DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184

Number 184** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS ***Thursday 28-09-2006 News reports received from readers and Internet News articles taken from various news sites.

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The German coast guard vessel MELLUM seen enroute Rotterdam Photo : Aad Sinke ©

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The ROCKWATER 2 seen moored in Singapore Photo : Piet Sinke ©

CONFERENCES TO CARRY ON TO BITTER END THE liner shipping conferences serving Europe look set for a lame duck existence for the next two years following the EU Council decision to revoke liner shipping’s block exemption from antitrust law. The CEO of one of the biggest conferences, The Far Eastern Freight Conference, said that the lines at present had no plans to close down the conference in advance of the EU deadline. Rod Riseborough said “Well carry on until PSi-Daily Shipping News

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 September 2008.” He added that the FEFC would be waiting to see what was in the new European Commission Guidelines on competition within the shipping industry. It had been hoped within the liner industry that the existing conference secretariats would continue to have a role after conferences were outlawed if some limited information exchange was still allowed between the lines. That this will be allowed now seems far from certain given critical comments from the EC regarding the European Liner Affairs Association (ELAA) for a replacement regime. Meanwhile the European Shippers’ Council has welcomed the decision to repeal the block exemption of liner conferences which, it claims, “vindicates the European Shippers’ Councils campaign which started twenty years ago to reform liner shipping markets and to ensure a more competitive market for shippers.” Nicolette van der Jagt, Secretary General of the European Shippers’ Council said: “This is another landmark day for shippers. We should recognise this day as one that symbolises the beginning of a new era of shipper-carrier cooperation; where bridges between the two parties can be rebuilt on firmer footings.”

MANTA TO RIO DE JANEIRO The tugboat Manta of KTK (Curacao Towage Company) will assist tugboats of InterTug Colombia for a 50 days job to tow workstation Elisa from Paramaribo (Suriname) to Rio de Janeiro. KTK signed recently a co-operation agreement with InterTug of Colombia. According mr. Agustin Diaz junior, KTK had to decide within 36 hours whether they were in position to assist or not but due to the flexibility of the company they were able to assist for the benefit of both the companies. Next time we do need InterTUg and then we count on their support.

Top : Tugboat Manta of KTK (Curacao Towage Company/Kompania di Tou Korsou) leaving Willemstad Curacao bound for Paramaribo to assist InterTug of Colombia for a trip to Rio de Janeiro. PSi-Daily Shipping News

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Noordelijke asbestverwerkers willen gifschip slopen Een groep noordelijke asbestverwerkers wil het Turkse gifschip de Otapan in de Eemshaven slopen. Groningen Seaports voelt daar voorlopig helemaal niets voor. Die wil eerst weten wat er allemaal nog meer in het schip zit. Bovendien moet het ministerie van VROM nog bepalen in welke haven de Otapan komt te liggen.

Foto : Piet Sinke © Het Turkse schip, dat 54.000 kilo asbest bevat en eerder in de haven van Amsterdam lag, is op dit moment van Turkije op de terugweg naar Nederland. De Turkse autoriteiten weigerden de Otapan toegang tot een haven. Nederland is volgens internationale regelgeving verplicht om het schip terug te nemen. De Otapan zal over ongeveer een maand in ons land aankomen.

Lerwick decommissioning is rigged The first purpose-built decommissioning facility for North Sea oil structures has been opened in Lerwick Harbour. The £1.2M ($2.29M) facility is located within the SBS Logistics Greenhead base and is being operated by Veolia Environmental Services (VES). Veolia, in association with SBS, has won a £250M decommissioning contract with Aker Kvaerner to oversee the removal of Total’s platforms from the Frigg field. Already up to 20,000 tonnes of steel and other materials from those platforms has started to arrive, which will be dismantled and disposed of over the next three years. The site is operating under a pollution and control permit from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency. VES chief executive, Cyrille du Peloux, said he believed "the opening of the new facility marks the start of an important new industrial sector in the Shetlands.” SBS commercial director Murdo McIver added that about 40% of the 500 existing offshore North Sea oil and gas installations will be considered for decommissioning or abandonment in the next 10-20 years.

MOL Patents Aerodynamic Car Carrier Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced that the design of the company's wind resistance reducing pure car carrier (PCC), has been patented in Japan and South Korea. This design was adopted on MOL-operated car carriers launched since March 2003. PSi-Daily Shipping News

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 The vessel's bow is aerodynamically rounded and bevelled along the bow line to help reduce pressure from headwinds. The upper deck has cargo space (called the garage deck) to maximize load capacity. The vessel also has different levels, with square cut corner sections, all along the sides of the vessel at the top of the garage deck, which help reduce pressure from side winds. The design effectively reduces leeway caused by wind pressure. As a result, the design improves both fuel efficiency, which in turn reduces emissions of CO2, NOx, and SOx in vessel engine exhaust, and speed. More than a year of voyages by PCCs of the new design proved, as expected, that the design reduces leeway, improves speed, and results in an annual fuel efficiency improvement exceeding 5% over similar PCCs of conventional design. The design was developed through joint research with Universal Shipbuilding Corp. MOL has launched 17 car carriers with this design, starting with the “Courageous Ace” in March 2003.

