DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122

Number 122*** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS ***Saturday 14-05-05 THIS EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY :

VLIERODAM WIRE ROPES Ltd. wire ropes, chains, hooks, shackles, webbing slings, lifting beams, crane blocks, turnbuckles etc. Binnenbaan 36 3161VB RHOON The Netherlands Telephone: (+31)105018000 (+31) 105015440 (a.o.h.) Fax : (+31)105013843 Internet & E-mail www.vlierodam.nl [email protected]

The Hoek van Holland lifeboat KAPITEINS HAZEWINKEL running nearly full speed (35 knots) at the Waterweg back to her homeport Photo : Piet Sinke ©

PSi-Daily maritime press clippings

Page 1

5/13/2005


Save the ELBE

Giro rekening No 8145443 Att : Piet Sinke - Stationsweg 21 - 3151 HR Hoek van Holland

The score until today : 49.400 Euro Note : ik heb in februari een CD opgestuurd naar JEROEN KRUISWIJK met daarop alle nieuwsbrieven van 2004, deze CD is gisteren terug gekeerd in Hoek van Holland ( na bijna 3 maanden ) met de mededeling erop dat de persoon verhuisd is , gelieve aanpassing van het adres, nu is mijn verzoek, wil JEROEN KRUISWIJK contact opnemen met mij ( [email protected] ) en zijn nieuwe adres opgeven zodat ik alsnog de CD toe kan sturen

EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS Milieu ambassadeur van het Gemeentelijk Havenbedrijf Rotterdam staat voor nieuwe uitdaging

Door : Piet Sinke © De 54-jarige Hans Weeber, deinst nergens voor terug. De parachutist en stuntman in diverse films waaronder Bridge Too Far en Soldaat van Oranje waarin hij meespeelde met o.a. Robert Redford en Sean Connery heeft de laatste jaren toch wel de aandacht op zich gevestigd. Hans gaat tot aan het gaatje !! hij is al jaren milieu activist voor het Gemeentelijk Havenbedrijf in Rotterdam en als zodanig zwom hij ook eens in 2000 van Zwitserland naar Rotterdam en later door naar Hoek van Holland. Voordat Hans aan zijn zwemtocht begon beklom hij eerst een berg aan de oorsprong van de nog schone Rijn in het Gotthard Massief, waar hij een stukje Kristal wegnam, veilig opborg en waarna hij in het water plonste bij Bazel en in 20 dagen van Bazel naar Rotterdam zwom waar hij werd ontvangen in de haven Rotterdam door de havenwethouder naderhand zwom Hans door naar Hoek van Holland.

Deze actie was een onderdeel van het Cristal Clear project , Hans zwom 9 uur per dag (etaps gewijs) een stuk kristal meenemend, dit allemaal onder enorme media aandacht, in Rotterdam overhandigde Hans het stukje bergkristal aan de haven wethouder. In 1998 deed Hans het Engelandvaarders project, hij stapte in een bootje in Scheveningen en roeide hiermee naar Harwich, een project gekoppeld aan de hedendaagse normen en waarden, met als voorbeeld de Nederlandse voormalige Engelandvaarders, met hun moed en onverschrokkenheid, Hans roeide het traject in 30 uur, en werd tijdens de trip ge-escorteerd door de Nederlandse mijnenjager Hr Ms Willemstad, PSi-Daily maritime press clippings

Page 2

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 bij aankomst in Engeland heeft Hans als eerbetoon aan de Engelandvaarders de laatste 200 km van Harwich naar London hardlopend afgelegd en een bloemenhulde gebracht bij het voormalige werkadres van ZKH Koningin Wilhelmina op Chestersquare 77, daarna werd hij ontvangen door de Nederlandse Ambassadeur en de Engelse regering onder grote media aandacht van de BBC. Een andere actie welke Hans voor een goed doel deed was een sponsor actie voor het Juliana Kinderziekenhuis in Den Haag / Ronald McDonald huis in 1996. Hiervoor liep Hans 160 km hard van Hoek van Holland naar Den Helder, en of dat nog niet genoeg was sprong hij in Den Helder in het water en zwom nog even terug naar Hoek van Holland, een afstand van 140 km, met zijn actie haalde hij 30.000 Gulden op en overhandigde dit aan het goede doel. In 2003 ter gelegenheid van de sterfdag van Admiraal Maarten Harpertzn Tromp ( 1598-1653 ) was er een grote feestweek, Tromp kwam om tijdens de zeeslag voor de kust van Ter Heijde aan Zee, wat tevens de woonplaats is van Hans, hij verbond al zwemmende zijn geboorteplaats Brielle aan zijn sterfplaats Ter Heijde aan Zee en daarmee werd het Tromp festival geopend Buiten deze daden loopt Hans regelmatige Ultramarathons van 60 km, waaronder de 60 van Texel, en de Grotten marathon van Valkenburg, waarbij hij de 42 km liep in het donker door de grotten, een veldslag met een vochtigheids graad van 95% Hans staat voor een nieuwe uitdaging, hij wil het Engels kanaal overzwemmen van Dover naar Calais, nu zou je zeggen dat is al diverse keren gebeurd, maar het verschil is nu dat hij het gaat doen in NOVEMBER van dit jaar in het koude water en dat is niet eerder gebeurd. Voor deze actie, welke gesponsord word door PRIVA voor de equipment en WESTLAND ENERGIE voor de powering is op Donderdag middag proefgezwommen in de Maasmond, als escorterende boot werd de KAPITEINS HAZEWINKEL van de KNRM van station Hoek van Holland gebruikt.


