DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2015 –12177.164.116.142/mfa/pietsinke/2015/2015_0430.pdf · newsclippings may reach you irregularly On the others side of the globe

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2015 –121

Distribution : daily to 32.800+ active addresses 30-04-2015 Page 1

Number 121 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Thursday 30-04-2015

News reports received from readers and Internet News articles copied from various news sites.

The tug ELBE seen participating in the Grand parade held in Dordrecht during the birthday celebrations of King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands last Monday

Photo : Marijn van Hoorn (c)

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27-04-2015 : The HOEGH AFRICA entering the Tyne Photo : Derrick Johnson (c)

Temporary Tug Will Help Steamship Vessels During Quay Works

There’s a new boat that will become a fixture in St Mary’s Harbour for the next three months. The Scillonian III and Gry Maritha will be assisted in getting into position alongside the quay by a tug, POLMEAR.The mainland-based boat has been hired for three months for push and pull operations during the arrival and departure of the larger Steamship Company vessels. St Mary’s Harbourmaster Dale Clark says it’s because they don’t want to risk the new quay extension blocks being bumped while they’re being fixed in place. Dale says it’s not unusual to use a tug occasionally. The harbour’s own boat, the Pegasus, has been employed in this role before. But the hired tug, which will be here for the duration of the works, is more powerful. Dale says he’s confident in the Masters’ ability to berth the ships, but it’s an “insurance policy” when weather conditions mean there’s a risk of vessels coming close to the construction area. source: scillytoday

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KING WILLEM-ALEXANDER’s BIRTHDAY CELEBRATED ALL OVER THE WORLD

As mentioned in yesterdays newsletter, a large parade of

sail passed the Groothoofd (Photo left : Marijn van Hoorn (c)) in Dordrecht photo right top : Jan van Heteren (c) where the Dutch Royal Familiy was present to celebrate the 48th birthday of King Willem Alexander at this page a compilage of photos received of the celebrations

Photo right & left Marijn van Hoorn (c) Photo right : Jan van Heteren (c)



Due to travelling abroad this week the newsclippings may reach you irregularly

On the others side of the globe in Coatzacoalcos in Mexico the crew of the TIDEWAY ROLLINGSTONE celebrated the birthday of their King as well with traditional Dutch Kings day games Photo’s via : Capt. Niels de Baar - Master "Tideway Rollingstone"

RECORD BROKEN IN KHORFAKKAN At Gulftainer's Khorfakkan Container Terminal, a true team of record breakers managing to turnaround the CMA CGM JULES VERNE with a total of 11,756 container moves (highest ever move count for a single vessel call for both terminal and shipping line) in record time and 12.4 hours ahead of schedule. Truly spectacular!

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Het Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd Museum presenteert een documentaire over een

internationale ‘vergeten’ scheepsramp uit deTweede Wereldoorlog met een Nederlands

schip in de hoofdrol! Op 2 mei a.s. gaat in het filmtheater ‘Lantaren – Het Venster’ te Rotterdam een oorlogsdocumentaire over de grootste scheepsramp uit de Vaderlandse koopvaardijgeschiedenis,in première. Deze bijzondere gebeurtenis zal plaatsvinden in de aanwezigheid van nabestaanden, hoogwaardigheidsbekleders en genodigden uit binnen- en buitenland. De documentaire bevat unieke, niet eerder vertoonde beelden van de ramp met het ss SLAMAT en haar Britse konvooibegeleiders. De ‘vergeten’ oorlogsramp

Op 27 April 1941 wordt het passagiersschip van de Rotterdamsche Lloyd het ss SLAMAT, in Griekse wateren, als grootste schip in het konvooi, door Luftwaffe Stuka’s onder vuur genomen, vliegt in brand en zinkt. Het trotse passagiersschip, is betrokkenbij ‘Operation Demon’ een grootscheepse evacuatie van geallieerde militairen uit Griekenland onder Brits commando. Op weg naar het veilig geachte Zuiden wordt het konvooi aangevallen door Stuka’s en tegen de oorlogscode in worden daarbij sloepen en vlotten met overlevenden bestookt, velen worden getroffen en worden alsnog om het leven gebracht. De Britse destroyers HMS Diamond en HMS Wryneck snellen te hulp. Beide schepen nemen de weinige overlevenden aan boord waarna ze naar Kreta opstomen. Onderweg worden

ook zij achterhaald door Stuka’s en tot zinken gebracht. In slechts enkele uren verliezen, van de bijna 1000 opvarenden, 983 bemanningsleden en geallieerde militairen, het leven. Bij de ramp waren acht nationaliteiten betrokken. Nabestaanden konden pas na zes maanden gecodeerd en meestal via het Rode Kruis, worden geïnformeerd. In de Tweede Wereldoorlog werd de Nederlandse Koopvaardijvloot vrijwel gehalveerd. De Rotterdamsche Lloyd verloor zelfs 60 % van haar schepen. Omdat men in Nederland ook erg te lijden had onder de oorlog, raakte de tragedie met de SLAMAT in de vergetelheid.

De Slamat herdenking In 2011 vond in de Laurenskerk te Rotterdam, op initiatief van het Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd Museum, een internationale herdenking van de ramp plaats. Met deze herdenking kreeg de geschiedenis van de SLAMAT eindelijk een gezicht Oorlogsdocumentaire Deze documentaire is gemaakt om genoemde, scheepsramp definitief uit de vergetelheid te halen en de impact op nabestaanden voor een groter (internationaal) publiek zichtbaar te maken. Bijzonderheden daarover zijn te vinden op onze museumwebsite: http://www.krlmuseum.nl/slamatdoc.html Voor middelbare school docenten die deze documentaire in een (geschiedenis)les willen gebruiken, is deze oorlogsdocumentaire (inclusief docentenhandleiding) na de premiere, gratis beschikbaar.

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Containerships In A Bottle-Neck?

27-04-2015 : The MSC TOKYO, heading north in Pas de Calais, off Cap Gris Nez (France).

Photo : Maarten Versluijs (c)

The recent congestion problems at US West Coast ports have captivated observers of the liner industry, and many others. At times during February and March the containership capacity delayed outside the five largest US West Coast ports reached over 0.2m TEU. These delays have led to a number of cargo diversions away from the West Coast, and a wider impact on the boxship sector. For Want Of A Berth Increasing boxship delays outside US West Coast ports were reported from late 2014. Data indicates that in mid-February 33 boxships of around 0.22m TEU were at anchor outside the top five US West Coast ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma. This was equivalent to 1.2% of the containership fleet as of the start of February. The majority of these delays occurred outside the LA-Long Beach port complex, where some vessels were reportedly at anchor for up to 14 days. Largely as a result of this congestion, throughput at the major West Coast ports contracted in early 2015, falling by 19% y-o-y in the first two months

The 365 mtr long 13.808 TEU THALASSA TYHI departing from Rotterdam- Amazonehaven

Photo : Gerrit Postma www.aerolin.nl Twitter.com/AerolinPhoto (c) Handling The Boxes The expiry in June 2014 of labour contracts for longshoremen of the ILWU was a key reason behind the delays on the US West Coast. The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), responsible for negotiating new contracts with the ILWU,

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blamed the union for labour slowdowns and shortages during a nine month period in which no agreement was reached. US ports were subject to rising cargo pressure in 2014, partly as a result of robust growth of around 6% on the eastbound Transpacific trade. Moreover, the ports were also handling larger boxships in 2014; the average size of vessel deployed on the Transpacific route had risen 12% y-o-y by start April 2015, to 6,038 TEU, as larger vessels have been used by the leading operators on the trade. These factors led to a rising, spiky flow of box volumes into US ports, exerting increasing pressures upon port facilities. Congestion Easing? Delays eased once a tentative agreement was reached between the PMA and ILWU at the end of February. On the US West Coast, boxship capacity was only understood to be at anchor outside LA-Long Beach by early April, albeit still over 70,000 TEU. However, there have been signs of strain on the US East Coast, with throughput growing 10% y-o-y at the top five US East Coast ports in January, partly in response to cargo diversions from the West Coast. Both NY-New Jersey and Virginia were reportedly operating with delays and cargo backlogs in early April, as bottlenecks moved location. Further Delays Ahead? So, though congestion now looks to have eased on the US West Coast, there have been reports of delays elsewhere. The increased operation of very large containerships is set to increase the pressures on container terminals. Combined with concerns that port capacity has been an under-invested part of the sector in recent years, it means that congestion issues may well pop up around the globe on a more regular basis going forward. Given the ability of such problems in the system to soak up substantial capacity, this could have a wider, supportive impact on the box shipping markets. Source: Clarksons