Laatste conventionele reddingboot verlaat KNRM vloot

Foto : Arie van Dijk © Op zaterdag 23 september is de laatste conventionele reddingboot van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij (KNRM) overgedragen aan het Nationaal Reddingmuseum Dorus Rijkers. Vanaf dat moment bestaat de operationele vloot van de KNRM volledig uit RIB’s (Rigid Inflatable Boats). De oude, stalen reddingboten van de types Carlot en Javazee hebben decennialang hun waarde als ‘all weather’ reddingboot bewezen en het gezicht van de Redding Maatschappij bepaald. Beide scheepstypes konden gedurende veertig jaar onder extreme weersomstandigheden worden ingezet, zonder daarbij bemanningsleden te verspelen. Schippers en opstappers hadden daardoor een vrijwel eindeloos vertrouwen in deze schepen. Maar tegelijkertijd werden de redders steeds vaker geconfronteerd met het grote nadeel van de conventionele reddingboten: de (te) lage snelheid van maximaal 11 knopen. Er moest dus een snellere reddingboot worden ontwikkeld, die tegelijkertijd over de zeewaardigheid van de conventionele reddingboten beschikte. Rubberboten De directie van de Redding Maatschappij zag in de Rigid Inflatable Boat de oplossing. De Britse zustermaatschappij RNLI experimenteerde al vanaf de jaren ’70 met dit type schip en de resultaten waren veelbelovend. Voor de directie van de Redding Maatschappij was dit reden om ook een RIB-reddingboot te ontwikkelen. De Koningin Beatrix was de eerste grote RIB-reddingboot in Nederland. Dit prototype werd in 1984 in Burghsluis gestationeerd. De ervaringen uit Burghsluis werden geïnventariseerd en verwerkt in een nieuw type reddingboot, de Johannes Frederik. Het prototype van deze klasse werd in 1988 op Ameland gestationeerd, gevolgd door nog negen reddingboten van dit type. Later volgden de reddingboottypen Valentijn en Arie Visser. PSi-Daily Shipping News Page 5 9/28/2006

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 Doorontwikkelen Nu de vloot van de KNRM volledig gemoderniseerd is staan de ontwikkelingen alles behalve stil. Technische ontwikkelingen worden op de voet gevolgd en waar mogelijk toegepast op de vloot. Zo blijft de KNRM werken aan materialen en middelen waarmee de vrijwilligers onder alle omstandigheden veilig hun werk kunnen blijven doen.

Full steam ahead for UT designs Today’s high level of offshore exploration and production activity has brought with it a corresponding demand for support vessels of all kinds. The result is an unprecedented order book for Rolls-Royce UT-Designs. Currently, no fewer than 85 vessels of Rolls-Royce design are on order and of these 21 are scheduled for delivery before the end of 2006. Most of the others are for delivery in 2007 and 2008. In three cases contracts for series of vessels will provide work for yards into 2009, and the high level of order intake continues. Owners have placed building contracts with yards in Norway, India, Singapore, Brazil, Italy and Russia. In all, 17 different Rolls-Royce UT-Design vessel types are on order, with many variants of the basic types. Among the platform supply vessels the UT 755 in its many versions remains a favourite, and many are now on order in India. Anchor handlers cover a wide range of types, reflecting the Rolls-Royce policy of tailoring vessels to the customer’s requirements and geographical operating area. Contracts for Rolls-Royce design and equipment package signed in the past few weeks include a UT 712 L AHTS for Rem Maritime, placed with Kleven Verft. Two vessels of this type are already under construction at the same Ulsteinvik yard for the same owner. They will be 78.3m long, with a bollard pull of about 190 tonnes, accommodation for 28 people and a working deck area of 510m2. Farstad Shipping has ordered a UT 751 CD PSV from Aker Yards, representing the 21st vessel contract between the two parties. The hull will be built at Aker’s facility in Romania and fitted out at Aker Yards, Brevik, in Norway, with delivery sheduled for the beginning of 2009. As the type number indicates, this Farstad vessel will have Clean Design notation, in common with a growing number of UT-Design vessels as reducing impact on the environment becomes a top priority. Island Offshore has just ordered two offshore vessels also to be built by Aker Yards, Brevik. One is a UT 712 L anchor handler, a UT-Design that is becoming very popular. The other is a new generation supply vessel, a UT 776 CD, with diesel electric and pulling azimuth thruster propulsion.

HOLES FOUND IN EQUASIS DATABASE THE vessel information database Equasis is missing detentions and deficiencies picked up by inspections in some cases involving countries party to the Tokyo MOU. The shortcomings in Equasis data were identified when private sector website Maritime Global Net, which hosts Anderimar Shipping News, noticed that some vessels that were apparently “clean” according to Equasis had in fact been detained in recent months.