Page 3

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 Priva Building Intelligence heeft een nieuwe regelaar voor kantoren ontwikkeld. Voor deze naregelaar geldt het motto: "Iedereen creëert zijn eigen werkklimaat". Dit omdat de klimaatomstandigheden van een bepaalde kantoorruimte met de regelaar exact naar wens van de kantoorgebruikers kunnen worden afgestemd. Met een dergelijke regelaar worden nu ook de zeer extreme werkomstandigheden (Kanaaloversteek in winteromstandigheden!) van Hans Weeber geregeld. In het speciale zwemmerspak zitten diverse sensoren welke signalen afgeven van de temperatuur van de zwemmer en zoals je kan zien zit er op de rug van Hans 2 doosjes waarmee radiografisch signalen worden gestuurd naar de escorterende boot waar vanaf de elektronica de temperatuur regeling in het pak automatisch regelt naar behoefte. Het verwarmings systeem van het pak word gevoed door 24 volt, waarvoor 4 accu’ s mee worden gevoerd aanboord van de escorterende boot welke genoeg power leveren voor 20 uur verwarming, Hans denk over de zwemtocht een 16 uur te gaan doen. U word op de hoogte gehouden wanneer Hans zijn poging gaat doen om het kanaal over te zwemmen.

Australia resumes Saudi livestock AUSTRALIA is to resume its livestock trade with Saudi Arabia, almost two years after the Cormo Express incident of 2003. A memorandum of understanding on the issue was signed by the two countries yesterday. Australian agriculture minister Warren Truss indicated that livestock will be unloaded into a quarantine facility should a dispute develop or a problem be suspected with the animals on arrival in the Gulf state. It is expected that sheep and goats will enter the preparation chain for export to Saudi Arabia by the end of this month, while Australian cattle exporters could ship by the middle of this month. Until the trade's suspension in August 2003, Saudi Arabia was Australia's largest market for live sheep, importing 1.4M head a year valued at A$100M ($78M). The MOU follows the signing of similar agreements with the UAE in December last year and with Kuwait in March. Truss declared: "The Australian government plans to impose more stringent requirements on livestock exports to Middle East countries which have not signed MoUs. An MoU will also be required before livestock shipments can commence to new markets in the region."

Odfjell fined for pollution

A court in Brest, France, has ordered a 300,000 ($390,000) fine against a Norwegian chemical tanker for pollution off the French coast in 2001, it was reported on yesterday. Odd Mikalsen, captain of the 1997built 37,446 dwt chemical tanker Bow Cardinal will have to pay 30,000 of the fine, the balance being paid by the vessel owner, Odfjell Chemical Tankers. This fine is higher than the 200,000 requested by the prosecutor during an earlier court hearing in March. On 24 November 2001, the Bow Cardinal was seen in France’ s Gulf of Gascony (Atlantic South West) with a 45km-long oil slick in its wake. The captain’ s lawyer said this pollution resulted from a technical incident on the ship’ s water separator system and asked charges to be dropped against his client, but the court dismissed his request.


Page 4

5/13/2005


Warning as drunken skipper fined Police in Devon have warned mariners to avoid alcohol while at sea after a Russian captain was convicted of being drunk in charge of his ship. Mikhail Verkhoturov, 43, spent four nights in custody after being unable to pay the £2,000 fine he was handed by Plymouth magistrates on Saturday. A breath-test found he was three times over the limit while in charge of a 1,500-tonne cargo ship. The vessel was carrying stone from Plymouth to the Isle of Wight. It is thought to be only the second conviction under the Railway and Transport Safety Act 2003, which currently applies solely to commercial vessels. A pilot guiding Verkhoturov's ship out of Plymouth harbour into the sea on Friday alerted officials after becoming concerned by the captain's behaviour. Ministry of Defence police came on board the 262ft vessel and took a breath sample before arresting him and taking him ashore to a police station. Tony Heslop, of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said an inspection found the ship to be "immaculate" with a crew who were "on the ball", adding: "It was a shame it was all spoilt by one person." Insp John Pritchard, of the MoD police's marine unit, said: "In the same way drink-driving laws affect drivers on the roads, professional crews and the masters of watercraft can be breathalysed and prosecuted if over the limit. 'Zero tolerance' "The law does not yet affect non-professional recreational users. "However, we advocate zero tolerance of drinking while sailing or boating." Verkhoturov was released on Wednesday after managing to pay his fine. He is understood to be returning to Russia. The government is looking at extending the legislation, which has the same drink-drive limits as those for motorists, to cover leisure boaters.