The LNG carrier ARCTIC VOYAGER off IJmuiden – Photo : FLYING FOCUS luchtfotografie

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VLCC market on the rise yet again The tanker market keeps on rising with the VLCCs experiencing strong gains through much of the past week, as a result of an increase in demand in both the Middle East and West Africa. According to the latest weekly report from shipbroker Charles R. Weber, “in the Middle East, charterers progressed more aggressively into the May program following last week’s pause between programs and drove demand there up by 30% w/w to 26 fixtures”. The shipbroker added that at the same time, “stronger purchases by Far East buyers for West Africa cargoes past the May program’s first decade (with delivery times coinciding with an anticipated paring of refinery turnarounds during June) drove a 33% rise in regional fixtures to a weekly total of eight. With inquiry heavily oriented to the first half of the week, the seemingly frenzied pace led to strong competition for Far East ballasters (from which both markets source tonnage) and a fresh rallying of rates. Having concluded last week at the ws62.5 level, benchmark rates to the Far East rallied to as high as ws70 by mid-week”. CR Weber also noted that “thereafter, however, demand levels softened and market participants became more cognizant of the fact that fundamentals remain largely unchanged from a week ago, when we noted that the surplus of units carrying over from April to May dates stood at a five-month high. The pullback saw one cargo fixed at ws60 and in the absence of any trading disadvantages associated with the performing unit, rates immediately returned to a negative trend. Though the low rate was not repeated, rates were incrementally softer thereafter with the market concluding assessed at ws62.5″. The shipbroker stated that “many uncertainties over the Middle East VLCC program



remain due to the recent disconnect between cargo volumes and stated production rates (specifically Saudi’s near-record production). Simultaneously, the number of 1.0 Mbbl Suezmax-sized stems for May loading at Iraq’s Basra terminal have more than doubled from April levels, which negates any positive impact on the VLCC market which may have resulted from a 9% increase of total crude supply from that terminal by yielding 14% fewer 2.0 Mbbl VLCC-sized stems there. Through the first decade of the Middle East program, we note that 35 cargoes have been covered, leaving an estimated 4 remaining. Against this, there are 16 units available. With hidden units expected to be offset by further Middle East tonnage draws to cover West Africa requirements, the implied surplus is 11 units. While still relatively balanced, the positioning represents a further (if modest) supply/demand disjointing. On this basis, and in light of the forward demand uncertainty, rates are likely to post further modest losses through at least the start of the upcoming week before charterers progress into second decade dates when the fresh demand will likely limit further near-term downside” it said. Similarly, CR Weber’s report noted that “the West Africa market continued to trade largely in tandem to the Middle East market. The WAFR-FEAST route added 2.9 points w/w to average ws63.9 with corresponding TCEs rising by 6% to an average of ~$60,977/day. The Caribbean market was quieter while demand gains in the Brazil market helped to offset any negative impact on rates. The CBS-SPORE route was unchanged throughout the week at the $5.70m lump sum level. With the regional supply/demand ratio largley unchanged, rates should remain steady at this level; however, failing any rate downside in the West Africa market, prospects for USG positions to ballast to West Africa could see owners seek modest gains during the current week”. In other markets, “demand for Suezmaxes in the West Africa market was unchanged from last week’s tally of 16. Prospects for stronger demand to emerge on late purchases of regional cargos in the first decade were uninspiring and combined VLCC and Suezmax spot cargoes in the window were off by 7%, in line with an oversupplied European market and weak worldwide demand as non?US refineries move towards peak planned turnarounds during May. Elsewhere, Suezmaxes were in strong demand in the Middle East market, where 18 units were fixed, marking the loftiest weekly tally since late June ’14. The surge was largely driven by a demand strength for voyages to India and points in the Far East – as well as a rebound of Suezmax stems at Basrah for May loading to more than double the April number. Though Middle East Suezmax demand is largely secured on ballasters from points in the East (a pool of units which relatively infrequently vie for West Africa cargoes) the impact of the demand gains there had carryover effects on rate sentiment in the West Africa market. Moreover, with both the bulk of West Africa and Middle East inquiry occurring on Tuesday and Wednesday, the hectic pace of the market contributed heavily to positive rate development. Rates on the WAFR-UKC and WAFR-USAC route added 5 points from last week’s close by Wednesday to ws80 and ws77.5, respectively. Though inquiry levels were markedly lower thereafter, owners remained bullish which has kept rate assessments unchanged. With the second decade of the May program in West Africa, which fixes further forward than Suezmaxes, having concluded at levels on par with the YTD average, Suezmaxes will likely struggle to find sufficient demand to extend gains. Instead, owners are eyeing the third decade for positivity and while VLCCs continue to work those dates, the level of demand which is ultimately covered on the larger class will likely dictate the direction of rate progression for Suezmaxes past the upcoming week. Simultaneously, despite strong demand for Suezmaxes in the Caribbean market over the past two weeks, collapsing regional Aframax rates should have an adverse impact on Suezmax rates and potentially push some units into the West Africa market as ballasters. Thus, while demand gains during the upcoming week could be sufficient to keep West Africa rates steady, downside risks remain evident thereafter”, the shipbroker concluded. Source: Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

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The Captain of MV Sewol ferry has been sentenced to life in jail for murder

Lee Jun-seok, the captain of the MV SEWOL ferry, which sank on April 16 last year killing more than 300 people, has been sentenced to life in jail for murder, reports Yonhap News and Korea Times. Reuters reports that of those killed, 250 were teenagers on a school trip, many of whom obeyed crew instructions to remain in their cabins even as crew members were seen on TV escaping the sinking vessel. Source : Channelnewsasia

Northrop Grumman to Upgrade Maersk Line Container Ships with New Navigation

Systems Northrop Grumman Corporation's Sperry Marine business unit has been selected to upgrade radar and ECDIS systems on more than 80 Maersk Line vessels. The upgrade will replace all previous radar and ECDIS systems on these vessels and will be carried out in Asia and Europe, from 2015 through 2017. Upgrades will include the Sperry Marine VisionMaster FT family of products and market-leading navigation systems such as the NAVIGAT™ Gyrocompasses, NAVIPILOT™ and NAVIGUIDE™ Autopilots and NAVIKNOT™ Speed Logs."This contract extends the on-going business relationship that we have with Maersk Line," said Jeanne Usher, managing director, Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine. "The upgrade programme will ensure that the vessels are equipped with a broad array of advanced navigation systems which will significantly improve situational awareness in addition to providing safe navigation for the crew."Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information source: globenewswire

Look for liner reliability, not speed, Drewry tells shippers

The MAERSK KOTKA outbound from Antwerp – Photo : Henk Nagelhout (c)

Forget faster shipping services and press container lines for better reliability, is the advice from Drewry to shippers prepared to pay a premium for expedited options. In its Container Insight Weekly, the analyst said Robert Gora, Siemens vice president, global category management logistics, had called on carriers to offer faster services between Asia and Europe and said companies such as his were willing to pay for it. He said it currently took about 40 days door-to-door to ship from Shanghai to Germany, compared with 10 days for the much more expensive air freight option, and 20 to 25 days by rail.Gora made the call in a keynote at the Global Liner Shipping Conference in Hamburg last week. Several other mega shippers have made similar suggestions, but container lines say when presented with expedited services, shippers are reluctant to pay up. The failure of Maersk Line's Daily Maersk premium service is a case in point. Maersk admitted that there were insufficient numbers of customers willing to pay the premium, and there was a significant extra cost in providing a service with 95 percent on-time delivery. Drewry said that while services have slowed down measurably since the advent of slow-steaming, shippers still had a wide range of options



available. There are 13 weekly services from Shanghai to Hamburg with port-to-port transit times ranging from 29 to 36 days. Between Shanghai and Rotterdam there are 15 weekly services within the same band of transit times.

“Assuming no interim ports and ships sailing at 24 knots, Drewry calculates that the fastest possible transit time between Shanghai and Hamburg is 19 days, a potential saving of 10 days against the current best,” the analyst said.