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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 For example the 166,139 dwt, Hong Kong-flag bulk carrier Rubin Grace was detained in Dampier, Australia on 10 August this year but according to Equasis, as of late yesterday afternoon, its last inspection was in Hamburg on 22 May. The Tokyo MOU website categorises the Rubin Grace’s risk level as “high”. Moreover although Equasis notes five occasions since August 2005 when the ship was inspected by Tokyo MOU port state control authorities it gives no details beyond the date. In fact the ship had not been detained in any of the earlier of the inspections and had come through one without any deficiencies being found. Contacted by Anderimar Shipping News the new CEO of Equasis Jaques Benard conceded that there was a problem. He said that Equasis does not receive data directly from the Tokyo MoU. He explained: “We receive a monthly file including the IMO number of the ships inspected and the date of the inspection. With that information we establish a hyperlink toward the Tokyo MoU website allowing the Equasis users to consult the details of the inspections.” He added: “With this procedure, the up date of Equasis database could suffer with the periodicity of the up date file which is certainly too long, but also with some omission or error in the up date file. Anyway, Equasis can only display the information provided by Tokyo MOU. I shall be pleased to receive the Tokyo MoU data in the same conditions as Paris MoU data but it is not currently possible and I have to work on this subject with the Tokyo MOU. Mr Benard’s admission is likely to be a revelation to at least some regular users of the database, such as charterers. Fritz Heidenreich of US-based Q88.com which provides owners with vetting questionnaires said: "What's important is for charterers to have access to the most up-to-date information. A vessel could have a pollution incident today but if it takes 2 months before it shows up on Equasis then the data is of no use to the Charterer fixing a ship tomorrow." The president of Maritime Global Net, Moses Calouro commented: "Old news is no news. When a coastguard inspection or detention report is filed in an electronic database, it should be immediately available to the industry."

CASUALTY REPORTING Ferry vaart tegen Oosterstaketsel in Oostende

The ferry HUMBER WAYS van de rederij Ferryways is woensdag om 15.05 uur in Oostende tegen het Oosterstaketsel gevaren. Dat bevestigen het havenbestuur en de Kustwacht. Photo’s : Mike Vercruysse ©

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Russian Carrier to Rejoin Navy by end of 2006 According to reports, the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's only aircraft carrier, will join the Northern Fleet by the end of the year after modernization, the Navy's chief said Wednesday. Photo : Coll. Piet Sinke © The ship, also known as Project 1143.5 heavy aircraft carrier, was commissioned in the Russian Navy in 1991 and became fully operational in 1995. But it was plagued by technical problems, including faulty arrester gear, and was put into dock earlier this year for a technical overhaul. The Navy commander said that several Su-33 Flanker-D fighters assigned to the aircraft carrier would return to the ship after a brief technical overhaul. The vessel is capable of carrying up to 26 fixed-wing fighters and 24 helicopters. Russia's military leadership is considering building several modern aircraft carriers after 2015.

Navy decommissions amphibious transport dock USS Austin The Navy is decommissioning the USS Austin after more than 41 years of service. The amphibious transport dock was decommissioned in a ceremony September 28th at Naval Station Norfolk. The ship was launched in June 1964 and commissioned in February 1965. Austin returned in May from its last deployment in the Persian Gulf. It also served as the recovery ship for Apollo 12 and was part of the recovery forces for Apollo 14 and 15. PSi-Daily Shipping News

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 The ship was also the test platform for a wide range of expeditionary warfare systems entering the fleet, including: MH-53 helicopter and the U-S Marine Corps A-V-8 Harrier jets. In October 1983, a terrorist attack on the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon killed 241 and injured more than 100, forcing Austin -- what was anchored nearby -- to respond by providing some of ship's company to stand security watches and aid in the search for survivors.

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9/28/2006


SEVEN OCEANS LAUNCHED AT THE MERWEDE SHIPYARD

Friday September 22nd the Merwede Shipyard launched the new SEVEN OCEANS for Subsea 7. Merwede Shipyard was awarded the contract to build the ship in June 2005. The keel-laying for the vessel took place on February 20th 2006. The ship will be delivered to Subsea 7 in the spring of 2007. Photo : Cees de Bijl ©

