Latest shipping news

Clipper buys another cruise vessel
SSG-RINGKØBING. Danish Clipper Group has added another cruise vessel to its owned fleet. The latest purchase is the Superstar Gemini, which was sold by Star Cruises. Superstar Gemini, built 1992, remains on bareboatcharter to Star Cruises at least until December 2008 in a deal arranged by International Shipping Partners of Miami. The sale is part of Star Cruises renewal programme, which includes sell off of the older units. Clipper Group already ownes three cruise vessels purely as investment objects. It is the Clipper Adventurer, the Ocean Nova and the Quest. The Ocean Nova and the Quest are former Greenland passenger vessels. Star Cruises have a fleet of 11 cruise vessels of which four are on charter to Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL).
Published: 02.10.07 15.24

100 container giants ordered in five months
SSG-GÖTEBORG. In the last five months 100 very large container ships with a capacity of 12,500 to 13,500 TEU has been ordered, according to AXS-Alphaliner. All these vessels are on order in Korea and will be delivered in 2010 to 2012.
   In addition to these vessels there are eight just as large vessels on order for CSAV since last year, a first batch of 13,200 TEU ships with delivery to MSC in 2008 and Maersk has eight 14,900 TEU vessels up for delivery the same year.
Published: 02.10.07 15.24

Dockwise ready or full OSE listing
SSG-TØNSBERG. Norwegian controlled, but Dutch operated heavylift expert Dockwise is ready for a full listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE). In the process the company aim to issue 18.4 million new shares at NOK 25.00 per share. Tuesday morning Frontline accounced its had sold its complete 16.55 per cent holding of 34.9 million Dockwise shares. Originally Dockwise had lanched a private placement of 53,4 million shares, but only the 18.4 million shares were issued. Following the recent merger this year with John Fredriksen controlled Sealift, the Dockwise group currently owns a fleet of 22 vessels, of which 17 are semi-submersible heavy transport vessels and the remaining 5 are due to be converted into semi-submersible heavy transport vessels. The capacity was further enhanced by the recent acquisitions of Offshore Kinematics Inc and Ocean Dynamics LLC. The Dockwise group employs about 800 people worldwide.
Published: 02.10.07 15.24

J.B. Ugland Holding pondering listing
SSG-TØNSBERG. J.B. Ugland Holding, controlled by Johan Benad Ugland, is at a crossroads, and the company is pondering whether to be listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE), to sell the fleet or getting new partners in with the Grimstad based owner. There are 45 wholly owned and part owned vessels in the fleet at present of which 14 are on order. Pareto is engaged as a financial advisor to assess the three alternatives. An OSE listing appears to be the most obvious solution as the fleet has a market value of close to NOK 2.0 billion.
Published: 01.10.07 14.24

Estonian parliament says no to new Estonia commission
SSG-TALLINN. The Estonian parliament does not support the opposition’s proposition to set up a new commission to investigate what caused the sinking of the Estonia. The vice president of the last commission, Evelyn Sepp, motivated the proposal with statements from earlier Estonian commissions and Swedish investigators that were part of the international commissions (JAIC) report were inconsistent. Parliament voted against the proposal by stating that the Estonian governments expert commission does not need political control and the Estonia victim’s relatives feelings can not be sacrificed to reach political goals. The Estonian governments expert commission will present their report in October.
Published: 01.10.07 14.24

Forth Ports interested in Finnish container terminal
SSG-ÅBO. Forth Ports Plc, which owns and operates seven commercial ports in the U.K., is aiming at ownership in Hamina Multimodal Terminals ky in the port of Hamina, Finland. Hamina Multimodal Terminals is presently a subsidiary to Port of Hamina Ltd, operating a 19 hectares container terminal with three gantry cranes and 600 meters of quay wall under a concession contract. Forth Ports Plc has decided to invest in port activities in the growing Baltic transit traffic and the planned investment in Hamina is part of the strategy.
Published: 01.10.07 14.24

New Bourbon Dolphin hearing on vessel stability
SSG-TØNSBERG. The royal commission hearing into the Bourbon Dolphin capsize and sinking on 12 April this year will be extended into a fifth session to hear evidence concerning the stability of the AHTS vessel. Judge Inger Lyng, heading the commission, says that they have had a lot of information on the vessel’s stability, but that much work remains to be done.
Published: 2007-09-28 15.01

