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ITF calls for return of Hebei Spirit officers

The ITF today appealed to the South Korean authorities to allow the two Hebei Spirit officers found innocent of causing an oil spillage to return home. Both men, backed by the ship manager V Ships, have given assurances that they will return as and when any further trial takes place, following the local prosecutors’ surprise decision to appeal against the judgement that exonerated them of involvement in the spill, which took place last December when their ship was struck by a crane barge while at anchor. Two tug captains were jailed and the crane operator fined in the same trial, which found the Hebei Spirit men Captain Jasprit Chalwa and Chief Officer Syam Chetan innocent.

ITF Maritime Coordinator Steve Cotton said: “Captain Chalwa and Chief Officer Chetan have asked to be able to go home pending what might be a wait of many, many months before any possible further hearing, which they, with V Ships’ full support, have pledged to attend. We can see no possible reason why they should not be allowed to do so.” He continued: “The ITF unequivocally condemns any attempt to avoid investigation of matters that affect safety on board or damage to the environment - but this is clearly not one of those cases. The authorities have found that these men have committed no unlawful act. Depriving them of their freedom will not further the investigation in any way and will only serve to cause them further distress.”

He concluded: “The ITF, supported by its affiliates worldwide, is committed to assist every seafarer who is unfairly criminalised and to bring his or her case to the attention of the international shipping regulatory bodies. We see no reason why these men should not return to their families, and are calling upon the Daejeon District Prosecutor’s Office to grant such permission as a matter of urgency.”

The UK’s Renewable Fuels Agency has released a review into the indirect effects of biofuels. The review, led by Professor Ed Gallagher, examined the "indirect effects" of biofuels, in particular whether biofuels cause greenhouse gas emissions and harm biodiversity, biofuel on food prices. The key conclusions of the Gallagher review are as follows: 1. The introduction of biofuels should be slowed until effective controls are in place to prevent land use change and higher food prices. 2. There is a future for a sustainable biofuels industry but creating the policy right framework is challenging and will take time. 3. Current policies, if left unchecked, will reduce biodiversity and may even cause greenhouse gas emissions rather than savings. More caution and discrimination are needed in the feedstock used to produce biofuels. The review proposes that as part of the path to sustainable biofuels the rate of increase of the UK's biofuels target should be reduced to 0.5% per annum. Targets beyond 5% by volume should only be implemented beyond 2013/14 if biofuels are shown to be demonstrably sustainable.

Cruise West's Spirit of Glacier Bay is reported to have run aground in Glacier Bay. The US Coastguard is attending the incident. There are no injuries and hull integrity has not been breached, although a boom has been deployed as a precaution. The reason for the grounding is still unknown. Passengers are being transferred to the departure port of Juneau, and the vessel is expected to re-float at high tide.

US-based CruiseCritic blog notes that this is the third time this season that a Cruise West ship has encountered problems in Alaska. In May, Spirit of Columbia experienced generator problems. In early June, Spirit of Alaska touched bottom in Tracy Arm Fjord.

Thomas Held has stepped down as Group President and Chief Executive Officer of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL). He is replaced by Ronald Widdows, currently ceo of NOL’s container shipping business APL. The changes have immediate effect. NOL Chairman Mr Cheng Wai Keung said: “The Board of Directors feels that this is the right time for a change in the stewardship of the NOL Group, as it positions to grow in container shipping amidst the challenges of a cyclical industry sector, a slowing world economy and a tougher cost environment. Ron Widdows is the right person to lead the company forward at this time.” “On behalf of NOL’s Board of Directors and employees, I wish to express our gratitude to Thomas Held for his contributions towards the success of our Group and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. He leaves the company in excellent shape,” said Cheng. Mr Widdows (55) has been with the APL organisation for 28 years, and has over 37 years’ experience in the shipping industry. An American national, Mr Widdows has held a range of senior executive roles across Asia, the United States and Canada, with a particular focus on operations.

Massive economic growth is driving major seaport expansion in the Middle East worth in excess of $33 billion to handle record volumes of containers and bulk cargoes, according to research company Proleads. There are currently around 50 major port development or expansion projects across the region, with individual budgets ranging from $10 million to $5.5 billion.

If growth continues at the same pace as today, Jebel Ali in Dubai expects to increase capacity to 80 million twenty-foot equivalent units by 2030. The port is already expected to add a further five million units by early next year. However, other ports are also expanding rapidly, according to Proleads data. The biggest seaport being planned is Qatar's New Mesaieed Port ($5.5 billion), heading a top ten of new or expansion port projects. The others are: King Abdullah Economic City Seaport, Saudi Arabia ($5 billion); Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone, Abu Dhabi ($2.5 billion); Sirte Port, Libya ($2 billion); Ras Laffan Port, Qatar ($1.2 billion); Duqm Port, Oman ($1.1 billion); Bubiyan Island, Kuwait ($1 billion); Ras Al Zour Port, Saudi Arabia ($700 million); Red Sea Gateway Terminal, Jeddah Islamic Port, Saudi Arabia ($450 million); and Port Sultan Qaboos, Oman ($400 million).