VT Halter to build NOAA SWATH NOAA has announced that VT Halter Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, Miss., will complete the final design and build of a new Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull Coastal Mapping Vessel (SWATH CMV) for the agency. NOAA exercised a $15 million option for the ship with VT Halter Marine, which also completed the vessel's preliminary design under a separate option. The primary mission of the SWATH CMV will be to map the full seafloor in coastal areas for U.S, nautical charts. It will operate in waterways along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Caribbean Sea and Great Lakes, conducting basic hydrographic surveys of the seafloor using side scan and multibeam sonar technologies. VT Halter Marine expects to deliver the SWATH CMV by the summer of 2008. The nearly 38-meter long vessel will be homeported at Fort Point in New Castle, N.H., and will replace the 40-year-old NOAA ship Rude. Locating the vessel at New Castle will significantly enhance coastal and ocean mapping research partnership opportunities with the NOAA Joint Hydrographic Center at the University of New Hampshire. "The SWATH design is particularly suited to NOAA's mission to map the ocean floor, as it is less responsive to wave action than a mono-hull ship," said Rear Admiral Samuel P. De Bow Jr., director of NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. "Its reduced motion will result in more reliable acquisition of survey data, and its enhanced sea-keeping ability will make it a more efficient survey platform." U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, who was instrumental in securing funds for the SWATH CMV, stated, "This vessel provides a cutting-edge platform for NOAA and UNH scientists and undergraduates to test new ocean mapping technologies and conduct hydrographic research in near coastal environments, previously inaccessible with traditional vessels. The SWATH ship will help to grow the already successful UNH-NOAA partnership and help UNH remain a national leader in oceanographic work." "We are excited to build this first-in-class SWATH CMV for NOAA," said Boyd E. King, VT Halter Marine's chief executive officer. "It is always exciting to take a project from blueprint to blue water. The SWATH CMV will be the fifth NOAA vessel that VT Halter Marine will build in support of NOAA's active fleet replacement program." PSi-Daily Shipping News

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 Once operational, the new SWATH CMV will be operated, managed, and maintained by NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, composed of civilians and commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps, one of the nation's seven uniformed services. The SWATH will support the nautical charting mission of NOAA's Office of Coast Survey.

Hyundai wins $1.6 billion Shaif offshore oilfield deal Abu Dhabi finally moved forward yesterday with a years-old project to boost production at an ageing offshore oilfield by awarding a $1.6 billion construction deal to Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. Hyundai Heavy, the world’s top shipbuilder, said in a statement that it had signed a letter of award with ADMA-OPCO, the offshore arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), to build a fixed platform weighing 40,000 tonnes, undersea pipelines and bridges at the Umm Shaif oilfield by 2010. The plant near Abu Dhabi is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 300,000 barrels of crude oil a day, with Hyundai Heavy handling the entire construction project, from design to manufacturing to test operations. A Hyundai official said the planned new plant would replace an existing facility and boost production, although he did not know the existing plant’s current production rate. Industry sources pegged current output at Umm Shaif, in which BP and Total both have shares, at around 200,000 bpd. It was unclear how much the new facility would lift output. Umm Shaif was Abu Dhabi’s first offshore field, discovered in 1958. The platform was first envisaged at the beginning of the decade as a $1.2 billion project to stem declining production at the Umm Shaif oilfield by injecting natural gas from the Khuff reservoir far below it, preserving pressure and raising output. It was originally targeted to be completed by 2005. Khuff is one of the world’s biggest natural gas fields, but the gas is costly to produce due to a high sulphur content. The oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi has embarked on a range of billiondollar investments to help raise output capacity to 3.5 million bpd from around 2.7 million bpd now to help meet future oil demand.

Irving to build cruise ship

The Halifax Shipyard of Irving Shipbuilding is getting back into building ships with a contract to build a small cruise ship for Pearl Sea Cruises of Connecticut. Although there is no firm commitment on a second vessel, it is expected another ship will be also be built in Halifax. Charles Robertson, president of Pearl Sea, an offshore affiliate of American Cruise Lines, said the first vessel will accommodate 166 passengers and a second 210. It will be "very high-end cruising," he said. The first vessel will be delivered in the spring of 2008 and ready for that summer’s cruise season. Although the cruise itinerary has not been finalized, the ship will offer cruises around Atlantic Canada and up the St. Lawrence River. When the second vessel is built, one will operate in the British Isles and the Baltic while the other will be back in the waters off Atlantic Canada and New England. Robertson would not disclose the cost of building the ships, which will be registered in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. As they will not operate in the U.S. domestic market, they will not fall under the Jones Act, which specifies that vessels operating within the States must be built and registered in the U.S. Irving spokeswoman Mary Keith said Irving has a commitment to build an 87-metre vessel. Construction, she said, will be split between the Halifax Shipyard and Irving’s Woodside facility in Dartmouth. "Halifax will do the marine structure and Woodside will work on the accommodation units." Construction is to start in March. The last new vessel built at the Halifax yard was a tug for a Danish company in 2004-05.


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Hanjin upbeat on Subic Bay shipyard In what could be the world’s fourth-largest shipyard is nearing completion in Redondo Peninsula, Subic Bay, Philippines, and it promises to generate $3.6 billion in annual sales. The $1 billion Hanjin Shipbuilding facility will be able to accommodate the construction of 60 ships a year. Even as the construction of the fourth-largest shipbuilding facility in Subic is in full swing, Hanjin has an advance order of 12 container ships worth $60 million each. Work on the 2.3-million sq m shipyard began in March after South Korea’s Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. signed a lease agreement with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. A $40-million training centre for shipyard workers was also opened by the Korean firm.

