botany terminal. We understand that two ships were directly affected. This move followed on from days of frustration with trucks delayed for over 12 hours, kilometres long queues at the port, slots for picking up boxes cancelled and claims that the terminal got so congested with containers that movements could not take place.

Ship injury report reveals series of failings

TWO MEN were seriously injured by falling from height off the coast of Port Kembla last year because of, among other things, a failure to take adequate precautions, according to a report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

Man in panama hat shows off canal prognosis for new route to future trade

Wider waterway will shorten voyages and change trade patterns, reports David Sexton

Port policy may also swing in Victorian election result

ON SATURDAY Victorians will go to the polls in an election that may have serious implications for the state’s future ports policy.

Meat exports hold up despite dollar

STATISTICS released both by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and also by Meat & Livestock Australia MLA indicate that the Australia and New Zealand livestock and meat export trades are holding up. This is despite a strong dollar and wet weather.

Growing interest in fertiliser as an import/export cargo

World trends in demand for food mean new opportunities for bulk transport lines, reports DAVID SEXTON

Pacific Basin launches bulker order spree

PACIFIC Basin Shipping has said it is ordering 10 dry bulk carriers as part of its fleet expansion drive amid an upturn in the dry bulk market.

Cosco Pacific box throughput up

HONG Kong-listed Cosco Pacific, a port operating offshoot of China Ocean Shipping (Group), announced a 20% increase in total container throughput for the first 10 months of this year to 40m teu, up from 33.3m teu in the same period of 2009.

Tianjin cruises new waters

TIANJIN local government expects its newly-opened Tianjin International Cruise Home Port will handle 300,000 cruise passengers between 2010 and 2015. Tianjin invested about Yuan1.3bn (US$191m) to build the cruise terminal at the south

Laying down the law on seafarers’ rights

New centre to bring together labour and maritime interests to support and protect crews, writes STEVE MATTHEWS

Online legal database to offer practical crew advice worldwide

IN KEEPING with the key aim to provide practical assistance for seafarers, the Seafarers Rights International online resource will include a searchable database of international and national laws relating to seafarers rights and their enforcement processes, together with guidance notes to seafarers on their rights in various circumstances.

Congestion at Chittagong plays havoc with box trades

Delays, attributed mainly to lack of port investment, are causing widespread problems with deepsea shipments out of Asia to Europe and the US, reports GAVIN VAN MARLE

Bangladeshi port records slowest container growth

ACCORDING to recent statistics from Dutch consultancy Dynamar, Chittagong was the slowest growing container port in the Indian subcontinent this year.

Sth Korean yards told to innovate

SOUTH Korean shipbuilders need to move with the times and modify their business practices, Seaspan chief executive Gerry Wang has warned.

Wei calls for more stability in shipping

COSCO Group chairman and chief executive Wei Jiafu has called on shipping industry players to create a healthy, steady and orderly shipping market.

Tanker sector eyes savings made from a timely arrival

A CHARTERPARTY clause allowing tanker owners to sail at a more economical speed when facing port delays could be ready by the end of the year.

Shipping chiefs silent over newbuild ordering

AS THE world’s leading shippers gathered in Guangzhou at the Cosco- sponsored World Shipping Summit conference, most remained tight-lipped on potential new orders.

Regional hub biding its time

PORT Kembla’s future currently lies in government hands. It is waiting for approval for its Outer Harbour project, which may well come within the next few weeks and a long process to decide whether or not to complete the Maldon-Dombarton railway is underway.

Box boom role will need rail project resurrection

DON FIGLIOMENI, Port Kembla’s CEO, sees at least part of the port’s future as becoming an increasingly important node in Australia’s east coast logistics set up.

Museum remembers war role

PORT Kembla was once considered under threat from invaders. “The port itself would have provided a safe harbour and land base for an invading force, just to the south of Sydney with good transport facilities available,” states a document from the Breakwater Battery Military Museum.

Small stevedore despair for the big turnaround

CAPTAIN John Willebrands, general manager of Illawarra Stevedores, is afraid that the stevedoring business at Port Kembla is about to die.

Industry briefs UN on anti-piracy

Organisations stress need to prosecute pirates and improve co-ordination among navies, report DAVID OSLER and COLUM MURPHY

New supply service has online access

A NEW online ship supply platform and search engine has been launched, which offers direct access to supplier’s catalogues and order equipment, parts and other products directly.

Satellite data usage is rising as shipowners shift to broadband

Third-quarter results from biggest operators Inmarsat and Iridium reveal strong growth in maritime sector, writes CRAIG EASON

Shipping lines ‘miss the point’ over swaps

THE REFUSAL of major shipping lines to embrace trading in container freight derivatives threatens the future development of the financial product, even though criticisms “miss a key point”, a report from Alphaliner has concluded.

Russian owner blames corruption for collapse of his shipping empire

RUSSIAN shipowner-in-exile Vitaly Arkhangelsky has made extraordinary claims in respect of the multi-billion dollar collapse in 2009 of his port, shipping and insurance empire.

Ferry stories do come true

IT’S almost a matter of crisis? What crisis? for TT Line’s Spirit of Tasmania operation as it heads into traditional peak holiday season with the strong possibility of besting its own year-on-year performance a third successive time.

Guide shows what it takes to win an award

A TRAVEL guide produced by TT Line for Spirit of Tasmania by Victorian custom publishing company Pacific Plus has won a gold medal in international competition in New York, beating out the official souvenir program from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in the Best Editorial-One-Shot Campaign category.

