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Latest shipping news
Storm circles WMU – Sweden cuts support to half
SSG-GÖTEBORG. When the IMO-governed World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden, is preparing its 25th anniversary, a large row has erupted over the school and the way it is managed. Last year, an external investigation was launched to examine the situation at the school. According to the WMU executive council, wide-ranging changes are needed and this should be undertaken by a new management. The council has decided that a new president shall replace the current president Karl Laubstein by 1 January 2009, while at the same time proposing that the WMU board of governors appoint him as “president emeritus”.
The external investigators also slams the Comptroller and Auditor General of India that is acting as external auditor for WMU as well as for IMO. According to the investigators, the Indian auditors have “consistently given unqualified opinions in relation to the University’s accounts.”
The investigation has not been made public and this has been met by heavy criticism from the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida). Through Sida and the Municipality of Malmö, Sweden is the largest contributor to WMU, and Sida now emphasises its discontent with the hush-hush by cutting its financial contribution this year by half, to about USD 1.5 million. The agency however states that its commitment to WMU is long-term and hopes to be able to return to the earlier level of support by 2009.
Published: 09.05.08 15.17
Damaged port cranes complicates Burma aid
SSG-GÖTEBORG. The seagoing international aid to Burma following the tropical cyclone last week faces severe obstacles, due to a damaged main container terminal. Hutchison Port Holdings, which owns the Burma International Terminals Thilawa, says that terminal’s cranes had been wrecked but they are working hard to replace them, reports Lloyd’s List.
The regime of Burma says that 23,000 people have died following the catastrophe and that further 43,000 are missing. USA estimates that 100,000 people have died, reports the Swedish newspaper DN.
The regime of Burma accepts different forms of aid such as food and money but is
reluctant to allow other countries or international organisations to actually carry on aid work in the country.
Published: 09.05.08 15.17
O. W. Bunker in fleet renewal
SSG-RINGKØBING. O. W. Bunker & Trading Ltd. has taken the last steps in the company’s fleet renewal. Two older ships have been sold off and two Clipper-owned tankers have been taken on bareboat charter for a period of seven years, and furthermore a Swedish tanker has been taken on a long term time charter. O. W. Bunkers is in the process of selling the veterans Tinka, which has been in the fleet since 1990, and Breeze which has been in the fleet since 1993. Tinka has been sold to a Greek operator for takeover at the end of this month, while Breeze has been sold to a Russian operator. As replacement ,the company has bareboat chartered the Clipper owned tankers Clipper Barolo and Clipper Barbera. The 2005/06-built tankers will change to the DIS register and sail under the names OW Copenhagen and OW Aalborg. The 3,769 DWT tankers will work in a pool with the Swedish tanker Neptunus. During the last couple of years O. W. Bunker has disposed off more than a handful older tankers.
Published: 09.05.08 15.17
Mona Lisa afloat again
SSG-TALLINN. After several failed attempts to refloat the Bahamian-flagged Mona Lisa, the cruise vessel was pulled off by tugs on Wednesday afternoon. The vessel is currently in Ventspils, where a Port State Control have found some deficiencies. A diver’s inspection will also be made. The Latvian Maritime Administration’s spokesman, Sarma Kocane, said to SSG that the Mona Lisa will probably sail back to Germany after approval from the classification society Lloyd’s Register and the Port State Control.
If the divers find any damage to the hull, the Mona Lisa should, according to Sarma Kocane, go to Riga for repairs. The Bahamian authorities have not yet informed the Latvian authorities regarding participation in the investigation. The German authorities have, however, offered assistance. Most of the passengers were German. According to Sarma Kocane, the accident was probably due to a navigation failure.
“It was the mate who made a navigational error”, she says to SSG.
Published: 08.05.08 14.37
Keel laying of Viking ADCC in Spain
SSG-ÅBO. The keel of Viking Line’s newbuilding for the Mariehamn – Kapellskär route has been laid at the Spanish shipyard Astilleros de Sevilla. Viking Line’s project manager Kaj Jansson said to SSG that the work on the newbuilding is proceeding as planned and that the vessel, which so far is called Viking ADCC, will be delivered in summer, 2009. She will have a capacity of 1,500 passengers and 320 cars. A service speed of 22 knots will reduce the crossing time to two hours. Much attention has been paid to minimal impact on the environment and, for example, all main and auxiliary engines are to be equipped with catalytic exhaust gas cleaning.