"Middle East optimism in the maritime industry is founded on increasing demand for oil and gas worldwide, the vital role the region plays as a strategic trading hub as the link between Europe and the Far East, and the continuing strength and vibrancy of regional economies," said Christopher Hayman, Managing Director of Seatrade.

A new global forum has been founded to tackle shipping’s 'lacklustre image' and present shipping as a career for the future. Launched at this week’s 2nd International Ship Management Summit in Limassol, Cyprus, the pan-industry Image Forum will include ship owners and managers and seafarers’ representatives from around the world. The group will include members from INTERTANKO, Intermanager, the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Shipping Federation. The International Transport Workers’ Federation and other associations are also being asked to join. The Forum hopes to produce an effective business case that could attract European Commission funding. Combatting the industry's poor image was seen as a vital part of solving the current recruitment crisis. InterManager General Secretary Guy Morel said: “Shipping provides a vital service on which the world’s economy and people’s welfare depends. And yet, for the majority of people, the industry has an unfavourable image.” The shipping industry needs to lobby actively for its rightful role on the global stage, he explained. Peter Swift, Managing Director of INTERTANKO, who chaired the first day of the Summit and took part in the second day’s Round Table discussion, said the Forum will tackle shipping’s image concerns at company, national and international levels: “The image of the industry shapes the business and legislative environment and our ability to attract resources. We need to highlight the good and remove the bad.”

Golar LNG has completed the sale of the LNG tanker Golar Frost to the offshore gas project at Livorno, OLT Offshore LNG Toscana S.p.a ("OLT-O"). The vessel, which was sold for $231 million, is scheduled for conversion into a floating storage and regsification unit at Keppler Shipyards in Singapore. Conversion costs are estimated to be some $90 million.

Golar will immediately charter back the vessel until mid 2009 when the vessel is scheduled to commence its conversion. Golar says the cash will be used for new investments in LNG infrastructure projects as well as for existing projects and will also partly be used to increase dividends to shareholders.

A.P. Moller – Maersk has placed an order with Daewoo for 16 containerships of 7,450 teu. The vessels, for delivery between 2010 and 2012, are destined for routes linking the east coast of South America with Europe and Asia. Each vessel has reefer points for 1,700 refrigerated containers - the highest number ever carried on a container vessel.

In the last five years, the trade between Asia and the East Coast of South America has grown more than 20% per year on average. In the next five years, growth is expected to remain in the double digits. The reefer trade on the route has grown an annual 15% over the same period. This growth is expected to remain strong with increased containerisation opportunities in the coming years.

Senior Vice President Michel Deleuran, Head of Network & Product in Maersk Line, says that “We expect a continued strong growth in these markets; we believe that this order shows our long-term commitment to providing service and support to our customers’ increasing business in the aforementioned trades”

Towing kite manufacturer Skysails says that its propulsion system is more than five times as efficient per square meter of sail than traditional wind propulsion systems, according to the latest measurements made aboard the multipurpose cargo ship “Michael A”. Depending on wind conditions, ships in the future should be able to post fuel savings of between 10% and 35% using this auxiliary propulsion system, the company claims.

“Our own measurements show that we were able to temporarily save far more than half the fuel by deploying SkySails in favorable wind conditions,” reports Gerd Wessels, managing director of Wessels, which owns the Michael A. “Alternatively we were able to increase the ship’s cruising speed from 10 to 11.6 knots with the help of this towing kite propulsion.”

The system has been undergoing pilot testing in European waters since the end of 2007. The test phase has so far resulted in the addition of a sea-state compensator, which allows the towing kite to be launched even under difficult weather conditions. “After installing the sea-state compensator we can now deploy the SkySails system more regularly than was the case at the start of the pilot testing phase and thus also extend the flight times,” says SkySails company founder Stephan Wrage.

Based on the success of the trial so far, Wessels has ordered additional Skysails systems for three 37.00dwt multipurpose newbuildings. The ships were financed through the Oltmann Group in Leer, which provided a major portion of SkySails’ seed money through private investors.

Stolt-Nielsen reported healthy demand in the second quarter of 2008, but said that profits continue to be impacted by increased bunker-fuel costs and the falling dollar. Surcharges and freigh increases had not been enough to compensate for the increase in the average cost of bunker fuel from $495 per ton to $550 per ton over the quarter, said Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer of SNSA.