Eight per cent wage cost increase on FoC vessels
SSG-GÖTEBORG. International Transport Workers’ Association ITF and the employer organisation Joint Negotiating Group JNG has agreed on an eight per cent wage cost rise for seafarers on FoC flagged vessels, TradeWinds reported. The agreement covers around 70,000 employees on 3,500 vessels. The cost increase is significantly higher than the initial offer from JNG, indicating that the employers accepted a higher cost for recruitment reasons.
Published: 2007-09-28 15.00

Måns Bolin to expand in offshore
SSG-TØNSBERG. London-based Swede Måns Bolin – with his business partner Greek Gabriel Petrides – wants to expand his offshore interests through Aries Offshore Services Norway (formerly S. Ugelstad) for the company to become an important player in the offshore market. Aries Offshore Services Norway has interests in five supply vessels and has one under construction at Myklebust Verft. However Bolin, who is the company chairman, says to Dagens Næringsliv that Aries plans several new orders. Jostain Sætrenes has also been employed as new managing director. He has background from Bourbon Offshore Norway and several banks.
Published: 2007-09-28 15.00

Stena’s third drillship signed to long-term charter with Hess
SSG-GÖTEBORG. The American oil company Hess Corp has chartered Stena Drilling’s third drillship, the Stena DrillMAX III, which will be delivered in Q2, 2009. The five-year charter is worth USD 950 million.
   With this deal, Stena Drilling has secured employment for all three drillships ordered from Samsung in South Korea. The first vessel will be delivered at the end of this year. It has been chartered by Repsol for four plus one years. The second vessel has been chartered by Chevron for three plus five years.
Published: 2007-09-27 14.19

Pride of Telemark docked at Cityvarvet
SSG-TØNSBERG. Kystlink’s passenger/car ferry Pride of Telemark is now drydocked at Cityvarvet in Göteborg to repair damage sustained when the vessel hit the breakwater in high winds at Hirtshals on 11 September and tore a big gash below the waterline. The managing director of Kystlink, Jarle Dragsten, tells SSG that hull repairs should be finished by the end of next week. After that, there is some cabling work to be done. If that work is not to extensive, the Pride of Telemark should leave Gothenburg in two weeks’ time. The 28,727 grt Pride of Telemark, built in 1983, is deployed in scheduled sailings from Langesund in Norway to Strømstad in Sweden and to Hirtshals in Denmark.
Published: 2007-09-27 14.19

New finance deal for RG Line
SSG-ÅBO. All of RG Line’s old bank loans of approximately EUR 9 million are to be paid and transformed into new loans. The municipality of Vasa has a key position in the new finance deal. The municipality is offering an interest free loan of EUR 1.4 million and security for a further loan on EUR 3.3 million. Additionally, the company Finnvera is providing security for a loan of EUR 2.1 million, and the bank of Sampo is offering a loan of EUR 3 million. The managing director of RG Line, Börje Lassfolk, denies rumours that the Kvarken traffic would have ended before New Year without the new loan deals.
Published: 2007-09-27 14.19

Coastal Norway supports shipowners
SSG-TØNSBERG. Next week, mayors and other politicians from Norway’s coastal towns and local boroughs will go to Oslo to lobby ministers and MPs in support of the shipowners and to effect changes in the tax proposal. This action will be headed by the mayor of Herøy. He says the tax proposals will weaken the maritime cluster. And he continues: “We do not believe this government knows enough about the maritime industry. We have to explain the realities to them to make them see that the situation perhaps is different from what they believed when the proposal was presented. Shipping is a key business area in Norway and the capital generated by owners is reinvested in ships”.
   The government wants ship owning companies to pay up to NOK 21.0 billion over 10 years in what they term “back taxes”.
Published: 2007-09-26 16.15

Fast supply vessel from Hvide Sande
SSG-RINGKØBING. This week, Hvide Sande Skibs- & Bådebyggeri delivered hull no. 113 to Rederi A/S Odin, a company in the Wrist Group. The vessel is a supply vessel, which will work in Kalundborg fjord delivering supplies to ships in transit through Danish waters. They often mae a call in the Kalundborg fjord for provisioning, stores, bunkers and, often, to change crews. The new vessel, with the name Beltsupply, can offer fast service in the categories provisioning, stores and crew change with a service speed of 16.5 knots. The 16.3 metre long ship has a steel hull, but the superstructure is made of reinforced fibreglass. The ship will join fleet of Wrist Group’s fleet, which already includes supply vessels in Skagen (Skawlink I, II and III) and Copenhagen (Soundlink).
Published: 2007-09-26 16.15