Published: 08.05.08 14.36
Fredriksen failed at TUI
SSG-GÖTEBORG. John Fredriksen did not manage to sack the chairman of the board of TUI, Jürgen Krumnow, at the AGM on Wednesday, despite support from 42.6 per cent of the votes. Also, Fredriksen did not get a seat in the board. John Fredriksen, who wants to divest the Hapag-Lloyd business, has spent almost USD 1 billion on TUI shares, and is the largest single shareholder with 11.6 per cent of the shares.
John Fredriksen's right-hand man, Tor Olav Troim, hurled criticism against the acting board during the AGM. According to Troim, the board lacks leadership and competence in liner shipping with too much concentration on tourism, the group’s other business area.
Published: 08.05.08 14.36
DFDS sells four tramp ships
SSG-RINGKØBING. DFDS Group has sold its four tramp vessels owned by DFDS Lisco in Klaipeda. The four vessels have been for sale since the autumn, when it was decided that tramp shipping should no longer be part of the DFDS strategy. The four vessels Rasa, Aukse, Vytautas and Gediminas have been sold to a Greek operator for takeover gradually from the end of May. They have been sold to a subsidiary called Aura Shipping, which will crew the ships until delivery. The ships are two pairs of sister. The Rasa and the Aukse were built 1996 by Baltija Shipyard in Klaipeda. The 5,500 DWT vessels are fitted with two side-cranes. The Gediminas and the Vytautas were also built by Baltija in 1996 and 1995, respectively. They have a deadweight of 4,863 tons and fitted with two cranes. During their years with DFDS, the four vessels were employed in timber exports from the Baltic to mainly the Mediterranean area. According to DFDS, the sale will generate a profit of approximately DKK 20 million.
Published: 07.05.08 14.53
Norwegian campaign to ban use of fast rescue boats at sea
SSG-RINGKØBING. A campaign conducted by Norsk Sjøffisersforbund to ban the transfer of personnel at sea with fast rescue boats will not have any effect on Esvagt, the Danish standby-ship operator.
“We are very much aware of developments in the Norwegian sector and the campaign”, says Ovin Carlsson, CEO of Esvagt, to SSG. “The campaign is against using supply ships' and anchorhandlers' fast rescue boats for personnel transfer”, says Ovin Carlsson. “We are using a very different kind of equipment with special davits, which can take the rescue boat out of the water within seconds and that's a whole different ball game”, says Ovin Carlsson.
He says that if the Norwegian authorities introduce a ban against using fast rescue boat like Esvagts the whole operation at sea would be false security.
“We have a close dialog with the Norwegian authorties and our customers in Norwegian waters”, says Ovin Carlsson.
Esvagt uses seaborne crew replacements every 14 days and with fast rescue boat transfer at sea.
Published: 07.05.08 14.52
Norden calls for extra ordinary general assembly
SSG-RINGKØBING. Dampskibsselskabet “NORDEN” has called for an extraordinary general assembly on May 28, 2008, to seek confirmation for a number of changes in the company. One of them is the change of name from Dampskibsselskabet “NORDEN” to Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN. The old name will continue to be a secondary name along with the other secondary names: Dampskibsselskabet Orient A/S, Nordmax A/S and Nordfarer A/S. Furthermore, the general assembly will be asked to confirm move of the company’s registered office from Copenhagen (Amaliegade) to a new office in the former Tuborg brewery in Tuborg port in the municipality of Gentofte. The company will move away from its central Copenhagen address next weekend.
Published: 07.05.08 14.51
Foto session possible cause of cruise vessel grounding
SSG-TALLINN. The grounding of the cruise vessel Mona Lisa some 10 nautical miles off the Latvian coast on Sunday morning ay be investigated by the flag state Bahamas.
The vessel is stuck in the sand on the wrong side of the Kolka lighthouse. Sarma Kocane, spokesperson for the Latvian Maritime Administration says to SSG that the authority will carry out a preliminary investigation and that the grounding may have been caused by a significant navigational error.