However, demand for the service remained high, said Stolt-Nielsen: “We have not seen any significant changes in demand for our parcel-tanker services in the last quarter, despite the current weakness in some sectors of the global economy. Neither have we seen any impact on the market due to the increasing number of newbuildings being delivered.”

We have secured financing for our series of six stainless steel newbuildings under construction at Aker Yards Florø in Norway, as well as the coated newbuildings under construction at SLS Shipyard in Korea that will enter our newly announced joint venture, Gulf Stolt Tankers FZCO. In addition, we are underway with the financing for our eight ship stainless steel newbuilding programme with SLS Shipyard in Korea."

Operating profits for the quarter were $52.2 million, compared with $54.6 million in the first quarter of the year.

Profit from continuing operations for the first half of 2008 was $83.1 million, up from $82.1 million in the first half of 2007.

Wartsila has acquired the global ship design group Vik-Sandvik, which specializes in the design of high-end offshore vessels, as well as product and chemical tankers and more specialized vessels for EUR 132 millions. An additional maximum sum of EUR 38 millions is to be paid based on the performance of the business over the next three years. Wartsila says the move will allow it offer competitive solutions that will lead to better total efficiency, improved environmental performance, and reduced life cycle costs for its customers. "From a strategic point of view, the acquisition of Vik-Sandvik is a very important step for Wartsila as it brings us closer to our customers, both ship owners and ship yards. We can now enter into dialogue with them at an earlier stage, when the key specifications of a vessel are decided, and this will result in us being able to offer more competitive solutions," says Mr Jaakko Eskola, Group Vice President, Wartsila Ship Power.

"For Vik-Sandvik, this deal represents an opportunity to develop our business, in a way that meets the requirements of the market. We could have continued alone, but being a part of Wartsila, a leading equipment and after sales services provider with global presence, clearly has benefits. We believe this combination will create a unique and new kind of market leader," says Mr Svein Sandvik, Managing Director, Vik-Sandvik.

Dockwise has taken delivery of the m/v Treasure, the final heavy lift vesselin a series of four converted from single hull suezmax tankers. In January 2007, Frontline spun off a separate entity named Sealift to develop its heavy lift activity. Sealift acquired six single hull suezmax vessels from Frontline, four of which were for conversion into heavy lift vessels. In May 2007, Sealift combined businesses with Dockwise. Frontline expects a net cash generation of approximately $28 million from the heavy lift sector in the second and third quarter of 2008, and expects to record a gain of approximately $105 million, including deferred gain related to the transaction, in the second quarter of 2008.

A US Coast Guard cutter collided with the Block Island Ferry about three miles north of the island, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard said 257 passengers and eight crew members were on the ferry. Eighteen people were on the Coast Guard boat. There were no reports of injuries.

The collision happened as the ferry was heading from Point Judith to Block Island and the 140-foot buoy tender Morro Bay was returning to its home base in New London, Conn. Visibility was reported to be about 200 yards.

The ferry was escorted to Block Island by another Coast Guard Ship.

The Coast Guard said the cutter was not assisting the ferry when the crash occurred and that it appears coincidental they were near each other. Neither vessel was taking on water.

Safmarine has commenced a regular, multi-purpose vessel (MPV) service between Asia and West Africa, targetting the breakbulk and project cargo trades.

According to Greg Ulicki, Safmarine’s MPV Executive, the route was launched following positioning voyages of the brand new, Chinese-built, Safmarine Angela, Safmarine Andisa and Safmarine Akwaba into Europe to test demand. "Based on our success we have decided to open up a monthly service and we will flexibly deploy our assets in order to serve our customer’s needs on this trade,” he said.

The monthly service, which will offer fast transits directly into West Africa, will start on July 22. Transit time from Zhangjiaganghis Chinese port to Matadi will be approximately 27 days. Major West Africa ports that will be served include Namibe, Lobito, Luanda, Pointe Noire, Libreville, Douala, Malabo, Sao Tome, Durban, Lome, Tema, Takoradi, Abidjan and San Pedro.

Inducement calls at East African ports and additional Asian load ports call will also be scheduled to meet customer needs.

The Baltic Exchange and Q88.com LLC announced the launch of www.baltic99.com a new website for the dry bulk shipping industry. In conjunction with the launch, the Baltic Exchange has revised Baltic99 its standard dry cargo questionnaire for owners and charterers. A new version is available for download from www.baltic99.com.

The Baltic Exchange claims that use of www.baltic99.com will significantly improve accuracy and efficiency when dry bulk shipowners complete and distribute vessel questionnaires to charterers and port terminals. This website allows for automatic completion by linking 90 of the currently required questionnaires to a common database. In addition, the web site allows the user to search the database for specific information about each vessel and to easily keep track of certificate dates.