Frederik scrapping spat continues THE Danish foreign minister has contacted his Indian counterpart after the Indian environment minister, A Raja, turned down a request to send the Kong Frederik IX back to Denmark. The request had been made by the Danish environment minister after the vessel departed Denmark heading for the Alang shipyard to be scrapped. Raja said in his reply that "we have determined the ship cannot be classified as wastes under the Basel Convention. Besides, India has adequate capacity to ensure an environmentally sound disposal of the ship". The Indian minister's two quotes contradict each other, according to Jim Puckett of Basel Action Network, who alleged that Raja and his department are trying to protect the industry's commercial interests. Shailendra Yashwant, campaign director at Greenpeace, said that beaches at Alang do not represent environmentally sound management of wastes as defined by the Basel convention. The name of the Kong Frederik IX was changed to Frederik before its departure from Denmark and was again changed to Ricky during the voyage. It contains asbestos.

CASUALTY REPORT

Fire hits SeaFrance ferry

FIRE broke out on the SeaFrance ferry Manet while the vessel was undergoing repairs at a lay-by berth in the port of Calais. Photo : Rob de Visser ©


Page 5

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 The blaze started in one of the cabins and, according to the crew, smoke spread through the ship's garage decks, although it was not visible from outside. The Calais fire brigade attended the scene while a port tug sprayed water onto the ferry's hull to keep it cool. The fire was extinguished in about 45 minutes. No major injuries were reported although four people suffered from smoke inhalation. The 1,800-passenger capacity SeaFrance Manet is one of the oldest ferries operated by the state operator. It was built in 1984 as the Champs Elysees.

NAVY NEWS

Canadian Navy leads major multinational naval-air exercise Canadian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard units will work together with naval and air assets from the United States in the largest exercise of its kind to take place off the West Coast of Vancouver Island from May 16 to 27. The task group for the exercise Trident Fury, organized by the navy's Maritime Forces Pacific, will be under Canadian leadership, commanded by Commodore Roger Girouard, Commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific. The exercise is aimed at advancing Canada's ability to respond to offshore threats and unlawful acts from within a coalition environment. Over 2000 personnel will participate in the exercise Trident Fury, composed of five Canadian navy vessels, three Canadian Coast Guard vessels, three US navy vessels, and air assets including CF-18s and United States Air National Guard F-16 and F-15 fighter aircraft, KC-135 air to air refueling aircraft, NATO Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACs) and others. The close coordination between the Canadian navy, air force and US assets during this exercise will demonstrate the benefits of joint operations, and the importance of close cooperation with our allies as outlined recently in the Defence Policy Statement. The scenarios for exercise Trident Fury have been designed around the implementation of a United Nations Security Council Resolution. This will increase the interoperability of coalition forces by developing coordination and communications in support of shared national maritime requirements. It also helps Canadian sailors to maintain the skills that are required to work in a task group environment during international operations. The exercise first initiated from the need to develop a sea phase for the Operations Room Officers' (OROs) course and Directed Work Ups for HMCS Protecteur. Due to the level of planning and the resulting tremendous training opportunity that emerged, the exercise grew in scope to include Air Force and American participation. OROs are responsible for leading the operations team, coordinating their ship's resources during battles at sea. They report directly to the ship's Commanding Officer on all operational matters and must be well versed in all aspects of ship war-fighting including air operations, above water and underwater warfare, and communications. "Through exercise Trident Fury, the Canadian Forces will have an excellent opportunity to train these officers in tactics involving a variety of assets including US and Canadian Navy ships, Coast Guard ships, and combat aircraft," said Commander Kurt Salchert, Commanding Officer of HMCS Vancouver, the ship which will embark the ORO students. "This superb training and assessment phase at sea will set them up for success as Operation Room Officers on the ships in which they will serve."

Accident on Norwegian frigate - four dead Four Spanish workers on Wednesday lost their lives onboard a Norwegian frigate under construction at a Spanish yard.