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The WESTERDAM seen leaving Seattle for an Alaskan cruise. Photo : Christopher Gieckel © PSi-Daily Shipping News

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Slow speed diesel factory for China China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), Wartsila and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) are establishing a joint venture to manufacture large, low-speed marine engines in China. CSIC will hold 50% of the joint venture, Wartsila 27% and Mitsubishi 23%. The investment will total around 75 million euros, spread over several years. Production is scheduled to start during the fourth quarter of 2008. The joint venture will be called Qingdao Qiyao Wartsila MHI Linshan Marine Diesel Co Ltd (QMD). The start-up of the joint venture is subject to final approvals, which are expected to be received by the end of October 2006. "Our aim is to better serve the shipbuilding industry in China and thereby strengthen our market position in the low speed engines in rapidly growing Chinese shipbuilding market. The QMD factory is a practical demonstration of our strategy of working through partnerships to bring the aspirations of the partners into reality", says Mr Ole Johansson, President and CEO of Wartsila. "For CSIC, the QMD factory is much more than increased manufacturing capacity. It enables CSIC to further develop the technological capabilities of its ship machinery industry; an objective which is greatly facilitated by international cooperation with strong technological partners such as Wartsila and MHI. Improved technological capabilities will, in turn, also encourage technical innovation among CSIC employees that will raise the competitiveness of Chinese shipbuilding and grow its market share," says Mr Li Chang Yin, President of CSIC. "Developments such as the QMD factory will raise the reputation of Mitsubishi UE engines in world shipbuilding markets while extending the Mitsubishi UE engine business in an important country that is a rising dragon in shipbuilding. It will also bring more opportunities to offer Mitsubishi UE engines to shipowners in the world," says Mr Hiroo Uchimura, General Manager, Industrial Energy Power Systems Department of MHI. Strong demand in China The Chinese shipbuilding industry is growing rapidly and currently requires more engines than can be manufactured locally. As China has set itself the target of being the world's leading shipbuilding country by 2020, demand for lowspeed engines is increasing correspondingly. QMD will primarily serve Chinese shipyards, but will also be able to export engines to other shipbuilding markets such as Europe and India. The QMD joint venture continues the co-operation started by Wartsila and CSIC in 2005 to produce auxiliary engines. With MHI Wartsila is co-operating in the form of a strategic alliance to develop two-stroke marine diesel engines. The QMD factory will produce large marine engines for Chinese shipyards. It will develop, manufacture and sell a new generation of energy-saving and environmentally-friendly low-speed two-stroke marine engines under license from Wartsila and MHI. The factory will be built in the Shanghai area, where CSIC is setting up a marine industry cluster. Local supplier network The QMD factory will use local suppliers as much as possible. It will thus do much to add both to the local economy while channelling the transfer of technology that will support local companies in raising and maintaining their production to world-class standards. The technological importance of QMD factory will also be enhanced through its use by Wartsila and MHI for the research and development testing of new engines, further emphasizing its technological importance.

SKAUGEN ORDERS ADDITIONAL GAS CARRIER

SKAUGEN Marine Construction (SMC), part of the Norwegian-based IM Skaugen Group, has ordered its third 3,200 cu m LPG carrier from the Taizhou Wuzhou Shipbuilding. Skaugen has formed a cooperative joint venture named Skaugen Wuzhou Shipbuilding Co ‘to enable the yard to build up its infrastructure and thus build advanced gas carriers’. PSi-Daily Shipping News

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 In a statement Skaugen said: “In connection with the successful launching of the first 3.200 cu m LPG carrier, the shipbuilding agreement was entered into as we are pleased with the quality of their work and satisfied that the shipyard has reached the level of competence needed for us to complete our newbuilding projects of 16 gas carriers.” Orders for 10 of the 16 projected vessels have now been confirmed.

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NEW APL, COSCO, PIL OZ SERVICE APL, Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines’ container shipping arm, together with Cosco and PIL, is to launch a weekly service between China and Australia using five ships of about 2,900 TEU capacity. The China Australia Service (CAS) will offer direct calls at Qingdao, which is a major hub in the Bohai Bay area, as well as the Yangtze River Delta gateways of Ningbo and Shanghai. Moreover, the service also covers the primary Australian east coast destinations of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. APL says the vessels will have significant refrigerated and climate-controlled cargo handling capabilities to service the growing demand for fresh produce in the trade. “China’s growth continues to exceed expectations and its trade with Australia is becoming increasingly important,” said APL Greater China President, Dan Ryan. “Calls at Qingdao and Ningbo provide fast access to all key Chinese production and sourcing locations. Also, our efficient relay service provides the CAS with reach to other core Asian markets such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan as well as the Americas.”