Larger ship brought in for WA coast

JEBSENS Australia is pushing ahead with deployment of a larger ship on its Western Australian coastal service after a less-than-ideal experience with its first vessel.

Agility hints on Bass Strait expansion trail

BASS Strait start-up Agility Shipping is in the market for a new ship, although it is not clear whether this is to be an additional or replacement vessel.

Unsafe loads on the rise in dry bulk

NASTY clouds are hovering over the marine market in relation to dry bulk carriers.

Shipping advised to be more proactive on environment

Canadian shipowner says the agency, as well as national governments, lack holistic thinking, writes STEVE MATTHEWS

Chamber’ cautious welcome to latest emissions proposals

THE International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has cautiously welcomed UN proposals on how the industry can best contribute to climate change mitigation. Crucially, the UN plan recognises the need for any market-based emissions reduction measures to apply equally to all ships.

Second wave of restructuring looms

A SECOND wave of restructurings is likely to engulf the shipping industry as it prepares to enter 2011, a senior finance executive has warned.

Iron ore swaps rise

TRADES in iron ore swaps reached near-record levels in October as larger numbers of Chinese counterparties enter the market, boosting liquidity.

Commodity price boom yields better relationship with banks

IN A week in which the continued commodity price boom was trumpeted in Wall Street Journal headlines, the relationship of financial markets with energy markets is favourable.

Nickel ore concerns raised after sinking

A MODERN supramax owned by one of China’s leading shipowners, Nanjing Ocean Shipping, has sunk with 25 crew on board off Japan’s southern islands, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence casualty reports.

Opec to up oil loadings

THE Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is set to increase loadings this month, driven mainly by more shipments from the Middle East and West Africa to China, Bloomberg reports.

Boosted by China oil imports

FRONTLINE, the world’s largest very large crude carrier owner, said it is seeing “huge” demand for crude oil imports from China, boosting rates, reports Bloomberg.

The Market: November 25, 2010

VALE returned to the capesize market last Friday, chartering three vessels for voyages from Brazil to China for US$23.50 per tonne of iron ore.

Shipping recruitment demand returns to pre-crash levels

DEMAND for recruitment into shipping jobs has returned to pre-economic crash levels according to UK-based specialist Spinnaker Consulting.

Pacific rates boost DHL

DEUTSCHE Post DHL, the largest forwarder booking containers with shipping lines, is reporting “extraordinarily high” freight rates at its global sea and air forwarder division, especially on the transpacific trades.

Fire on second DFDS ship

A SECOND vessel operated by Danish ro-ro operator DFDS has caught fire.

Bulker sinks off Vietnam – crew safe

A 34-YEAR-OLD handysize bulk carrier has sunk off Vietnam. The 34,456 dwt Jianmao 9 sank near Danang.

Carnival Splendor back in 2011

CARNIVAL Splendor, pictured, the cruiseship disabled by fire off the Mexican coast earlier this month, is alongside at San Diego and will be out of service until January for repairs, according to a statement from its Miami-based operator, writes David Osler.

Rules to be reviewed in wake of death

QUALIFICATION requirements for UK workboat skippers are to be reviewed following a fatal accident in Roscoff earlier this year, after a deckhand died on being struck by a towing hawser when it parted.

Detained vessel’s state mocks seafarer welfare

A PANAMA-flag general cargoship has been detained in Birkenhead after a UK port state control inspector ranked it as among the worst vessels he has ever seen, despite being less than five years old.

Job creation key to defeating Somali piracy – UN

SOMALI piracy is running ahead of current efforts to combat it and can only be beaten by creating alternative employment for young Somalis, a prominent UN official has argued.

Intertanko slams anti-piracy convoy efforts

INTERTANKO has criticised the independent national convoys that take part in the anti-piracy operation in the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden as being irregular and uncoordinated.

French oil hostages freed in Nigeria

THREE French workers kidnapped in September by Nigerian rebels while working on board the anchor-handling tug Bourbon Alexandre have been released from captivity.

Hijack attack rate increases

PIRACY activity off Somalia appeared to have stepped up last week with several reports of successful and attempted piracy attacks.

Casualty briefs: 25 November 2010

AL MUSTAFA 1 (PANAMA) London, November 19

Merkel tells banks to help shipping

GERMANY’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised banks for being too reluctant to grant loans to shipyards.

MOL orders woodchip carrier pair

JAPAN’S Mitsui OSK Lines has placed an order with group company Minami Nippon Shipbuilding to build two woodchip carriers, a company spokeswoman confirmed.

Chinese investment in Brazil to boost trade

BIG investments by China into Brazil are likely to generate significant maritime trade and not just iron ore exports.

Stolt-Nielsen buys seven chemtankers

OSLO-LISTED Stolt-Nielsen has spent US$255m buying seven secondhand parcel tankers following the cancellation of an eight-ship newbuilding order at South Korea’s SLS Shipbuilding yard.

Pilots steer clear into early yule

MELBOURNE’S docklands precinct was the scene for the Torres Industries and Australian Reef Pilots Christmas function last Thursday.

Welcome to new chair

THE RECENT annual general meeting of the Australian Marine Environment Protection Association (AUSMEPA) elected Captain Conrad Saldanaha, marine manager of Origin Energy, as the new chairman of the environmental organisation.

Looking aft: Search for the roots of terrorism

MARITIME security and terrorism was as much in the news 25 years ago as it is today. This week we report on the confirmation from the US Maritime Administration that the attack earlier this year on the tanker M.Star was in fact carried out by an Islamic terrorist organisation.