However, Drewry said in theory, with smart planning shippers using the main ports should have no problem receiving a regular flow of cargo, regardless of the extended lead times. Slow-steaming has become entrenched within the container industry and shippers have long since adapted to its demands, meaning the market for faster services would be relatively small, limited to shippers experiencing extraordinary demand peaks and/or having to plug occasional gaps caused by poor service reliability.“The onus is therefore on the likes of Gora at Siemens to prove the economic case to carriers for faster services,” Drewry noted in its weekly report.

But it would be no easy sell. The big ship economies dominating the Asia-Europe trade mean that the smaller the ships deployed on any new fast loop, the bigger the premium would have to be. Diverting cargo from the existing slower and big ships would also make it harder to fill them, adding huge downwards pressure on already non-compensatory freight rates, the analyst said.“That is not to say fast premium rate services are completely out of the question, but in Drewry’s opinion lines would require a long list of cast-iron guarantees in terms of minimum volumes, rates and floating BAF that would probably be unworkable for most shippers,” the weekly report found.

The analyst said shippers would be better served making more demands on improving service reliability that remains poor. Data from Drewry’s Carrier Performance Insight has the average on-time performance (defined as about 24 hours from the scheduled arrival at the loading port) of east-west services since May 2014 at just 59 percent. In March, the aggregate on-time performance reached a five-month peak of 64 percent, a rise of 8.5 percentage point over February. Drewry said carriers should not need extra incentives to meet their schedule promises as delays hurt them, too, from missing berthing windows, feeder connections, customer resolutions, and generally from ships being less productive than they could be. But convincing them there was a market for fast services would be much harder. “Carriers are too far down the slow streaming road to change course now and would require heavy persuasion even to consider introducing faster options. Shippers would have more success pressing for more reliable services,” was the conclusion reached by Drewry. Source : Journal of Commerce

Euronav discusses chartering policies, plays down need for speed

Many investors are asking questions about the dynamics of the tanker market and asked us to confirm their views on vessel utilisation across the tanker market. This answer is very much linked to how supply and demand balance one another in a bulk tramping market. Whilst there is no precise correlation between earnings and supply, it is critically important to understand that small changes can have major impact on the market as a whole. When the market is undersupplied with tankers, there is little or no resistance to pricing and when the market is oversupplied with just a few tankers, the market has no support and indeed owners have been known to even transport cargo at a negative gross cash flow!The speed of the vessel is one of those changes that can have an impact on the market. But what is it that ship owners want to gain by speeding up their vessels? The choice of the speed is more complex than it appears

The single largest variable cost of a voyage is the bunkers and this varies in direct relationship to the speed at which the voyage is performed. The speed of the laden part of the voyage is agreed with the charterer when the voyage charter is negotiated. The ship owner or, if there is one, the time charterer chooses the speed of the vessel for the ballast voyage (when the ship is empty of cargo) sailing the ship to a position where it can load a cargo for the Voyage Charter. In both cases the slower the ship, the lower the fuel cost as consumption will be lower and the faster the ship, then the higher the fuel consumption and therefore the cost. The slower a ship sails, the longer the voyage (more days) but the less fuel it consumes. So the calculation of the TCE will be affected in two ways (as the Freight lump sum remains the same). The Net Freight will go up because of the savings made on the fuel but at the same time it will be divided by more days taking the TCE down. Therefore a ship should only go slower if the cost of fuel, saved by slower sailing, offsets the reduction of the TCE caused by the increase in the number of days the voyage lasted. Finally, if the fuel cost saving justifies slower sailing then the owner will look to the lost opportunity of the days that could have been spent on the next voyage compared with the improvement in TCE from slower steaming on the current voyage. This is a very important point but the decision must be taken at the start of a voyage (the start of the ballast passage – see Voyage Accounting below) but



this is done on the basis of unpredictable assumption regarding the next voyage. At that moment, the current Voyage Charter may not already have been fixed let alone the one after. Consequently, it is good practice upon discharge to sail at the most economical speed away from the discharge port to a way point (the last point at which the ship has full optionality as to its destination). As an example, on leaving China, this might be Singapore for orders.During this period the vessel is being marketed for its next Voyage Charter. Once the Voyage Charter is contracted, the vessel should proceed at such a speed so as to arrive at the port just in time to load the contracted cargo.It serves no purpose to arrive earlier as waiting adds additional costs against which there is no certain additional income. So in this example arriving early worsens the voyage TCE Earnings. More fuel is consumed going faster and if the ship arrives too early fuel is consumed waiting (to provide minimum energy to run the ship) and there is no additional income. If an earlier cargo lifting date could be contracted then the issue is whether it would add sufficient additional income to offset the additional cost of fuel for sailing faster. Still, if it does not, then arguably, the days gained may translate into more value in the subsequent voyage but with a high degree of uncertainty which will be lifted only two or more months away and in a market subject to huge volatility. In addition, speeding up means that the global supply of ships is also going up and that, in itself, is likely to reduce the freight market. There is therefore more chance that the value burned in speeding up will NOT be recuperated in the subsequent voyage as there is more chance that the market will be lower by then. In this context it is also important to note that the consumption of fuel, relative to speed, is not uniform and at the top speeds ships consume exponentially more fuel. For VLCC vessels, there is an inflection point above 13 knots and steaming above this speed, to save a few days, will disproportionately increase the voyage expense compared to the number of days saved. It’s a Commodity Stupid!

The owner or time charterer of a vessel should always manage bunker costs, as described above, by sailing as slowly as the pattern of trade it is involved in allows. When deciding the speed, at which to sail from a discharge port, the market environment is very important. The world VLCC fleet is small, only around 630 vessels, and each ship will lift somewhere around 5 to 6 cargoes per year depending on the trade and move those cargoes over long distances. So for any cargo movement the number of ships available to load the cargo due to location and timing may vary considerably. This is very different from even other tanker trades that are short haul such as the product trades or localized dirty trades in smaller ships. Many participants and investors follow the global supply of ships and try to present the market as a bull or bear market depending on the overall supply of ships compared to the overall demand for ships. They are often confounded by a precipitous fall in rates in what they have characterized as a bull market; equally they are often denying the possibility of high fixtures in what they have characterized as a bear market. Yet when one reviews past fixtures it is apparent that the market can have very large swings within both peak and trough periods. Average earnings between 2004 and 2008 (inclusive) for VLCCs were USD 70,000 per day yet within that period voyages were done at USD 300,000 and USD 20,000 and within days, swings could make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars. This apparent super volatility comes about through the structure of the market. As described above, the earnings of ships come from the movement of cargoes. So when transport is required for a cargo, the cargo owner will instruct the internal shipping department of the cargo owner, who will in turn approach several brokers and sometimes owners directly and will seek to auction the cargo move. The lowest bidder will win the contract, or at least, set the contract rate that clears the market for the other bidders. Each broker hoping to make a commission on the contract conclusion will encourage his owner to be low enough to win the auction. The owners will be guided as to who else is bidding and how low they have to bid to succeed. The owners must have good information to know who is a real competitor and who is not. To be a real competitor a ship must be of the right age, type and class and be acceptable for the customer under the tanker vetting regime. It should also be reliable and so only those ships which are free of cargo and close enough to reach the load port at which the cargo is being prepared on the dates that the cargo owner has specified can realistically compete. This creates a mini market for each and every cargo, which comprises those ships that can work that cargo. This mini market is defined by time and distance. If many ships are truly available for the cargo, the mini market auction will take the current market level down, if the number of ships truly available is limited or only one, then provided the owner is aware of this, the market level will go up. This is regardless of the global supply of tankers. The owner is at a disadvantage as the auction is controlled by the cargo owner and because of that, the cargo owner has all the bids. The cargo owner also knows which ships are cleared for him to use and what other cargoes also need to be moved. There is no uniformity of information relating to bids or availability. The owner must have a view on that balance if the true value of the ships position, the commodity, is to be discovered particularly when the market is set so that it could go up. This is the true added value of a pool as it increases market visibility through better information



and broadens market knowledge improving pricing. Speed is critical in the management of the spot market, as speeding up (and remember this worsens voyage economics) serves a negative purpose if it accumulates the number of ships bidding on a cargo (increase the supply). It worsens the economics of the voyage that is about to be done and takes the whole market level down. So ship owners and time charterers need to focus on bunker cost management and only speed up when a voyage has been fixed and then only sufficiently to arrive just in time for the cargo loading dates. The ship owner dilemma