The Latvian minister of defence, Vints Veldre, visited the vessel on Sunday. According to the Latvian news agency LETA, he said that the master had manouvered the vessel to give the passengers a better view for photography at the Kolka lighthouse.
According to the news agency BNS, 651 passengers and eleven crew members had been evacuated by Monday evening, with 300 crew members remaining aboard. Of those, 68 are Ukrainians. The company has ordered powerful tugs from Sweden and Holland to refloat the vessel.
Published: 06.05.08 14.08
STX buy of Aker shares gets green light from EU
SSG-GÖTEBORG. The EU Commission has approved the STX purchase of 39.2 per cent of the shares in Aker Yards. The South Korean shipbuilding group will become the largest shareholder in the company and is expected to have representatives elected to the board at the AGM on 21 May. The Commission has dismissed all complaints including warnings that STX might be able to take advantage of illegal subsidies from South Korea. There are widespread fears that the deal will lead to a transfer of competence in the cruise sector from Europe to South Korea.
The EU decision and rumours that Fincantieri is on the move to buy stakes in Aker Yards to prevent STX from a total takeover sky-rocketed the share price on the Oslo Exchange. Trading was halted when the price had risen some 20 per cent.
Published: 06.05.08 14.08
Clipper Kristin on of the tankers joining the Argentinean company
Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
Clipper joins up with Argentinean tanker company
SSG-RINGKØBING. The Danish Clipper Group has joined forcew with a new partner. This time it is the Argentinean company Petro Tank S.A. in Buenos Aires. Together with Clipper, it has formed the company Petro Clipper for the purpose of developing shipping activities in Argentinean waters. Petro Tank S.A. will contribute a product carrier built in 1983, the Mar Tirreno, currently sailing in cabotage traffic along the coast. Clipper will transfer the trio Clipper Kitty, Clipper Kylie and Clipper Kristin, built in 2006 and 2007, to the new joint venture company. The 11,300 DWT tankers were built by STX Shipyard in South Korea.
The Argentinean investment is only one made by Clipper following the huge profits from the bulk and tanker markets in recent years. The investments range from the food processing industry via traditional shipping to investments in ferry services like Mols-Linien, DFDS and Nordic Ferry Service.
Published: 06.05.08 14.04
Photo: Jürgen Saarniit/The Estonian Border Surveillance
Passengers evacuated from grounded Mona Lisa
SSG-TALLINN. The cruise vessel Mona Lisa grounded in Irbe Sound, some 10 nautical miles off the coast of Latvia on Sunday morning. The Bahamian-flagged vessel has 651 passengers and 320 crew members on board. A diver inspection showed that there are no leaks in the hull. The vessel has a draft of 8.5 metres and ,according to the Latvian coast guard, it ran aground in a water depth of five metres. Four tugs had still not managed to re-float the vessel on Monday. The master has refused to lighter 8 tons of fuel to reduce the draft. The Latvian Search and Rescue service has begun to evacuate the vessel. The passengers have been transported by Latvian naval and coast guard vessels to Ventspils and from there by train to Riga. In addition, the Swedish coast guard vessel KBV 201 is on the scene. A skeleton crew has stayed on board to continue re-floating attempts. The Mona Lisa is owned by Greek Leonardo Shipping and was bound for Tallinn where it was to have arrived today.
Published: 05.05.08 15.50
The ordered drillship.
Photo: Illustration Peter Mild.
Stena orders billion-dollar vessel
SSG-GÖTEBORG. Stena Drilling has ordered a fourth drillship from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. According to the shipyard, the price is USD 942 million dollar, more than 50 per cent above the price for the previous ordered vessels and indicating a final at-berth price tag of USD 1–1.1 billion. The fourth vessel will be delivered in December 2011. According to SSG sources, no firm charter has been secured yet, but the vessel will be built for extreme conditions north of Canada and Russia with Arctic ice class for safe operation in temperatures down to – 40 C. Stena Drilling’s investments in new drillships are now close to USD 3 billion.
The first vessel, the Stena DrillMAX, was delivered in November when it entered a 4+1 year charter with Repsal. Number two, the Stena Carron, will be delivered this summer and has a charter with Chevron for 3+5 years. Number three is expected next summer and has a charter secured with American Hess for five years.