Wärtsilä Receives Order for 50 Propellers in China

At the beginning of September the joint-venture company WARTSILA CME Zhenjiang Propeller Co. Ltd. in China received an order for fifty fixed pitch propellers (FPP) to be delivered to two shipyards, New Century Shipyard and New Times Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., in Jiangsu Province, China. The order is worth EUR 17 million (RMB 153 million).The propellers will be manufactured at the Wärtsilä CME propeller factory in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China. With weights ranging from 28 - 73 tons, the propellers are designated for the propulsion of a large series of vessels including 46 tankers and 4 container vessels, all being built at New Century Shipyard and New Times Shipbuilding for various customers. The vessels will be delivered between 2007 and 2009. This order comes at a time when Wärtsilä CME is investing EUR 8 million in a new propeller foundry in Zhenjiang. The investment will enable Wärtsilä CME to supply complete FPP and shaft line packages, as well as blades and hubs for controllable pitch propeller installations. The foundry will have an annual output capacity of more than 4000 tons and will be able to produce FPPs with a weight of up to 140 tons. The new plant will be ready in June 2007

KOTC to Order Mega Vessels According to AFP, Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. (KOTC) will soon order four giant oil tankers expected to cost some 500 million dollars, chairman Abdullah Al Rumi said on Wednesday. The new order was approved by the national oil conglomerate Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC), and will be offered in a tender soon, Rumi told the official KUNA news agency. Each has a capacity of 300,000 tonnes and will replace old tankers in the company’s fleet of 24 vessels. KOTC signed three contracts in 2004 with South Korean companies to build seven new vessels at a cost of 540 million dollars. Delivery is expected to start next year. They include two very large crude carriers (VLCC), two liquefied petroleum gas tankers and three petroleum products vessels. PSi-Daily Shipping News

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The VASSILIOS XV seen at Zakhyntos, the tanker is build during 1965 at the Kremer yard in Elmshorn as the INDIO, the 858 DWT tanker sailed until 1974 under the name INDIO and was renamed that year into BRANNAREN, and got her present name during 1993. Photo : Rob Fongers ©

AP Moeller-Maersk's Maersk Tankers to grow fleet AP Moeller-Maersk AS' Maersk Tankers plans to expand its fleet by 14 % year up till 2009 in order to become one of the top three tanker operators in the world, daily Boersen reported, citing Soeren Skou, who is the head of the division, reports AFX News. 'Our total fleet has grown by close to 9 pct per year over the last five years, but we expect to grow by 14% per year up till 2009,' Skou told the daily. Maersk Tankers is currently the fourth or fifth largest tanker operator in the world, but the ambition is to be in the world's top three within three years.


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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 The daily said Maersk Tankers plans to expand its business both within VLCC crude carriers, product tankers, gas carriers and LNG carriers.

COASTAL WORKER ON TRANSPORT

The COASTAL WORKER seen lifted onboard the GRIETJE in Velsen Noord. Photo : Joop Marechal ©

Troubled Spirit still haunts Rochester The race is on to conclude the sale of the fast ferry Spirit of Ontario 1, as the closure of the St Lawrence is just three months away and the city of Rochester, New York state, incurs a cost of $6,000 a day. The sale was supposed to have been concluded early in May with the UK operator Euroferries agreeing to pay $29.8M but the company has yet to produce the money. Rochester is pushing for a settlement because the cost has crept up to $1.5M, although Euroferries is reported to have said it would reimburse the city for the full amount. During the wait for Euroferries, which had planned to use the ship for a Dover-Calais fast ferry service, Rochester has welcomed other offers. At least one other operator, Denmark's Bornholms Trafikken, is understood to have looked round the vessel. Euroferries has maintained a very low profile and it is not possible to say whether the company is still active. A second operator, Navmed, is equally anonymous in its profile despite having announced earlier this year that it was interested in operating a fast ferry service from Dover.

OOCL Announces Upgraded Japan Service, the KTX4 OOCL is pleased to announce that as effective 18 October 2006, it will offer an upgraded Japan service, the KTX4, which will replace the existing SHX service. PSi-Daily Shipping News

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 The service will call on Shekou / Hong Kong / Osaka / Kobe / Hiroshima / Hibiki / Pusan / Kaohsiung / Hong Kong. The faster ships deployed will enable a reliable vessel schedule, offering direct links and competitive transit times between Kansai / Pusan, and Taiwan, South China and Hong Kong.

PGS Ramform option at Aker Yards Petroleum Geo-Services ASA has decided to exercise the option with Aker Yards, Langsten, to build an additional new third generation Ramform vessel, "Ramform 8". This new and improved Ramform class seismic vessel is a sister vessel of the previously announced "Ramform 7", which is currently being built at the same yard. "Ramform 8" has an agreed cost from the yard including installation, but excluding the cost of seismic equipment, of NOK 578 million. The vessel is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2009. The third generation Ramform design builds on the proven industry leading capabilities of the current Ramform fleet, while introducing several improvements. Compared to the existing Ramform vessels, the vessel is approximately 16 meters longer, giving higher fuel capacity and transit speed. A substantial power upgrade will significantly increase speed while surveying. The vessel will be capable of towing up to 22 streamers. A range of technology improvements will be implemented to maintain or improve efficiency of handling, deployment, retrieval and maintenance of the in sea equipment.