Too many ship owners focus on their relative outperformance; whether they do better than other ship owners. Often this leads them to undersell their services in the hope of perceived marginal gains (making sure they get a cargo sooner than later) over the other ship owners. But giving a discount to their services is detrimental because each Voyage Charter is a separate commodity negotiation which needs to be priced, as precisely as possible, to gain real absolute value giving good return to capital. By underselling their services, they may cut waiting time but often the discount is greater than the cost of waiting for the next cargo priced at a higher market. In the long run, the reason why relative value is irrelevant is simply that weak performance does not cause ships to leave the market as demonstrated over the last cyclical downturn. Relative outperformance will almost never deliver appropriate reward to capital… it just lowers the market for all. The only way to resolve this dilemma is to be part of a large platform such as a pool which is actively marketing available tonnage every day As Euronav transitions to greater public ownership, it will continue to attempt to lead the market in focusing on the requirement for a good return on capital. Shipping is a capital intensive business and if the right returns are not given to capital then the industry will struggle to find access to capital whilst providing the necessary stability in the industry to bring security of supply, increasing environmental awareness, safe and rewarding conditions for employment, in short all of the things that the world expects. Time Charter

A time charter is a lease of a ship by an owner to a lessee (known as a charterer) for a period of time (rather than the performance of a voyage) and paid for by a daily rate of hire usually an agreed dollar amount for each day and pro rata for each part of a day. The time charter daily hire covers the cost of the ship and its crew together with all cost and expenses for the ship to operate. The service provided is to operate the ship to steam the ship between ports, load, store, transport and deliver the cargo under the orders of the time charterer. The costs specifically related to the charterers orders in steaming between ports, loading, storing, transporting and discharging the cargo are known as the voyage related costs and are consequently for the account of the time charterer. Voyage Charter

The carriage of a specific cargo from a load port (typically a terminal at an oil field) to the discharge port (typically a terminal at a refinery) is called a voyage or spot charter for which the cargo owner pays a lump sum usually denominated in US Dollars (it is calculated usually using a system called world scale). The voyage related costs comprise primarily bunker fuel but also port costs, tugs, pilots and any other thing incidental to the cargo carriage. The ship owner, or if there is a time charter, the time charterer will seek to recuperate these costs from the freight paid by the cargo owner but these costs are not a pass through and do not form part of the negotiation. Voyage Accounting

The cargo owner is only interested in the movement of the cargo but the ship owner must reposition the ship after discharging one cargo and before loading another cargo. The costs for this repositioning must be taken into account in the costs of performing the cargo transportation. In most cases it is elected to apply the repositioning costs to the cargo transport just about to be done. In other words a complete accounting voyage is, in most cases, from discharge port to discharge port. The ‘actual’ voyage commences after leaving the last discharge port sailing unladen to a load port, entering that port, loading the cargo and sailing to the discharge port, entering that port and discharging the cargo. The process then starts again.Source: Euronav

Iran patrol boats threatened U.S. cargo ship, official says

Iranian naval forces have acted with mounting aggressiveness in the Persian Gulf region in the past week, including encircling and threatening a U.S.-flagged cargo vessel April 24, USA TODAY learned. The previously undisclosed incident follows news Tuesday that Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz fired across the bridge of the MAERSK TIGRIS, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel. Last week, the U.S. Navy monitored Iranian cargo vessels and warships suspected of running weapons to rebels in Yemen. The Navy is beefing up its ability to respond to threats in



the region, said a senior Defense official speaking on condition of anonymity because the news was not authorized to be released publicly. Its aim is to "respond promptly to incidents in which U.S. and other partner nation commercial vessels are harassed or threatened" by Iranian patrol boats. In the incident involving an American ship, four Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy patrol ships intercepted the MAERSK KENSINGTON, a U.S.-flagged cargo vessel, in the southern Persian Gulf on an internationally recognized trade route, according to the Defense Department official. The confrontation began the morning of April 24 when the Iranian sailors radioed the KENSINGTON, whose crew did not respond. The Iranian boats encircled the ship and came up behind it in waters off Oman. The Kensington's crew "interpreted this act as aggressive," the official said. The Iranian boats followed the Kensington before breaking off pursuit. The Kensington reported the threat to the U.S. Navy's Central Command. The Navy informed American shipping companies to report threatening incidents.

The crew of the Tigris, though not a U.S.-flagged vessel, did that Tuesday. The Navy dispatched the USS FARRAGUT, a destroyer, to the area. Naval surveillance planes have begun patrols in response to the incident, Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday. The Navy has the ships and planes it needs in the region to respond to more threats, the official said. "The U.S. Navy will respond to any threat to U.S.-flagged ships transiting sea lanes in the region," the official said. The official described the confrontations as "unusual," adding that ships regularly encounter Iranian patrols in the region and that "encounters are normally safe and professional."The Iranians appear intent on pushing the Pentagon to the brink of retaliating, said John Pike, executive director of Globalsecurity.org, a defense policy organization."They're looking four our limits, looking for red lines" Pike said. "They're looking to see how provocative they can be before they can provoke a kinetic response from the United States."The nine ships suspected of carrying arms turned back toward Iran after the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the guided-missile cruiser USS NORMANDY moved into waters off Yemen, Warren said. Source:USA today

Deadly fire on Pemex oil platform to cost up to $780 mln-source

Losses associated with a deadly explosion on an offshore oil platform owned by Mexican state-run company Pemex will total as much as $780 million, a source close to the discussions said on Tuesday. The fire that engulfed the Abkatun A-Permanente platform on the southern rim of the Gulf of Mexico earlier this month killed four workers and provoked the evacuation of over 300 others as ships sought to douse the flames. Pemex has informed its insurers that losses from the accident will likely total between $670 million and $780 million, the source said. London-based trade publication Insurance Insider first published the range of losses, noting that the total insured value of the Abkatun Pol Chuc complex, of which the Abkatun A-Permanente platform is a part, reaches $1.3 billion. At the upper end of the range, the losses would amount to 60 percent of the value of the complex. The Abkatun Pol Chuc complex includes six platforms and is located in the oil-rich Bay of Campeche. Pemex said a week after the explosion that it still expected to meet its regional output forecast of 646,000 barrels per day for the area where the explosion took place.The damaged Abkatun A-Permanente platform separates crude oil and gas from various wells to process around 40,000 bpd.The Abkatun Pol Chuc complex produces around 300,000 bpd of Pemex's total output of about 2.3 million bpd. Source : Reuters (Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Ted Botha)

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BBC COLORADO STOPT IN SINGAPORE FOR BUNKERS

The loaded BBC COLORADO stopped April 26th in Singpore to load bunkers and stores before continuing her trip to the new Asyaport terminal (close to Istanbul) loaded with 6 RTG’s Photo’s : Capt. Brzozak Master BBC COLORADO (c)

DEME ORDERS TWO 'GREEN' DREDGERS DEME has ordered two trailing suction hopper dredgers. Built according to a 'green' design the vessels will have a 'Green Passport' and a 'Clean Design' notation. The ships will be equipped with 'dual fuel' engines and LNG tanks, ensuring compliance with all of the international emission requirements within the Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA). Dual fuel technology will enable the engines on the new dredgers to operate on diesel or LNG while limiting CO2, Nox and SOx emissions to the minimum."In view of the innovative technology the ships will be manned with especially trained personnel,"



said EME.Both trailing suction hopper dredgers will be built by the Dutch shipyard Royal IHC. They will be operational before the end of 2016.The first vessel will be a new generation trailing suction hopper dredger in the ‘Antigoon' class with a hopper volume of approximately 8,000m³ and a length overall of 104 m. It will have a maximum draught of 7.5m and powerful pump for pumping dredging materials ashore.The second vessel will replace the 'Orwell' class, with a hopper volume of 3,000 (3,500)m³. Its design ensures optimised maintenance dredging works in shallow waters, with primary assets including a very limited maximum draught of 5.00m (5.80m) corresponding to a hopper volume of 3,000 (3,500)m³, excellent carrying capacity and, given the ship's length of 77m, a relatively large suction tube.Earlier this year the DEME Group announced an order for two smaller 'green' vessels, the self-propelled jack-up vessel Apollo and a multipurpose cable-laying ship Living Stone. source : Dredging news online