Page 6

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 The workers were cleaning a tank when the accident occured. The frigate "Roald Amundsen" was to have been launched on May 25th, and it is hoped that there will be no major delay. There are altogether five frigates on order at Spanish yards, and all of them are scheduled to be operative in 2010. The total project will cost NOK 20 billion.

Mechanical defects plague sub HMCS Victoria's problems caused safety concerns, DND documents show

Dozens of mechanical problems have been found on HMCS Victoria, the submarine based at CFB Esquimalt, and several were severe enough to cause safety concerns, Department of National Defence documents show. An exhaust system malfunction "chased personnel from the engine room coughing and choking . . . and again set off fire alarms throughout the submarine before the engine room door was ever opened," according to a document from Aug. 14, 2004, obtained by the Vancouver Sun through Freedom of Information legislation. It continued: "In consultation with submarine sea-training personnel this quantity of exhaust water leakage is significantly more than on any other Victoria-class submarine. It poses a clear danger to engine room watch keeping personnel." HMCS Victoria is one of four submarines -- including the ill-fated HMCS Chicoutimi, which caught fire on its inaugural voyage from Scotland to Halifax last year -- the navy bought from Britain for nearly $900 million in 1998. It also is the only sub based in B.C. The others, including the HMCS Cornerbrook and Windsor, are docked in Halifax. Another entry from July 9, 2004 reported: "It is unsafe to run the port main engine for extended periods in its present configuration. "A coolant leak into the engine room creates an unsafe working environment by increasing personnel exposure to harsh chemicals . . . and creates an increased potential for burns to personnel. Already, leaked coolant has entered the starter for the high-pressure bilge pump causing dangerous equipment damage." A third entry reported problems with the sub's refrigeration unit that resulted in "a complete loss of capability to store fresh or frozen food on board." The complete repair report on Victoria totalled 312 pages. As a precautionary measure, the 70-metre-long surveillance sub has been docked at CFB Esquimalt since Oct. 12, 2004, after Chicoutimi caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean, killing one crewman, Lieut. Chris Saunders. Prior to that, Victoria had seen active service for about two months. Former Canadian navy submarine commander Peter Kavanagh, who resigned his commission last year over safety concerns with the training of submarine personnel, called some of the needed repairs "major," saying he couldn't predict "whether or not we will ever get to a state where defects won't be significant." While he added that maintenance requirements of submarines are "huge," and that defects are not uncommon, he said in an interview Wednesday: "I do not agree with senior leadership statements that (the four subs) are superior submarines. I also don't know anyone who has sailed in them that would agree with that." Lt.-Cmdr. Hubert Genest, a public affairs officer with Maritime Forces Pacific, said Wednesday that while he couldn't comment directly on the statements made in the document, it was his understanding that most of the repairs have already been done. "They're quite old and most of them have been fixed," he said. PSi-Daily maritime press clippings

Page 7

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 He also said that while Victoria was in active service, the vessel performed "extremely successfully." "She was proceeding in her operational readiness very quickly," Genest said. "She performed deep-sea dives, and the crew was progressing very quickly in their technical expertise and their handling of the boat." Genest wasn't able to say how much money has been spent repairing Victoria, but said that according to an announcement made by Admiral Bruce MacLean last week, Victoria would resume operations "within the next few days or weeks."

SHIPYARD NEWS Aker wins $900M LNG terminal build AKER Kvaerner has been awarded a $900M contract to build Isola di Porto Levante – an offshore LNG terminal in the Adriatic Sea, 15km off the Veneto coast of Italy. The contract was awarded by Edison LNG, soon to be called Terminale GNL Adriatico, which is 45% owned by Qatar Petroleum, 45% by ExxonMobil and 10% by Edison. The terminal will become operational in 2007 and have a regasification capacity of 8Bn m³ a year. Two LNG carriers are expected to call a week. A 4.7M tonnes per annum LNG train will deliver the gas from Ras Laffan, Qatar, using five LNG tankers. The president and CEO of Aker Kvaerner, Inge Hanson, said: “There is a future market for offshore LNG terminals and Aker Kvaerner is well positioned with proven competence and technology in concrete structures”.

Lindo averts storm in teacup

Danish yard Lindo has come up with a solution to cool workers’tempers in a row over hot drinks. It is installing coffee and hot chocolate vending machines in August to make up for scrapping a 10-minute tea break for 2,000 employees at the yard, part of the AP Moller-Maersk group. The issue led to a strike in early April and was prompted by the yard's DKK 500m ($86.5m) loss for 2004. Management told workers to step up productivity of risk closure. The yard has been kept in business by boxship orders from Moller. But price details of the contracts have never been revealed.