Stena Drilling is part of the Stena AB group, which reported a SEK 3.9 billion profit for 2007, the best year ever for the group’s tankers, offshore activities and ferry services, according to CEO Dan Sten Olsson.
Published: 05.05.08 15.50
One oil spill villain grabbed during international coast guard operation
SSG-GÖTEBORG. Led by Denmark, coast guard aircraft from nine European countries have spent ten days patrolling the Skagerrak sea. 17 oil slicks were detected during a total of 185 flight hours on 61 missions. On the last day, one Norwegian-flagged vessel was caught red-handed when pumping oily water over board north of the Skaw. Legal proceedings will be held in Denmark, as it was caught by a Danish aircraft in Danish waters. The head of the CEPCO 2008 operation is satisifed with the outcome.
“I’m glad that we detected only 17 oil slicks. This indicates that the intensified survelliance during the last two-three years has had the preventive effect we wished for”, says rear-admiral Nils Wang at the Danish Naval Command in a press statement.
Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Holland, Belgium, France and Spain participated with one aircraft each. Next CEPCO is scheduled for 2009 with Holland as host.
Published: 05.05.08 14.54
Swedish and Finnish flag for Finnlines ro-ros
SSG-ÅBO. The ro-ro vessels Finnpulp and Finnmill were transferred to Swedish flag and the Finnkraft and Finnhawk to Finnish flag after Finnlines took over the ownership of the vessels during April. Before that they sailed under British flag. Finnlines decided earlier this year to exercise its option to buy the vessels, which had been on long term charter since their deliveries in 2000–2002.
Published: 30.04.08 12.58
Herning Shipping orders more from China
SSG-RINGKØBING. Herning Shipping A/S has signed up for more tankers from a Chinese shipyard. The Danish company enlarged its portfolio of new ships with a pair of tankers from the Chinese shipbuilder Nantong Mengde shipyard. The ships will be another pair of tankers of 8,000 DWT. The units will be delivered in 2010 for a price of USD 20 million each. The ships will follow a similar pair, which presently is under construction at the same shipyard for delivery this year.
Published: 30.04.08 12.58
Deltamarin designed special vessel for Canada
SSG-ÅBO. The Canadian shipowner Transport Desgagnés has ordered a special vessel for transports of passengers, cargo and vehicles on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. As the infrastructure in most ports is close to non-existent, all cargo including vehicles is loaded in containers and stowed on the open aft deck. For handling containers there is a 40 tons crane. The large superstructure includes accommodation for passengers and crew and is situated forward. The capacity of the 95 m long vessel is 125 TEU and 381 passengers. The vessel will have good ice-going capabilities and excellent manoeuvrability due to two azimuthing propulsion units (Z-drives) and two bow thrusters.
The newbuilding has been designed by Deltamarin Group, Finland, and will be built by Kraljevica Shipyard, Croatia. Deltamarin Group will continue the newbuilding project with Basic and Detail Design packages for the Kraljevica Shipyard.
Published: 30.04.08 12.58
Finnish shipowners join forces
SSG-ÅBO. The Finnish shipowners’ associations Finlands Rederiförening, Fraktfartygsföreningen and Ålands Redarförening have agreed on a merger into a new organisation named Suomen Varustamot ry – Rederierna i Finland rf from 1 June, 2008. The new organisation will have offices in Helsinki and Mariehamn. The current associations have a total of 27 member companies with 110 vessels under the Finnish flag.
The activities of the three present organisations will cease. Suomen Varustamot ry – Rederierna i Finland rf will be organised in three sections, led by the managing directors of the present organisations. Mika Nykänen is responsible for matters concerning shipping policy and contacts to politicians and media, Hans Ahlström for the ferries and Olof Widén for the cargo vessels. Chairman of the new association is Thomas Franck, managing director of Rettig Oy Ab Bore.
Published: 29.04.08 15.32
Åbo–Stockholm train ferry service secured
SSG-ÅBO. The railway ferry service between Finland and Sweden has been secured after the railway operators Green Cargo and VR signed an agreement with Tallink Silja, which reportedly is selling its stake in jointly owned SeaRail. This company markets and sells railway transportation with the ferry Sea Wind in Sweden and Finland.
Published: 29.04.08 15.32
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Latest update 18-10-2006 8:49
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