Brandnew German SAR boat The German Search And Rescue Association DGzRS is a completely donation-financed SAR organization that is going to celebrate its 150th (!) anniversary in May this year. With a budget of 36 Mio € (2014), DGzRS operates a fleet of more than 50 boats ranging from smaller units of 7–10 m up to the largest cruiser at 46 m length. To ensure the high standard of SAR services along Germany’s coastline in the Baltic and the North Sea, the fleet is constantly updated. The newest boat is the still unnamed SRB 65, just completed by the Tamsen Shipyard in Rostock. She docked in Kiel on April 27 on her first trip to Bremen where she will be named as part of the 150 years’ celebrations. SRB 65 measures 10,1 m in length and is the newest example of a highly successful class of 19 units already in service. Photo: Martin Lochte-Holtgreven (c)

Damen Shipyard Contract 'A Good Investment' Despite Price Tag: Brazil

Despite having to pay $25-million more, government maintains two new provincial ferries are a good investment for the province. The contracts to build the vessels for the Fogo Island-Change Islands run and Bell Island, were awarded to Damen Shipyards a Dutch company which means the province will be charged a 25 per cent import duty. In correspondence published through Access to Information, an unsuccessful bidder, a Chilean company, says its bid was almost identical to Damen's winning bid, the difference being the province wouldn't have to pay tariffs. Liberal MHA

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Tom Osborne says the Chilean company has extensive experience building vessels for Newfoundland and Labrador waters. He argues they should have been to the chosen contractor. Transportation Minister David Brazil says government didn't select the company that was least expensive, nor did it choose the more expensive bidder. Brazil says the financial assessment of a bid only represents about 30 per cent of the overall decision making process. Brazil says Damen offers the best return on the investment and best service for people of the province. Source : VOCM

The 2015 built oil products tanker JANE S on its maiden visit to Brisbane on 29 April. It was delivered to Sterling Ocean Tankers on 30 March. Photo : John Wilson (c)

Succesvolle Koningsdag! Na de aankomst van de Koninklijke familie met de Waterbus werd Koningsdag 2015 officieel geopend met de Grande Parade, het nautisch defilé voor de Koning met bijzondere vaartuigen, bedrijven en organisaties uit de

regio. De reddingboten Nh 1816, ROYAL FLUSH en TJEPKE EKKELBOOM mochten de Grande Parade afsluiten met een groet aan de Koninklijke familie die op

de tribune hadden plaatsgenomen.Op uitnodiging van Burgemeester Brok zaten schipper Robert en secretaris Marjon ook op een mooi plek op deze tribune. Net voordat de ROYAL FLUSH voor moest komen varen, werd de reddingboot gealarmeerd voor hulp aan een boot op het Hollands Diep. Tijdens het passeren van de reddingboten herkende Koningin Maxima de Nh 1816, haar reddingboot, tikte onze Koning aan en begon direct nog enthousiaster te zwaaien. Na afloop werd er nog even genoten van een welverdiende

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lunch op het reddingstation. De Nh 1816 ving de terugreis aan naar IJmuiden. De Dordtse vrijwilligers konden nu ook met hun families en vrienden Koningsdag gaan vieren. Tijdens dit evenement heeft iedereen die heeft meegewerkt laten zien wat voor een mooie producten en organisaties er uit onze regio komen. En natuurlijk wat een prachtige stad Dordrecht is. Een stad waar we met recht trots op mogen zijn! Koppel een bezoek aan de KNRM Reddingbootdag op 2 mei eens met een bezoek aan de stad. Om in de woorden van Koning Willem-Alexander af te sluiten: ‘Hoe dichter bij Dordt… Hoe mooier het wordt’. Photo’s / text : KNRM Dordrecht

The MADISON MEARSK departing from Rotterdam – APM terminal –

Photo : Peet de Rouw (c) CLICK on the photo !

Shipbuilders start offering discounts for dry bulk newbuildings

It took a while, but now it appears that some shipbuilders are beginning to adjust their price lists to the new grim reality of the dry bulk market, offering some discounts to the bold owners who will invest in today’s market conditions, especially given the reluctance from bankers to back such investments through financing. According to the latest weekly report from shipbroker Allied Shipbroking, “the recent dry spell in new contracting seems to have finally pushed the yards to the edge, dropping their price ideas in the hope that they can finally attract some buying interest”. However, as the shipbroker noted “it might prove to be too little too late., as during the past couple of months secondhand prices have rapidly moved on a downward slope making the gap between them and any new contracting price seem excessive, especially when one considers the difficulties still faced in the freight market. The fact of the matter is that it will be all up to any further consolidation in the market that could act as a positive influence for the well performing shipbuilders, especially in the case of China, were there you have more intense competition for securing dry bulk contracts. One of the most notable deals this week was made by Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd for five firm Super Post Panamax (10,500dwt) contain-erships at S. Korea HHI for a price of US$ 104.0m with delivery be-tween 2016 and 2017″. Meanwhile, in a separate report, Clarkson Hellas noted that there were “no new orders to report in either dry bulk or tankers, with a continued focus on the more specialised markets. In containers Hapag-Lloyd have confirmed an order

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for five firm high reefer 10,500TEU container carriers at Hyundai Samho with the first three vessels reported to be deliver within 2016. We’ve seen two fresh orders in the car carrier market, starting with Mitsui OSK announcing an order for four firm panamax beam 6,800 CEU PCTCs at Minami Nippon – with delivery of two vessels each in 2017 and 2018. This continues the relationship between shipyard and owner, with Mitsui OSK currently having close to 30 Minami Nippon built car carriers in their fleet according to our records. NOCC also contracted two firm plus two optional 6,500 CEU vessels at Hyundai Samho, with delivery from the end of 2016. This similarly continues the existing relationship between both shipyard and owner with NOCC currently having four Hyundai built vessels in their fleet”. It added that there was “further ordering in LPG, with CSSC Shipping contracting two firm 85,000CBM LPG carriers at Jiangnan Changxing. Pricing is understood to be region USD 74m per vessel with delivery in the second half of 2017. Both vessels will go on charter to Tianjin Southwest when delivered”. Shipbroker Intermodal also noted that “despite the fact that the reported newbuilding activity of the past month brought back memories of better days in the industry, the number of last week’s revealed dry bulk and tanker orders comes as a reminder that shipbuilding is still very much in the woods. Large orders remain a memory of the past, while even in the case where these pop up, as Seaspan’s recent order, these are always on the back of long T/C contracts. In regards to dry bulkers things are still very quiet, with newbuilding prices for the bigger size segments continuing to drop amidst non-existent activity. Given the recent new lows in the resale market, we expect sooner rather than later to see the Capesize price touching or even slipping below $50.0m, while should the freight market insists at current lows throughout the summer period as well, 2012 price levels might be revisited before the end of the year. In terms of recently reported deals, Italian owner, D’Amico, placed an order for two firm LR1s (75,000dwt) at Hyundai MIpo, in S. Korea, for a price of $44.0 each and delivery set in 2017″, Intermodal concluded. However, in the S&P market, Allied said that “despite the still pessimistic approach taken by many regarding the near term prospects of the dry bulk market, activity continues firm for yet another week. At the same time there is a lot volatility still wit-nessed in the market with a number of deals reported done at strong discount levels, showing the bargain hunting nature still seen amongst most buyers. With purchases being of a perspective nature, there is a slight hint that we may well be approaching further price drops going forward. On the tanker side, product tankers are still taking a leading role, with a number of deals reported in both the medium and long range sizes. Interest is likely to remain keen for these vessels, albeit with minimal appetite for any significant premiums to be given. All this may well change if they continue to hold their earnings at such firm levels, something that will likely lead gear more speculative buys”, the shipbroker concluded. Source : Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