ROUTE, PORTS & SERVICES THIS SECTION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY :

TOTAL VESSEL MANAGEMENT

K.P. van der Mandelelaan 34 - 3062 MB Rotterdam (Brainpark) - The Netherlands Telephone : (31) 10 - 453 03 77 Fax : (31) 10 - 453 05 24 E-mail : [email protected] Telex : 24390 wosh nl PSi-Daily maritime press clippings

Page 8

5/13/2005


SNCM confirms emergency sales FRENCH state-owned ferry operator SNCM has confirmed it is to sell assets of 13M ($16.8M) to avoid bankruptcy in the short term. The company has confirmed it is about to sell the fast ferry NGV Asco and subsidiary Sudcargos, which specialises in ro-ro and container services to North Africa. “This asset sales plan is the first phase of a major restructuring plan of the company,”a spokesman said. The 1996-built, 550 passenger, 37kt NGV Asco could be sold in the next few weeks, a source close to the company said. CMA CGM has confirmed its interest in Sudcargos, which currently operates four vessels on ro-ro and container routes linking southern France to Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. SNCM is also looking for private investors to inject fresh capital in the company. An announcement on a partner buying into the company is expected in July. SNCM posted a 28M loss in 2004 and another 4M and 30,000 passengers during last month's two-week strike.

NOL expected to post ninth quarterly profit gain Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), which operates Asia's second-largest container line, may report its ninth quarterly profit gain, as Asia's exports kept its containers full and allowed it to charge more for cargo space. Left : APL SPAIN Photo : Peter Andriessen © Net income for the first quarter may increase 10 per cent to US$180 million in the three months ended April 8, compared with US$163.2 million in the same period last year, according to a median forecast of four analysts in a survey by Bloomberg. NOL will announce earnings tomorrow. NOL and rivals such as AP Moeller-Maersk A/S, Hanjin Shipping Co and other lines reported higher earnings last year, buoyed by increasing demand from North America and Europe for clothes, electronics and other products from China and other Asian countries. Demand for sea freight pushed rates to record levels last year and congestion at ports are likely to boost charges this year. About 80 per cent of global trade is carried by sea. 'This will be one of the best years for them as more goods are made in Asia and shipped to the US and other countries,' said Yang You Sik, who doesn't own NOL shares among the US$701 million he manages at LG Investment Trust Management in Seoul. NOL chief executive David Lim, 49, on Feb 28 said the shipping industry may see in the coming years a prolonged 'up cycle' because congestion has reduced throughput capacity, making it ineffective to have bigger vessels. The company is the only one of the world's top 10 container shipping lines that hasn't ordered the biggest vessels available.


Page 9

5/13/2005


NOL shares rose 2 cents to close at S$3.72 yesterday. The stock has gained 24 per cent this year, outpacing its closest competitors Evergreen Marine Corp which fell 1.6 per cent and Hanjin Shipping which rose 16 per cent this year. Only two of 12 analysts tracking NOL this year rate the stock, one of the top 10 best performing shares on the key Straits Times Index, a 'buy', Bloomberg data showed. Exports from China, the world's third-largest trading nation, rose 35 per cent to US$156 billion in the first quarter and imports increased 12 per cent to US$139 billion, the customs bureau said in April. 'A substantial contribution to the unseasonable strength in volumes is due to the lifting of textile quotas,' analysts Christopher Gee and Adele Yeo at JPMorgan Chase & Co said in a May 4 research note. They have a 'neutral' rating on NOL with a target price of S$4.10. APL Ltd, which ships containers for NOL, handled 499,100 40-foot boxes from Jan 1 to April 8 and contributed to 81 per cent of its parent's sales last year. APL's container growth in the period was 13 per cent higher from last year, NOL said. Average revenue increased 7 per cent to US$2,732 a 40-foot container, bringing first-quarter revenue from the container shipping business up by 21 per cent to US$1.36 billion. APL has a total fleet capacity of 313,839 20-foot standard container. NOL, which also operates warehouses and offers freight forwarding, said sales from contract logistics, which made up for 17.8 per cent of sales last year, rose 5 per cent to US$219.4 million from Jan 1 to April 8. Revenue from international services rose 23 per cent to US$97.5 million. Temasek Holdings owns 69 per cent of NOL shares. The global container shipping fleet's carrying capacity is set to grow by 60 per cent through 2008 and may create an oversupply of shipping space, TradeWinds reported on April 8, citing shipbrokers. 'While volumes should continue to rise in 2006 and beyond, a margin squeeze may cause earnings to decline,' Chris Sanda, analyst at DBS Vickers Securities, said in a May 4 research note. Mr Sanda has a 'fully valued' rating on NOL shares, with a one-year target price of S$3.36 a share

Hamburg denies box bias

HAMBURG’ S minister for economy and employment, Gunnar Uldall, has hit back at accusations that the city is ignoring the interests of conventional cargo to create new container handling capacity. In an interview with Hamburg’ s daily newspaper, Hamburger Abendblatt, Uldall today promised that he will offer ‘ appropriate new sites’to all companies which have to give way for the construction of new container terminal capacity in the middle range of the port. “Hamburg has enough land to accommodate both the growth in containers and all other cargo handling services. We will continue to be a universal port,”the minister said. All companies affected from the planned restructuring, which will see the city’ s box handling capacity rise from 7M to 18M TEU by 2015, will be assembled at a meeting with Uldall this month. His land pledge comes hard on the heels of copper producer Norddeutsche Affinerie’ s decision to shift its copper ore import terminal from Hamburg to Brunsbüttel by 2007.