Wärtsilä increases production capacity
SSG-ÅBO. Wärtsilä has invested EUR 30 million in a new assembly hall and logistics centre at its factory in Vaasa, Finland. The inauguration ceremony was officiated last Wednesday by Finland’s Minister of Trade and Industry Mauri Pekkarinen.
   “The new facilities will allow us to increase production deliveries and provide us with a significantly higher quality way of manufacturing our products. This, in turn, will result in even better quality and a more competitive cost structure,” said Juha Kytölä, President of Wärtsilä Finland Oy.
   The investment includes two new production lines for the W32 engine. Materials handling has also been modernized. The expansion has created jobs for two hundred additional people within production and other areas. Wärtsilä currently employs approximately 2,500 people in Vaasa.
   Wärtsilä has also invested EUR 18 million in modernising assembly capacity at its engine plant in Trieste, Italy.
Published: 2007-09-26 16.15

Organisational growth at Maersk NDC
SSG-GÖTEBORG. Maersk NDC (Nordic & Baltic) will take over responsibility for an additional seven countries and change its name to Maersk NBR (Nordic, Baltic Sea and Russia). Maersk Line’s activities in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgizistan, Tadzjikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will be led from the Maersk NBR headquarters in Göteborg, with the current head of Maersk NDC, Thomas Dyrbye, as managing director. Maersk NBR will have around 1,200 employees.
Published: 2007-09-25 15.47

Sharp increase in running costs
SSG-GÖTEBORG. The rate of increase in ship operating costs more than doubled in 2006, according to shipping accountants Moore Stephens’ annual OpCost analysis. The OpCost index, which has 2000 as the base year equalling 100 is now 144 for tankers and 135 för bulkers. For container carriers, measured since 2002, the index is 133. The Moore Stephens analysis is based on figures derived from running costs of around 1,500 vessels in the categories bulkers, tankers, dry cargo, container carriers, ro-ros and reefers and the figures are presented for several size segments. In 2006, costs increased most for handymax bulkers, 14.8 per cent, followed by handysize bulkers and container carriers. The lowest increases were in the ro-ro and reefer categories. The biggest percentage increase was in stores, up 20 per cent on average. This was largely due to the sharp increase in costs for lubricants. Repair and maintenance costs were up by an average of 9.7 per cent, crew costs by 7.6 per cent and insurance by 7.9 per cent. There are large variations in the cost increases. For example, the cost of lubricants increased by 32.2 per cent for handymax bulkers, while reefers faced a 6.8 per cent increase. Of the total running costs, crewing amounts to 40-49 per cent, technical management (stores, repairs and maintenance) to 26-33 per cent, insurance to 7-14 per cent and administration to 11-14 per cent.
Published: 2007-09-25 15.43

Norway to centralise accidents at sea investigations
SSG-TØNSBERG. Norway is to establish one police unit to investigate all accidents in Norwegian waters. The special unit will replace the present system of six maritime inspectors located in different parts of the country. The location of the new unit has become a “hot political potato”. The Norwegian Maritime Directorate (Sjøfartsdirektoratet) wants it located in Haugesund, where they are, but the most likely outcome of current discussions is that the new investigative unit will operate out of Stavanger, alongside a similar division currently investigating accidents on rigs and platforms on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Published: 2007-09-25 15.43

Government will not relent on tax proposals
SSG-TØNSBERG. The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (NSA) will now intensify its lobbying activities aimed at Norwegian MPs to try to persuade them to throw out the government’s new tax poposals. NSA representatives led by NSA vice president Elisabeth Grieg and NSA managing director Marianne Lie, presented a thorough analysis of the consequences should the proposal of payment of deferred taxes of USD 3.8 billion (NOK 21.0 billion) be carried out as part of the 2008 state budget in October. However, the government delegation led by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and finance minister Kristin Halvorsen, absolutely refused to relent and change the proposals.
Published: 2007-09-24 15.50

Strong season raises profit expectations at Stena Line
SSG-GÖTEBORG. The first eight months of this year were healthy for Stena Line. Excluding the effect of withdrawing the HSS ferry Stena Discovery, the number of passengers has increased four per cent and the number of cars five per cent. Freight increased five per cent. The Swedish operator’s ferries carried 11,4 million passengers, 2.2 million cars and 1.2 million freight units in its services in Scandinavia, on the North Sea and on the Irish Sea. According to Gunnar Blomdahl, CEO of Stena Line, the company’s performance so far this year means that it probably will reach or even exceed the goal of a SEK 380 million (EUR 41 million) operating result for the full year.
Published: 2007-09-24 15.50

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