Ships’ CO2 emissions: MEPs approve new reporting rules

Draft EU rules requiring ship owners using EU ports to monitor and report CO2 emissions each year received the support of the House on Tuesday. The new rules, already informally agreed with the Council of Ministers, will apply from 2018 on to ships over 5,000 gross tons, regardless of the country in which they are registered, as a first step towards cutting their greenhouse gas emissions. The text establishes an EU-wide system for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, in order to improve the information about ship efficiency and emissions and to encourage reducing emissions and fuel consumption. “Maritime transport does not come under any greenhouse-gas emissions reduction measures” said José Inácio Faria (ALDE, PT), who drafted the second reading recommendation approved on Tuesday. “What we are looking at today is a first step to reduce emissions. If nothing is done, shipping emissions will go up by about 50% by 2030”, he said. “This legislation is applicable to all ships using European ports, and will be an opportunity to influence negotiations within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). We need to make sure that cooperation with our international partners is kept to, and make sure these steps give rise to an ambitious international agreement”, he added. The MRV requirements will apply to CO2 emissions arising from voyages to, from and between EU ports. All ships over 5,000 gross tons will be covered, with the exception of:

fishing vessels (catching and/or processing), warships, naval auxiliaries, wooden ships of a primitive build, ships not propelled by mechanical means, and government ships used for non-commercial purposes. Reducing the administrative burden on companies



The plans also aim to minimize the administrative burden on companies and make the measurements as accurate as possible. Ship efficiency – measured in relation to the amount of cargo carried – will have to be reported for all categories of ships. However, detailed specific rules were introduced for each ship category.Where an owner’s report on ship emissions meets the requirements, an independent verifier should deliver a document certifying compliance. Ships will have to carry these documents on board and will be subject to inspection by EU member states, who will also establish penalties for infringements. Background

International maritime shipping remains the only means of transport not yet included in EU measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This sector currently accounts for 4% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions, which are set to rise substantially in future. Next steps

The text will be put to a vote in a forthcoming Council of Ministers meeting in order to come into force on 1 July 2015. Source: European Parliament

Baltic index inches up, vessel activity muted

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, inched up on Monday amid muted shipping activity.The overall index, which factors in average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, rose one point to 601 points. The capesize index was up 5 points at 551 points.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $40 to $4,596.The panamax index was down 2 points, or 0.29 percent, at 685 points.Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry 60,000 to 70,000-tonne cargoes of coal or grain, were down $15 at $5,457. The handysize index was down one point at 346 points, while the supramax index was up two points at 628 points. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Kevin Jose in Bengaluru; Editing by Pravin Char)

BW LPG extends VLGC fleet expansion by exercising option

By : Kari Reinikainen

BW LPG, the world's largest VLGC owner, says it has exercised a purchase option for a vessel it has operated on charter about a fortnight after it announced the purchase of four newbuilds. The company, which is listed in Oslo and controlled by the Singapore based BW Maritime group, has exercised a purchase option for the 78,489 m3 capacity Berge Summit, which was built in 1990.

"The transaction will be settled from free cash. Aggregate consideration for the transaction is USD8 million. Including unamortised lease rentals and dry-docking expenses on this vessel, its book value, when it is delivered into the fleet in May 2015, is expected to be approximately USD23 million. The vessel will continue to be available for employment within our contract portfolio," BW LPG said in a statement. About two weeks ago, BW LPG said it would be taking over four VLGC newbuilds. These were ordered by a Chinese principal at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering

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(DSME), at what can be considered [to be] a remarkably good price, said DNB Markets shipping analysts Nicolay Dyvik, Petter Haugen and Oyvind Berle. "From what we understand, the company that placed the original order has defaulted on its second yard instalment, and DSME then approached BW directly giving them the opportunity to pay the remaining USD72.5 million for the 3Q14 and 4Q14 deliveries. A classic win-win-win situation, where BW gets great ships at a great price, DSME exchanges one weak client for a solid one, and the VLGC market wins as we get more vessels under the umbrella of a consolidator rather than a speculator. In other segments: Product tanker rates are holding firm, VLCC rates are above USD60,000/day again, and the drybulk market remains lacklustre," the three analysts said in a market report on 13 April. Source: ihsmaritime360

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Cruise companies increase focus on pricing discipline

Cruise lines have long been loath to depart from the traditional business model of sailing at 100% occupancy. But recently they have started to test moves away from that paradigm. In the latest attempt by cruise lines to break the cycle of last-minute discounting to fill ships, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman Richard Fain said that starting in March, the company had stopped cutting prices on close-in sailing dates for all of its brands, including Celebrity and Royal Caribbean International. Last-minute pricing discipline has become increasingly important because cruise lines admit that late discounting undermines their marketing assertions that only by booking early will passengers get the best fares. “Depending on the type of cruise, that last minute may be 10, 20 or 30 days out,” Fain said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts. “But from that point on, we will hold our price at the prior level.” Fain’s pledge applies only to North American itineraries and excludes the two- to four-day cruises, where last-minute sales are part of the typical booking dynamic. Fain conceded that in the short term, it would mean that some RCCL ships would depart less than full. But he said that in the long run, price integrity would boost the brand and lead to higher revenue. “It was really important to strengthen our brand, because in the long run it is our brand that is going to drive our yield improvements,” Fain said. In the third quarter of 2013, Carnival Cruise Line adopted a strategy of holding firm on pricing even if its ships sail at slightly lower occupancies.“We believe this will make Carnival’s pricing recovery more achievable as we move through 2014,” Carnival Corp.’s then-vice chairman, Howard Frank, said at the time. Other lines, while stopping short of a pledge to halt last-minute discounting, said they have been doing everything possible to persuade customers to book cruises earlier. “We don’t have a specific pricing promise, but I can absolutely tell you that our goal is to raise pricing as we get closer to sailing,” said Andy Stuart, president of Norwegian Cruise Line. “It’s a philosophy that my boss, Frank Del Rio, has lived by — a strategy of marketing to fill rather than pricing to fill.”The time could be ripe for such a strategy. One factor driving last-minute discounting has been the glut of capacity in the Caribbean over the past 12 to 18 months. But starting this month, industrywide capacity in the region began to shrink year over year. With some berths shifting to other markets, cruise lines might have a better shot at maintaining a no-discounting model going forward.Fain said last-minute discounts have a disproportionately large impact on sales efforts.“They upset many of our most loyal customers by creating an uncertainty about the prices they pay,” he said. “They cause headaches for our travel agency partners, who don’t know what price they should rely on, and they undermine our brand image.”Some travel agents have taken note of the philosophy shift at several lines.“I think Norwegian and Royal are both trying to discount less,” said Debbie Fiorino, senior vice president of CruiseOne/Cruises Inc.Fiorino said that agencies doing business under the CruiseOne/Cruises Inc. banner have more business on the books for 2016 than they did for 2015 at this point last year, and efforts to encourage early bookings by the cruise lines was one reason.Other agents said Royal still has room to improve its policy.“Almost all of our price-drop issues occur in the 30- to 60-day window before sailing, when everyone who booked early is in penalty because that is when Royal is most aggressive,” said Don Baasch, president of Last Call Cruises in the San Francisco Bay area. Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean International’s senior vice president of sales, trade support and services, said that by eliminating last-minute discounts, Royal expected to affect the whole psychology of the purchase decision, encouraging earlier action at every stage of the booking cycle.Beyond eliminating discounts, several lines said they were taking a variety of steps to encourage early booking. These include announcing itineraries earlier, opening ships for booking further in advance and using yield management to encourage early demand. Rick Sasso, president of MSC Cruises USA, said a new pricing structure introduced at MSC last year was meant in part to encourage early bookings.“We came out with very aggressive group pricing, which is typically your most advanced

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cycle of bookings,” Sasso said. “It allows you to be fuller sooner. Then, you come out with an added-value pricing strategy. That has probably become the basis of what most lines are trying to do. So you’re not discounting the price, you’re giving more added value.” Fain said it is too early to measure the success of the change in close-in discounting practices. But he indicated that the policy is here to stay.“We think that getting our customers out of this sort of used-car-salesman type of mentality will be good for the brand, good for their experience and therefore lead to larger yields in the long run,” he said.Wall Street analysts responded favorably to the idea.In a note to investors, Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Rachael Rothman wrote: “While holding near-in price will cause near-term pain, given it is too late for [RCCL] to make up the difference by marketing its 2015 itineraries earlier, we believe this is the appropriate strategy to reinforce the brand image and improve profitability over the long term.”Patrick Scholes, an analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphries, said benefits from Royal’s move could be widespread.“Getting rid of the ‘used-car-salesman mentality’ and eliminating last-minute deals dovetails with [Frank Del Rio’s] New Deal at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and could buoy the industry at large,” Scholes said. Source : travelweekly