MOL makes it a hat trick Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has reported full year profits of JPY98.2bn ($925m), the highest figure among Japan’ s top three shipowners.


Page 10

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 The figure was 77.4% on the JPY5.3bn seen in FY2003 as it recorded strong performances by its containership and bulk shipping segments. MOL’ s full-year revenue rose by 17.7% to JPY1.17 trillion for the year ending 31 March 2005, while operating income skyrocketed by 86.5% to JPY171.1bn.

Top : The MOL PERFORMANCE approaching Rotterdam – Photo : Frits Janse © “In ocean shipping, our main business, both containerships and bulk carriers enjoyed robust cargo traffic and strong freight rates,”MOL confirmed. Revenue at MOL’ s containership division rose 15.9% from a year ago to JPY400bn, while operating income surged up by 131.4% to JPY54.2bn. At bulk shipping, which includes bulkers, car carriers and tankers, revenue jumped 20.5% to JPY597.4bn. Operating income jumped 68.6% to JPY112.4bn.

SFI surprises with boxship buy John Fredriksen-controlled Ship Finance International (SFI) has made a surprise move into the containership market. SFI confirmed it would take over two 1,700-teu newbuilds from Fredriksen affiliate Seatankers, which originally had appeared destined for Fredriksen’ s private operations. It means SFI’ s long-awaited expansion will begin not in the dry bulk market as many expected, but in the world of boxships. SFI chairman Tor Olav Troim said the deal was a milestone in the company’ s strategy to become a leading ship financier. It is the first ship chartered out to a non-Frontline affiliated party, and also the first non-tanker tonnage. It remains to be seen how investors will take to the deal. Brokers have so far been disparaging of the amount initially paid by Fredriksen for the ships, and the resultant charter rate for the first vessel. SFI will pay Seatankers $49.25m per ship, including a 1.5% commission for arranging the acquisition and charter. The vessels were initially bought from UK-based Norse Management by Seatankers, an affiliate of Fredriksen’ s investment company Hemen Holdings. Norse Management ordered the ships in April 2003 at $21.5m each. The Sea Alpha and Sea Beta are due for delivery from China’ s Wenchong Shipyard in May and November respectively.


Page 11

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 The Sea Alpha has already been chartered out to Korea’ s Heung-A for four years at $28,000 per day, regarded as a comparatively low rate by brokers. The Sea Beta has yet to be fixed. SFI said it was looking for a medium-term charter for the vessel now and was considering several ‘ interesting’offers. The deal will be funded by a combination of bank loans and internal liquidity, and will be accretive to earnings. SFI said the initial four-year charter period would write down a 20-25 year life span asset to approximately 50% of cost, limiting the risk to the company.

Nice little earner from Stelios EASYCRUISE will break even in three years and become profitable in five, and there are no plans for a second ship, says Stelios Haji-Ioannou. The venture, to begin cruising on 6 May from the French port of Nice will see the cruise ship EasyCruiseOne, 172-passenger capacity in 76 cabins, begin an Italian-French itinerary. Chairman and owner Stelios Haji-Ioannou told Fairplay yesterday that the company had spent a total of €20M ($25.7M) buying and refurbishing the 1991-buit, former Renaissance Two/Neptune, and they would consider expanding the fleet at the end of the first year. He added that the profit forecasts were made using a booking price of €70-75 a night. EasyCruiseOne will end its Mediterranean season at the end of October and will probably be deployed to a warmer area (possibly Barbados) for the winter. The average age of the person booked on the vessel is 35, said Haji-Ioannou, adding that this is the youngest figure for any cruise line.

K Line powers ahead K Line, Japan’ s third largest shipowner, has seen full-year profits jump by over 80% from a year ago on the back of the China-led boom in the shipping industry.