New subscribers can use this service at no cost until January 1, 2009. Thereafter each subscriber will be charged an annual fee per ship.

Fritz Heidenreich, President of Q88, said, "This system has been successfully used in the tanker industry for the past 7 years. It was logical to expand the service to the dry bulk industry as the need for questionnaires has grown and many of our tanker customers have been asking us to support dry bulk vessels as well."

Jeremy Penn, Baltic Exchange Chief Executive, said, “ We believe this system offers real benefit to all users and are delighted to be able to offer a discount to Baltic Exchange members.”

New subscribers can use this service at no cost until January 1, 2009. Thereafter each subscriber will be charged an annual fee per ship.

Pirates have attacked a tug off Malaysia, reports the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia. The Singapore-registered tug boat, Wecoy 6, was towing the barge Cakrawala from Can Tho, Vietnam to Singapore when the attack took place. At 0130 hrs on 29 June 2008, the tug boat was approximately 10 nm south of Pulau Tioman when six men armed with long knives and axe boarded the tug boat from a long white speedboat with twin outboard motors. Four other men stood by and waited in the speedboat. After stealing personal items belonging to the crew, they sped off towards Pulau Pemanggil. No crew were injured in the attack. The Singapore Port Operations Control Centre (POCC) has initiated a NAVTEX broadcast warning ships in the vicinity to look out for fast moving craft approaching their ships and to increase anti-piracy watch.

The IMO reports good progress during the first intersessional meeting of the Working Group on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships, held in Oslo last week.

The week-long session was tasked with developing the technical basis for reduction mechanisms that may form part of a future IMO regime to control GHG emissions from international shipping, and with developing drafts of the actual reduction mechanisms themselves.

In particular, the Oslo meeting made progress on developing a mandatory CO2 Design Index for ships and an interim CO2 operational index. Once finalized, the index will serve as a fuel-efficiency tool at the design stage of ships, enabling the fuel efficiency of different ship designs, or a specific design with different input such as design speed, choice of propeller or the use of waste heat recovery systems, to be compared. The design index will contain a required minimum level of fuel efficiency which will among the matters that will be considered by MEPC 58 in October.

The IMO also held extensive discussions on best practices for voluntary implementation and economic instruments with GHG-reduction potential.

IMO is working to have measures in place to control GHG emissions from international shipping before the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2011.

The North of England P&I club has warned its members to check their contractual position carefully before slowing down to save on fuel. The club says chartered ships which slow down to save on ever-rising bunker costs risk being sued for breach of charterparty. Examples might include failing to ‘proceed with the utmost despatch’ under a New York Product Exchange (NYPE) 1946 time charterparty, and failing to ‘proceed with reasonable despatch’ under a voyage charterparty. Slowed ships may also be exposed to claims under the bills of lading for deviation by delay. ‘Another possible risk might be indemnity claims under the charterparty for losses suffered under the bill of lading contract,’ says Tony Baker, North of England’s head of loss prevention. ‘Mirroring similar actions in the air, road and rail transport industries to offset costs and reduce environmental impact, many ship operators are considering whether to adopt a ‘slow-steaming’ policy. However, before making the decision to slow steam, owners and charterers alike need to ensure their position is protected – both under the terms of the relevant charterparties and under the bills of lading.’

United Arab Shipping Co (UASC) has signed a contract for nine 13,100-teu ships with Samsung Heavy Industries. The first of the vessels is due for delivery in October 2010, with all nine ships due for delivery by the end of 2011.

The contract constitutes the biggest containership building order ever placed by a state company in the Gulf region, and is valued in excess of $1.5 billion, said a UASC spokesman. The vessels will bring UASC’s boxship fleet to more than 60 modern container ships, with a total capacity of more than 270,000 teu

Bocimar International and Conti 7 have founded a new joint venture company, BoConti Shipping NV. The two Antwerp-based companies will be pooling their expertise to develop a tramp operating company with a modern handysize fleet(25,000 up to 45,000 dwt).

Bocimar is known as a large bulkcarrier operator, while Conti 7 is well established in the breakbulk market through its daughter company Conti-Lines, where it has acquired a strong reputation in operating multipurpose and small bulkcarrier vessels in liner services and parcel trades.

Six newbuildings of 35,000 dwt, to be delivered in 2009 and 2010, are already assigned to BoConti Shipping, which has ambitions to grow to a substantial player in the handysize sector through further acquisition and long term chartering.

Jean-Frédéric Brion, Managing Director of Conti 7 and Conti- Lines says: “Creating this new set-up with Bocimar as a strong and solid partner, is a unique and promising opportunity which will surely further enhance both our positions in the global maritime scene. I consider it a real asset to exploit a fleet of young modern vessels, most of which will be flying Belgian flag.”