US Detains Bulker for Safety Violations A 738-foot motor vessel KIND SEAS was detained by the U.S. Coast Guard after significant safety violations were found during an inspection in Kalama, Washington, Friday. Discrepancies were discovered by Portland’s Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit vessel inspectors during a routine inspection of the 1998-built Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier vessel. Safety violations were related to a complete failure of the emergency generator, which provides power to emergency equipment including the emergency firefighting pump system. Other discrepancies include deficient structural fire boundary doors designed to prevent the spread of a fire, inoperable bilge pumps critical to removing excess water and waste oil accumulation in engine compartments, and inoperable life saving communication equipment. “Shipboard fires pose severe risk to vessel crews, the vessel, and the port,” said Capt. Patrick Ropp, commanding officer and officer in charge of marine inspection at MSU Portland. “The deficiencies were determined to pose significant risk to the vessel’s crew and the marine environment indicating that the vessel is unfit to proceed to sea.” Coast Guard vessel inspectors are working with the KIND SEAS flag state and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, the vessel’s classification society responsible for certificating vessel construction and engineering and the vessel’s crew, owner and managing company to make essential repairs. The KIND SEAS, owned by Fairplay Maritime Ltd., loaded corn and wheat in Kalama and will depart for Japan after the safety violations have been corrected. Source: marinelink

CASUALTY REPORTING

Spain ferry passengers rescued from fire on-board

Spanish emergency services rescue around 150 passengers from burning ferry crossing from Mallorca to Valencia By James Badcock

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A blazing ferry with around 160 people on board was evacuated off the coast of Majorca on Tuesday after a fire started during the crossing from Palma de Majorca to Valencia. The SORRENTO, a ferry operated by the Transmediterranea company, which has a maximum capacity of 150 vehicles and 954 passengers, may now sink. The boat was 17 miles west of the island of Majorca when the rescue operation got under way on Tuesday afternoon. After a distress call from the ship was received at 1.50pm, the Spanish coastguard sent a ship and a rescue helicopter to the scene while two other craft belonging to cruise companies were redirected to help in the rescue effort. Three further coastguard vessels were later sent to the vicinity of the distressed ferry. The Civil Guard also scrambled two vessels and a helicopter.

A reported 152 passengers, including one baby, were safely moved onto the BALEARIA PUGLIA, one of the two passenger ships asked to assist with the rescue effort. The Puglia was expected to dock in Palma at 8pm local time. The Red Cross had set up

a first-aid point in Palma’s port in case any of the passengers needed medical attention after their ordeal. Four crew members believed to be suffering from the effects of inhaling smoke from the blaze were taken off the Sorrento by helicopter. They were flown to a hospital in Palma, with one reported to be in a serious condition while the other three were said to be only slightly affected. According to information from the Spanish government, the fire broke out on the port side of the ferry, but there was no confirmation of what had caused the blaze. Spain’s infrastructure ministry said that the captain of the Sorrento had not initially considered it necessary to evacuate the passengers, but when it became clear that the crew was unable to control the fire, the captain gave orders for all on board to get into the life rafts positioned on the starboard side of the ferry. Three crew members unable to reach the starboard side of the ship were plucked to safety by the coastguard service’s helicopter. Ports de Balears, the Balearic Islands’ port authority, said the fire could cause the SORRENTO to sink in its current position. Transmediterranea said that the SORRENTO was not carrying any dangerous cargo on Tuesday’s crossing. The 186-metre-long ferry, on hire from the Grimaldi Group fleet, has been used by the Spanish company since 2014. Source: The Telegraph

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NAVY NEWS

28-04-2015 : HNlMS WALRUS visited Leith photo: Iain McGeachy (c)

The US is deploying 2 of its troubled 'ships of the future' to Singapore starting in 2016

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The littoral combat ships USS INDEPENDENCE (LCS 2), left, and USS CORONADO (LCS 4) are underway in the Pacific OceanThe US will start deploying two of its once-highly touted "ships-of-the-future" to Singapore starting in 2016, IHS Jane's 360 reports. By 2016, the US Navy plans to permanently station and operate two Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) out of Singapore's Changi Naval Base.By 2018, the Navy hopes to deploy four of the vessels in order to upgrade the capability of the Navy's Seventh Fleet.

The LCS was intended to be the Navy's futuristic super-ship. It was envisioned as the first US combat vessel with the ability to remove underwater mines and take on swarm attacks of small craft in coastal waters and fight rival battleships in the open seas — all while being difficult to detect on radar, compared to traditional destroyers.The ships came in way over-budget and didn't have many advantages over existing craft. By 2014 the Navy ended up slashing their order from 52 to 32 ships.But the Singapore deployment shows that the US military has still found an important use for the once-cutting-edge ship. In Asia, the vessels will help counter China's attempts to establish itself as the unquestioned Naval power in the Pacific."When we have four LCS ships here by 2018, two of them will be the Freedom class while the other two will be the Independence class," Rear Admiral Charles Williams told Jane's. The two variants of the LCS will allow the Navy to more effectively project power throughout the region. Shortcomings aside, the Independence-class LCS has "the largest flight deck on any of our ships short of the aircraft carriers and large deck amphibious ships," Williams said.

This expansion of Naval vessels ported in Singapore is an outgrowth of the US's "pivot to Asia," a shift in military assets aimed at reassuring US allies in the region against a rising and expanding China. Singapore provides a safe and strategically located harbor for US vessels that is close to the current territorial disputes in the South China Sea. So far, China has constructed over 1.5 square miles of artificial islands on top of reefs in the South China Sea. The islands will serve as forward operating bases for the Chinese military. Various uninhabited reefs are being outfitted with ports and refueling centers for ships while at least two airstrips have been built on the islands. Once construction is complete, Beijing will be able to use the bases to project their military force throughout the South China Sea.

The expansion of Chinese construction in the South China Sea is kicking off a series of territorial disputes with Beijing's neighbors in the south, all of whom also have competing maritime claims to the reefs and islands. Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines all have military bases within the South China Sea on islands that those countries control. US ships in Singapore may also play a more active role in fighting piracy in the Strait of Malacca, located off the coast from Singapore, which is the world's second busiest oil chokepoint. Source : uk.businessinsider

Cruiser Lake Erie skipper canned for command climate

The commanding officer of the cruiser LAKE ERIE was fired Monday after an investigation found a poor command climate on board, according to a Navy release. Capt. John Banigan was relieved of command of the San Diego-based cruiser by Rear Adm. Dee Mewbourne, head of Carrier Strike Group 11, and has been assigned to Naval Surface Force Pacific."The decision was based on the findings of an investigation into poor command climate aboard LAKE ERIE," the release said.

SURFPAC spokesman Lt. Rick Chernitzer declined to comment further, citing an ongoing investigation. Capt. Douglas Kunzman, deputy commander of Destroyer Squadron 9, will temporarily assume command of the ship until a permanent relief is named. Banigan previously commanded the destroyer John S. McCain out of Yokosuka, Japan. He has also served aboard the destroyers Russell and O'Kane, the amphibious assault ship Inchon, as well as the frigates Stark, Francis Hammond and Bronstein, according to his official biography. He has also served tours at Joint Forces Command and the Navy Personnel Center. He is a New Jersey native and a graduate of Virginia Military Institute. Source: navytimes

China’s nuclear sub mission in Gulf of Aden ‘could cause unease among neighbours’

Type 091 vessel patrolled Gulf of Aden for more than two months escorting two ships and a supply vessel

A Chinese nuclear submarine has completed an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden, demonstrating the navy's ability to operate in waters far from home.Military analysts said the deployment would cause unease among China's neighbours, but that Beijing would deploy more vessels to far-flung regions as it broadened its political and investment interests overseas.