Top : The ROTTERDAM BRIDGE – Photo : Piet Sinke © Net profits for the year ended 31 March 2005 were JPY59.9bn (564.5m) compared to the JPY33.2bn seen twelve months earlier. Full-year revenues were JPY828.4bn, a rise of 14.3% on the JPY724bn seen twelve months earlier. Operating income leapt 53.2% to JPY108.1bn. “Operating revenues in the containership business substantially exceeded those in the preceding year, due to increases in cargo volumes and freight rate restorations,”K Line said. It said this was “despite the adverse effects of inflated crude oil prices, climbing chartering costs and the stronger yen.” In addition to a sharp rise in container volumes on its trans-Pacific trades, K Line also reported “significant: increases on its intra-Asia routes, mainly driven by China.


Page 12

5/13/2005


K Line said it was also able to restore freight rates on the once sluggish south/north service routes including Central and South America, Africa and Australia. After a weak first quarter of fiscal 2004 K Line said freight rates for bulkers bounced back in the second quarter, assisted by strong demand from mainly China. K Line said demand for tankers grew steadily, bolstered by expanding demand for oil, mainly from the US, China and Southeast Asia. In an era of high crude prices US demand for fuel-efficient Japanese and Korean cars boosted K Line’ s car carrier operations. “As a result, operating revenues in the bulker and car carrier business substantially exceeded those for the same period last year,”K Line said.

AP Moller controls 47% of Pipavav AP MOLLER-Maersk Group now holds 47% of the shares of Gujarat Pipavav Port following a capital injection and share purchase. The new shareholding structure has been completed together with a capital injection of Rs2Bn ($46M) from new share subscriptions. The port is now looking to expand, including constructing new berths and yard space, widening berths, installing new gantry cranes, and dredging. The expansion will increase design capacity to 1M TEU and 5M tonnes of bulk cargo. Pipavav, the first private sector, multi-purpose port in India, currently operates two berths – 332m dedicated to handing bulk commodities such as cement and coal, and 393m for the container operations.

MOVEMENTS THIS SECTION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY :

MULTRASHIP Towage & Salvage Scheldekade 48 4531 EH Terneuzen The Netherlands Tel : + 31 – 115 645 000 Fax : + 31 – 115 645 001 Internet [email protected] http://www.multraship.com

Komende zondag 15-05-2005 om 11.00 uur zal de sleper De Da met als sleep het Heerema ponton H-851 aankomen bij de Wandelaar loodsstation. Op Vlissingen rede gaat de De Da eraf en direct verder naar Rotterdam. Dit zal om ca. 18.00 uur zijn. 4 sleper van Union zullen de H-851 van Vlissingen rede naar de Heerema Vlissingen kade brengen. Afmeren zal om 21.00 uur gebeuren. Info : Arthur Feenstra – Oudkerk Agencies


Page 13

5/13/2005


EMPROS LINE’ s AMSTERDAM seen here enroute Rotterdam Photo : Piet Sinke ©

The Italian RHAPSODY visited IJmuiden Photo : Joep van Dam © Sunday morning May 15th 02;00 hrs the ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS will arrive on Maaspilot station and is expected at the entrance of the Botlek at 06:00 hrs, to enter the drydock no 7 around 07:00 hrs, 3 SMIT tugs will assist during this operation.

AIRCRAFT / AIRPORT NEWS

Vliegverbod Onur Air treft duizenden reizigers

Het vliegverbod voor de Turkse luchtvaartmaatschappij Onur Air heeft vele duizenden passagiers getroffen. Hun terugreis vanuit Turkije is onzeker geworden nu Onur Air niet meer in Nederland mag landen. PSi-Daily maritime press clippings