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.nl


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One of the ZPMC Zhen Hua transport vessels seen passing Mosselbay with a load of container cranes Photo : Paul Jacobs ©

The IONIAN STAR seen departing from Zakhyntos – Photo : Rob Fongers ©

OLDIE – FROM THE SHOEBOX

Het s.s. ALPHARD had een bewogen “zeeleven”. Door : Frank Haalmeijer © Dit kleine fraai gelijnde stoomschip van Van Nievelt, Goudriaan & Co’s Stoomvaart Maatschappij onder de naam ALPHARD was één van de harde werkers van de oceanen in de jaren van voor de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Midden de Grote Wereldoorlog werd in het neutrale Nederland gewoon door gebouwd aan de bestelde nieuwe schepen. Daar was de ALPHARD er ook een van.


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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 De kiel werd bij de Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij gelegd op 11 april 1915 en aan het eind van dat jaar volgde de tewaterlating op zaterdag 18 december. In de boeken staat de ALPHARD vermeld onder bouwnummer 52. Al reeds kort na de tewaterlating volgde op donderdag 20 januari 1916 de overdracht aan de rederij. Dit betekent feitelijk, dat bij de tewaterlating het schip al nagenoeg compleet was. Het schip was van een normaal kuildek type, 2 ruimen voor de brug, 1 ruim tussen de brug en de machinekamer en daarachter nog 2 ruimen. Zowel voor als achter had het schip een kuildek. In de machinekamer stonden 2 hoofdketels en 1 hulpketel. De beide hoofdketels hadden een diameter van ruim 5 meter en de hulpketel slechts 3 meter. De stoomdruk in de hoofdketels was 180 Lbs/ sq.inch. De stoommachine was een triple expansie machine met 4 cilinders. De lage druk cilinder was gedeeld in 2 cilinders in verband met afmetingen. Dit kwam in die tijd vaker voor. De bunkers lagen aan beide kanten naast het ketelruim, welke aan bakboord 198 ton kolen kon bevatten en aan stuurboord 126 ton. In combinatie met de kolenshoot, de reservebunkers en in het ‘bridge tweendeck’ was de totale bunkercapaciteit toch nog 1449 ton kolen. Volgens het Klassebureau Veritas had het schip een bruto inhoud van 3551 ton en was er in de ruimen in totaal ruimte voor 361.740 kubieke voeten. De lengte van dit vrachtscheepje was 113,83 meter over alles en daarbij was de breedte 15,25 meter. In geleden toestand was de diepgang 6,46 meter. In de midscheeps was erg weinig ruimte. Op het hoofddek woonde de gezagvoerder en waarschijnlijk ook de 1e stuurman. Een dek hoger was de kaartenkamer en een reservehut aan de bakboordkant. De navigatiebrug was niet meer dan een houten ruimte van fraai gevernist teakhout, waarin een groot stuurwiel stond opgesteld. Boven de kaartenkamer was nog een bovenbrug met standaardkompas en telegraaf voor de communicatie met de machinekamer. Wel had het schip al elektrisch licht in de accommodatie. De accommodatie boven de machinekamer bevatte de hutten en verblijven van de officieren en bemanning, welke aan beide kanten van de machinekamerschacht was gesitueerd. Gemiddeld waren 25 tot 30 bemanningsleden aan boord. Het ‘leven van deze oldie’ was indrukwekkend te noemen. Al in maart 1918 werd de ALPHARD in Rotterdam opgelegd. Men was toch bang, dat dit schip een prooi zou worden van het oorlogsgeweld op zee en van allerlei maatregelen van de oorlogvoerende en betrokken landen in die oorlog. Maar in 1919 kwam ze weer in de vaart en daarbij is een melding bekend van 04 februari 1919, dat ze op 1 februari 1919 Cape Race was gepasseerd onderweg van Hampton Roads (USA) naar Rotterdam. Ze had daar kolen geladen voor Europa. De rederij was in samenwerking met de Holland Amerika Lijn in 1920 een nieuwe lijndienst begonnen onder de naam ROTTERDAM ZUID AMERIKA LIJN. Beide rederijen zouden op gelijke basis schepen beschikbaar stellen voor deze lijndienst. PSi-Daily Shipping News