The military channel of state-run CCTV said on Sunday that the submarine patrolled the Gulf of Aden for more than two months, escorting two ships and a supply vessel, but had since returned to its base in Qingdao , Shandong province.The report did not specify the type of submarine, but some commentators say the footage suggests it was an updated version of a Type 091.CCTV interviewed Deputy Commander Yu Zhengqiang, who said the crew had to overcome many obstacles during the mission."First, there were concerns about all the equipment and facilities, and second [we had to] deal with various challenges while sailing in totally unknown waters, which was complicated by military intelligence issues," he said. It is the first time state media has reported on the submarine's mission in the Gulf of Aden, though there has been speculation about it in overseas media.Analysts said the deployment was strategically significant, particularly because the region is seen as India's backyard."Someone may argue that sending a submarine, especially a nuclear one, for an escort mission is not as efficient as [sending other] military vessels, but it is a good opportunity for the People's Liberation Army to test the reach of the vessel," said Ni Lexiong , a Shanghai-based military commentator.He said it was necessary for the PLA to undertake such missions to train personnel and test vessel performance.Antony Wong Dong, a Macau-based analyst, expected China would send more military vessels to the Gulf of Aden, especially as the country's engagement overseas would be boosted under the "One Belt, One Road" initiative.

"China has to step up the protection of its interests abroad. Sending more military vessels [overseas] is essential to that aim," he said.Hsieh Tai-hsi, secretary general of the Taipei-based Society for Strategic Studies, said the deployment would concern both the United States and countries in the region, particularly India. He said India was already concerned about Pakistan's deal to buy eight Chinese submarines and China's involvement in port projects in South Asia."But more importantly, through the mission, the PLA was able to cooperate with vessels from other countries, thereby allowing it to evaluate the capabilities and performances of the navies of these countries," he said. Hsieh said the deployment could help the PLA survey the underwater and hydrological conditions in the region, and help improve its battle strategies. Source : South China morning post

SHIPYARD NEWS

SINOPACIFIC delivers world’s first SPA150 vessel to FEMCO

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On Apr. 28th, 2015, Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group (SINOPACIFIC) held a christening and delivery ceremony for a newly built SPA150 AHTS, constructed for the ship-owner, FEMCO Group.This first SPA150 vessel is not only the first of this design to be delivered in the world but is also the first of a series of 4 vessels contracted by FEMCO Group. Representatives from the Government, banks, ship-owner, classification society, supervisors, suppliers, brokers and media, as well as other related parties, were present at SINOPACIFIC’s Zhejiang

Shipbuilding base and witnessed this rather memorable moment. The Godmother, Mrs. Semenova Svetlana christened this vessel as “OSSOY”. Mr. Cap. Pavel Lyshko, Director and Shareholder from FEMCO Group expressed the Group’s appreciation to SINOPACIFIC and all the other partners for their great efforts and contribution to this SPA150 project in his speech. He said: “Thanks to your joint efforts and collaboration, the first SPA150 vessel has been delivered on time. Her perfect performance has greatly impressed us and we do hope we will continue to enjoy such an experience in upcoming cooperation on new shipbuilding projects.”SPA150 OSSOY a high level of interior decoration quality-SPA150内装精美 during the christening ceremony-SPA150交船仪式 SPA150 with 12,000HP propulsion and 150t bollard pull, marks the first medium size AHTS in the SP series which is the in-house brand belonging to SINOPACIFIC and is designed by SDA (Shanghai Design Associates), the SINOPACIFIC OSV design team. With an overall length of 72m, a moulded breadth of 17.2m and a 515m2 cargo deck with 10t/m2 uniform load, this environmental friendly vessel uses a Class 2 Dynamic Positioning System (DP2) and is suitable for different kinds of offshore support work, including anchoring, tugging, external firefighting (Fi-Fi 2), oil pollutant recovery, as well as loading kinds of liquid and dry cargoes. An additional strength of the design team has been to offer flexibility and specific configurations for each vessel so as to customize each one to FEMCO’s specific demands. Such efforts as well as the strength of SINOPACIFIC’s SP brand attracted Rolls-Royce Marine (Rolls-Royce), a leading global supplier of power systems. Together, SINOPACIFIC and Rolls-Royce developed close communication at the early stages of engineering and both parties managed to create, through this close partnership, an optimized solution for this medium size AHTS project. Rolls-Royce has provided integrated equipment packages for the SPA150 series, which has been a first for Rolls-Royce in the Chinese market, where, usually, such packages are only supplied for their own design vessels. SINOPACIFIC is a privileged partner of Rolls-Royce amongst Chinese shipbuilders. The whole construction period, from turning the design drawings in delivered products with excellent indexes, has witnessed a new round in SINOPACIFIC’s project management upgrading, which is further approaching an international level for offshore project management and has ensured the timely delivery of this newly built SPA150. Simon Liang, Chairman and CEO of SINOPACIFIC, said: “To accomplish our proactive strategic planning, we have to leverage a full range of technical innovations and project management practices. In the future, we will continue to engage in realistic work and make constant improvements. As the proverb says, ‘to be a master, you should first be a good craftsman.’” Source: SinoPacific Shipbuilding Group

Shipbuilders start offering discounts for dry bulk newbuildings

It took a while, but now it appears that some shipbuilders are beginning to adjust their price lists to the new grim reality of the dry bulk market, offering some discounts to the bold owners who will invest in today’s market conditions,



especially given the reluctance from bankers to back such investments through financing. According to the latest weekly report from shipbroker Allied Shipbroking, “the recent dry spell in new contracting seems to have finally pushed the yards to the edge, dropping their price ideas in the hope that they can finally attract some buying interest”. However, as the shipbroker noted “it might prove to be too little too late., as during the past couple of months secondhand prices have rapidly moved on a downward slope making the gap between them and any new contracting price seem excessive, especially when one considers the difficulties still faced in the freight market. The fact of the matter is that it will be all up to any further consolidation in the market that could act as a positive influence for the well performing shipbuilders, especially in the case of China, were there you have more intense competition for securing dry bulk contracts. One of the most notable deals this week was made by Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd for five firm Super Post Panamax (10,500dwt) contain-erships at S. Korea HHI for a price of US$ 104.0m with delivery be-tween 2016 and 2017″. Meanwhile, in a separate report, Clarkson Hellas noted that there were “no new orders to report in either dry bulk or tankers, with a continued focus on the more specialised markets. In containers Hapag-Lloyd have confirmed an order for five firm high reefer 10,500TEU container carriers at Hyundai Samho with the first three vessels reported to be deliver within 2016. We’ve seen two fresh orders in the car carrier market, starting with Mitsui OSK announcing an order for four firm panamax beam 6,800 CEU PCTCs at Minami Nippon – with delivery of two vessels each in 2017 and 2018. This continues the relationship between shipyard and owner, with Mitsui OSK currently having close to 30 Minami Nippon built car carriers in their fleet according to our records. NOCC also contracted two firm plus two optional 6,500 CEU vessels at Hyundai Samho, with delivery from the end of 2016. This similarly continues the existing relationship between both shipyard and owner with NOCC currently having four Hyundai built vessels in their fleet”. It added that there was “further ordering in LPG, with CSSC Shipping contracting two firm 85,000CBM LPG carriers at Jiangnan Changxing. Pricing is understood to be region USD 74m per vessel with delivery in the second half of 2017. Both vessels will go on charter to Tianjin Southwest when delivered”.Shipbroker Intermodal also noted that “despite the fact that the reported newbuilding activity of the past month brought back memories of better days in the industry, the number of last week’s revealed dry bulk and tanker orders comes as a reminder that shipbuilding is still very much in the woods. Large orders remain a memory of the past, while even in the case where these pop up, as Seaspan’s recent order, these are always on the back of long T/C contracts. In regards to dry bulkers things are still very quiet, with newbuilding prices for the bigger size segments continuing to drop amidst non-existent activity. Given the recent new lows in the resale market, we expect sooner rather than later to see the Capesize price touching or even slipping below $50.0m, while should the freight market insists at current lows throughout the summer period as well, 2012 price levels might be revisited before the end of the year. In terms of recently reported deals, Italian owner, D’Amico, placed an order for two firm LR1s (75,000dwt) at Hyundai MIpo, in S. Korea, for a price of $44.0 each and delivery set in 2017″, Intermodal concluded. However, in the S&P market, Allied said that “despite the still pessimistic approach taken by many regarding the near term prospects

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2015 –12177.164.116.142/mfa/pietsinke/2015/2015_0430.pdf · newsclippings may reach you irregularly On the others side of the globe

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