Page 14

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 Er zitten ongeveer 8000 reizigers in Turkije die de komende dagen met de vervoerder terug naar huis zouden vliegen. Bovendien zouden er de komende dagen vanuit Nederland veel mensen met Onur Air naar Turkije vertrekken. De Nederlandse touroperators worden nu geconfronteerd met een gigantische klus. Op korte termijn moeten ze vervangend vervoer vinden. De grote Turkije-specialist Corendon is er in geslaagd 2500 klanten over te boeken. Voor een paar honderd passagiers is de touroperator nog op zoek naar onderdak. Corendon verwacht vrijdag iedereen te hebben geholpen. Het gaat om ruim 1950 terugkerende en 610 vertrekkende passagiers. Donderdagavond meldde ook touroperator Oad dat voor circa achthonderd terugkerende en vertrekkende reizigers vervangend vervoer is geregeld na spoedoverleg met luchtvaartmaatschappijen Martinair en Transavia. ,,Tot en met zondag hebben we alles opgelost. We zijn nu nog bezig met de passagiers voor de komende weken'', aldus directievoorzitter L. Frankenhuis van de Oad Groep. Directeur D. van den Hoogen van D-Reizen verkeerde in de veronderstelling dat er ongeveer 7000 mensen zouden worden opgehaald, maar dat aantal is volgens een woordvoerder van Martinair veel te hoog. KLM kijkt of het nog vliegtuigen kan inzetten. Onder de gestrande vakantiegangers in Turkije bevindt zich een jong stel uit Den Haag, dat in een hotel in Side op een uurtje van Antalya verblijft en zaterdag zou terugvliegen met Onur Air. Ze hadden de afgelopen dagen na verontrustende berichten over Onur Air al met andere toeristen hun licht opgestoken of ze konden omboeken. Donderdagavond rond zes uur kon een vertegenwoordiger van de reisorganisatie Sunrise hen nog niets vertellen over een eventuele vervangende terugvlucht. ,,We waren met een man of tien die via een sms'je of een telefoontje van het thuisfront op de hoogte waren van het vliegverbod. Maar er zijn er veel meer hier die met Onur vliegen en kennelijk nog van niets weten'', aldus L. Tavecchio. Het vliegverbod voor Onur Air geldt voor een maand. In die tijd moet het bedrijf de interne organisatie en het onderhoud van de vliegtuigen verbeteren, eist de Inspectie Verkeer en Waterstaat (IVW). Ook in Duitsland is Onur Air voorlopig uit veiligheidsoverwegingen niet meer welkom. Onur Air had van de IVW al een laatste waarschuwing gekregen na een aantal incidenten. De druppel die de emmer deed overlopen, is een nieuw incident twee dagen geleden in Turkije op het vliegveld van Antalya. Een Airbus van Onur Air stond op het punt naar Schiphol te vertrekken. Tijdens het starten kreeg de piloot een foutmelding, over een probleem met het zogenoemde straalomkeersysteem dat kan worden gebruikt om extra te remmen. Het toestel kwam in de nacht van dinsdag op woensdag op Schiphol aan. Onur Air is het niet eens met het vliegverbod en beraadt zich op te nemen stappen. ,,We doen er alles aan om onze vliegtuigen in goede technische staat te houden'', zei Esat Aksak, algemeen manager van de maatschappij in Nederland. De maatschappij houdt zich volgens hem aan internationale richtlijnen voor het onderhoud van vliegtuigen en motoren. Het Algemeen Nederlands Verbond van Reisondernemingen (ANVR) noemt het vliegverbod een ,,gigantische klap'' voor de touroperators. Van den Hoogen van D-Reizen vindt dat de kosten van het vervangend vervoer op Onur Air moeten worden verhaald. Directeur R. Engeman van het ANVR uitte scherpe kritiek op de IVW. De inspectie heeft de reisorganisaties te lang in het duister laten tasten over Onur Air. ,,Een aantal touroperators heeft woensdag gebeld met de inspectie en te horen gekregen dat het veilig was om met Onur Air te vliegen.'' Engeman liet zelfs doorschemeren dat ze het beter had gevonden als alleen de verouderde toestellen van de vervoerder een verbod hadden gekregen in plaats van de hele vloot.

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT OF ONUR AIR TURKEY

Istanbul, 13th of May 2005.... 'After an inappropriate action, Onur Air has been subject to a rather unfortunate and unfair treatment by Dutch Air and Sea Transport Authority -Inspectie Verkeer en Waterstaat - and our flights to the Netherlands are stopped for one month as of yesterday. Onur Air has been holding 50 percent of the whole package holiday market in Netherlands as a result of its long time satisfactory performance and commercial stability.


Page 15

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 We have a well-earned reputation in the Netherlands as proven by millions of thousands of travellers and nearly all Dutch tourism organisations have chosen to work with us. The reason of the ban was reported to be the result of a technical problem on one of Onur Air's aircraft last week in Amsterdam, but statistically, it is reported that one airline has a technical delay everyday in the Netherlands. In this case dozens of airlines should be stopped operating to the Netherlands every month. Unfortunately, German DGCA has also stopped our operation to Germany without any event, just as a result of Netherlands decision. We currently fly to 73 airports in Europe with our 25 aircrafts since 14 years now. Our highest achievement awards from Airbus, Boeing and many touroperators have been acknowledged by all authorities. We believe we have the right to be treated equally and fairly with all other airlines in Europe under EASA regulations. Yours Sincerely, Hamit Cankut Bagana President Onur Air Turkey'.

MARINE WEATHER THIS SECTION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY :

Internet: www.spos.nl

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 500 vessels today.

PHOTO OF THE DAY PSi-Daily maritime press clippings

Page 16

5/13/2005


The STAR PRINCESS arriving in Rotterdam Photo : Hans de Jong – Maritime photographs ©

SMITWIJS TOWAGE B.V.


Page 17

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2005 – 122 Westplein 5b 3016 BM Rotterdam The Netherlands Telephone: +31 10 412 6969 Telefax:+31 10 436 9587 E-mail: [email protected]


Page 18

5/13/2005

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS

Recommend Documents