Manu's News

Class Action: Concordia's personal injury claims alone may exceed $500 million

2012-02-13T13:05:00.002+05:30

“These people have no idea what their agonising experience is worth yet". The Costa Concordia sinking is on track to likely end up as the biggest ever shipping loss for insurers; along with the costs of salvage or wreck removal comes more bad news for Carnival: A class action suit- one of several expected to follow- has been filed in the US by a Chicago law firm on behalf of passengers and crew.

Al Qaeda plot to ram suicide boats into ships in the Mediterranean foiled, Algeria says

2012-02-09T06:28:00.002+05:30

(pic, USS Cole after 2000 attack) Algeria says that it has busted an Al Qaeda linked terrorist cell that was planning to carry out suicide boat attacks in the Mediterranean against Western ships. Three members of the terrorist group-— H. Rabeh, T. Belal, and M. Tarek — have been arrested and have confessed to the plot; all belong to the city of

Valemaxes barred entry into Chinese ports

2012-02-09T06:24:00.000+05:30

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Demolition scene roundup

2012-02-06T11:56:00.000+05:30

.....the great white hope? Shipping analysts are looking increasingly at a spike in shipbreaking to counteract the alarmingly high figures for new deliveries scheduled this year. These threaten to stymie any chances of even a short-term recovery in freight markets. As shipowners' profits come under greater pressure, many hope that low freight rates will encourage significantly higher demolition

Teenage schoolgirl Dekker overcomes all odds to realise dream

2012-02-02T07:16:00.000+05:30

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BDI- The Baltic Dire Index?

2012-01-23T12:43:00.000+05:30

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London's insurance companies responsible for growth in piracy, the British Times says

2012-01-19T08:21:00.000+05:30

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The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge- the world's toughest rowing race

2012-01-13T11:12:00.002+05:30

pic, the Telegraph It had been dubbed one of the toughest challenges on the planet - more people have been in space than have rowed the Atlantic - but even so, contestants in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge that began in early December are facing a particularly gruelling time this year. Eleven metre high waves, a sunk boat, survival rations for some and broken oars for others; high

Explosions on Indian tanker at Fujairah kill at least three

2012-01-13T11:09:00.000+05:30

"There were three blasts - boom, boom, boom" A string of explosions on an Indian Aframax tanker at a facility at Fujairah in the UAE has resulted in at least three casualties. Two more people are missing and one seriously injured worker has been admitted to hospital after the incident occurred two days ago. Authorities have begun an investigation into the cause of the explosions, a report in

Increased trade with Pakistan to transform Gujarat Ports?

2012-01-13T11:06:00.000+05:30

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Filipino seafarer numbers jump despite problems

2012-01-09T18:17:00.000+05:30

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Dhamra Port inaugurated by Orissa CM

2012-01-05T08:13:00.000+05:30

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Fresh revelations on the Rena grounding- who else is to blame?

2011-12-29T08:01:00.001+05:30

"The cleats securing the hatch could be removed with a single finger" The Associated Press has uncovered Australian inspection records that show that the Rena- the ship that grounded on the well charted Astrolabe reef off the coast of Tauranga and created the biggest ever maritime disaster in New Zealand's history- had major safety and other issues before the oil spill. The report details how

A revival in shipmanagement?

2011-12-26T11:27:00.000+05:30

A report by global maritime consulting firm Drewry says that shipmanagement companies may finally see some growth even after a year during which more shipowners have taken their vessel's 'in house' in an attempt to cut costs. "Shipmanagers, it seems, have failed to persuade the industry of the value of the services they offer," the report says, pointing out that attempts by shipmanagement

SCI buyback of shares- bad idea?

2011-12-21T22:57:00.001+05:30

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World's largest ore carrier develops cracks

2011-12-19T15:05:00.002+05:30

"Shades of the Kowloon Bay and Derbyshire?" One of the biggest ships in the world is in trouble after springing a leak soon after loading; reports at the time of writing say that the 400,000-tonne Vale Beijing has been moved from its pier at Ponta da Madeira Maritime terminal in Brazil and towed to an anchorage area for repairs. The 361 metre Vale Beijing- a megaship ten times the size of

European crisis creating downward spiral in asset prices, experts warn.

2011-12-15T12:50:00.001+05:30

Shipping finance companies are saying that the industry is facing the worst conditions in a quarter of a century as the crisis in Europe puts severe pressure on European banks. It appears that funding issues at some of the best-known banks in Europe are prompting them to pressurise shipowners to sell off their assets. Unfortunately, the vicious circle that exists today- a combination of falling

Vallarpadam's woes mount with Customs-SEZ standoff

2011-12-12T13:48:00.003+05:30

Problems at the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam- that was supposed to make Kochi a preferred global transhipment terminal - seem never to end. To add to the old issue of Cabotage comes a new one- a spat between the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the Customs department at Kochi over the inspection of containers at the terminal. The two are at loggerheads, with

Canada- US spat as New York State's ballast water regulations threaten trade

2011-12-12T13:42:00.000+05:30

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The ShipArrestor: Stopping ships drifting to disaster

2011-11-28T12:50:00.002+05:30

Norwegian company Miko Marine will display its ShipArrestor system at the upcoming European Innovation Convention in Brussels. One of fifty chosen innovative projects and partly funded by the European Union, the ShipArrestor has been developed by a consortium of eight European organisations. The project group included setups from France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, the UK and Austria; each

SCI to sell thirteen old ships

2011-11-21T12:59:00.003+05:30

Reports say that Shipping Corp. of India Ltd will sell thirteen of its oldest ships in the next four months- and up to 17 vessels in the current financial year, as operating them under present market conditions is becoming increasingly unviable. Each ship is around twenty-five years old. “Our plan is to sell 15–17 ships this fiscal, out of which we have sold four ships so far,” Arun Kumar Gupta

The EMax Deliverance: The green supertanker

2011-11-17T10:36:00.001+05:30

Head designer Richard Sauter of Sauter Carbon Offset Design (SCOD) released his team's design for a new solar-hybrid supertanker last week. The 2 million barrel, 330DWT Post Panamax vessel, when built, will pay for itself in four years, Sauter claims, saving up to 60 million dollars a year in fuel costs- a staggering USD 1.5 billion over its working life. Besides being the greenest

Britain's Climate Change Committee wants to reintroduce sail on cargo ships.

2011-11-17T10:33:00.001+05:30

In a new report, the UK's Committee on Climate Change (CCC) says that the British shipping industry should explore wind power to cut the country’s carbon emissions; the advisory Committee also wants the UK to be the first country to include shipping emissions in its calculation of greenhouse gases. The CCC says that the industry should update propulsion systems, use special paints to reduce

Private navy to protect ships in Gulf of Aden

2011-11-14T05:28:00.000+05:30

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Project Utopia: A floating, sailing micro-nation

2011-11-10T06:11:00.000+05:30

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