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 Zo vertrok op 01 juli 1920 de ALPHARD als eerste Nievelt-schip de Rotterdamse haven richting Zuid Amerika. De dag ervoor was het s.s. MOERDYK van de H.A.L. al vertrokken. Die eerste Nievelt-rondreis werd op 8 oktober 1920 afgesloten door de aankomst te Rotterdam van de ALPHARD. De jaren erna voer het schip regelmatig maar niet constant in de R.Z.A.L. Ook reizen naar de USA en charterreizen werden tussendoor gevaren. In 1924 voer ze zo eens een reis in ballast naar Canada om daar een lading graan te halen voor Rotterdam. Bij aankomst in Montreal bleek, dat er nogal veel ratten aan boord waren en het schip moest uitgegast worden. De bemanning werd in een hotel gezet en kreeg wat dollars voor voeding. Nadat de ratten verwijderd waren, kon de belading beginnen. Na vertrek uit Montreal werd een weerbericht ontvangen, dat er buiten de St.Lawrence monding een zware storm verwacht werd. Kapitein van der Waarden besloot op de rivier ten anker te gaan in afwachting van een weersverbetering. Na enige tijd was de storm uitgewoed en kon de oceaanoversteek naar Rotterdam beginnen. Vermoedelijk heeft een jonge opvarende van de ALPHARD een fles overboord gegooid op de St.Lawrence, welke in oktober 1924 is aangespoeld. In de fles zat een briefje met de melding, dat de ALPHARD op 25 oktober met man en muis was vergaan. De jongeman was kennelijk bang geworden van de storm. Gelukkig is het schip veilig in Rotterdam aangekomen. De ALPHARD heeft afwisselend naar Zuid Amerika en naar Archangel gevaren en een enkele keer naar de USA en Canada. Echter op 3 oktober 1935 had de ALPHARD een aanvaring met een Noors vissersvaartuig uit Solvaer. Dat scheepje is gezonken en die opvarenden werden gered. De ALPAHRD was toen op reis van Archangel naar het Engelse Garston. Na lossing hier ging ze regelrecht naar Buenos Aires en Diamante om een volle lading graan te halen voor Antwerpen. Zo kwam in het jaar 1936 het noodlot voor de Nigoco-ster. Op donderdagmorgen 7 mei 1936 vertrok de ALPHARD uit Rotterdam voor een reis naar Noord Afrika om erts te laden voor Rotterdam. Op die morgen om 10.00 uur passeerde ze Hoek van Holland met bestemming Melilla in Marokko. Het was dichte mist en regelmatig werd de zware stoomfluit gebruikt om aan te geven, dat de ALPHARD daar voer. De loods werd afgezet bij de Maas-ton en koers gezet naar de Straat Dover. Er was geen radar aan boord, maar men werkte met de oude regel, dat met uitluisteren naar de stoomfluiten van andere schepen voorzichtig gemanoeuvreerd moest worden om gevaar voor aanvaring te voorkomen. Ook gebruikte men onderwater kloksignalen. Met een zware hamer werden in een droge tank klappen tegen de scheepshuid gegeven. Het geluid gaat door water veel verder dan door lucht. Ook dit had hetzelfde doel als de stoomfluit.

In de omgeving van het Sandettié-lichtschip was het potdicht van de mist. In de buurt waren 2 grote Duitse schepen van de HAPAG en de Norddeutsche Lloyd, die uit concurrentie overweging een soort ‘race’ hielden om het eerste binnen te komen in Hamburg. Eén van de Duitse schepen was het vracht/passagiersschip “New York”. Het gebeurde nabij de kust bij het Belgische Oostende in positie 51º 40’Noord en 002º 44’ Oost, toen de “New York” de ALPHARD aan bakboordzijde aanvoer. De gehele linkerkant van het schip was zwaar beschadigd en ook de machinekamer maakte water. De ALPHARD begon direct slagzij te maken over bakboord en begon te zinken. PSi-Daily Shipping News

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2006 – 184 Acht bemanningsleden van de ALPHARD maakten gebruik van de stormladders, die door de New York waren uitgehangen en de overige 18 mannen gingen aan stuurboord met de reddingboot van boord en werden kort daarna ook door de New York overgenomen. Alle opvarenden werden gered en zijn goed verzorgd door de Duitse bemanning. Ook de New York had schade opgelopen. Ze had een groot gat in de voorsteven, precies op de waterlijn en maakte ook water. Toch is de New York op eigen kracht naar Southampton gevaren, al waar de drenkelingen aan wal gebracht werden. De zaak is behandeld voor de Raad van de Scheepvaart op 28 mei 1936.

AIRCRAFT / AIRPORT NEWS

Vliegtuig TNT dinsdagnacht in moeilijkheden boven Bierset De luchthaven van Bierset.Boven de luchthaven van Bierset is dinsdagavond omstreeks 23.50 uur een vliegtuig van het type BAE146 van luchtvaartmaatschappij TNT in moeilijkheden geraakt. Kort na het opstijgen merkte de bemanning rook op in de cockpit. De piloot kon het toestel zonder problemen aan de grond zetten. Later bleek dat een rubberen band aan een venster om een nog onbekende reden had vuur gevat. Het brandweerkorps van de luchthaven en dat van Luik kwamen onmiddellijk ter plaatse. De rook werd uit de cockpit verwijderd en iets na middernacht werd het afgekondigde alarm opnieuw opgeheven.

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.


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…. PHOTO OF THE DAY …..

The Dutch Power and Dutch Pride. The Power is now called Aral and Pride called Meric. Both where bought by the Turkish Construction Group ENKA and are working now at D Island Offshore Kazakhstan, Caspian Sea. Photo : Neville Young ©

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS

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