SeafarerBlog.com

India: Port traffic up 5.5% this year

Seafarer — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:17:12 +0000

conteiner Traffic handled at major ports in the country saw a growth of 5.5% in the April 2009-February 2010 period, compared with the corresponding period a year ago, signalling a gradual revival in exports as the world economy began easing itself out of the financial meltdown. Data compiled by the Indian Ports Association shows traffic volumes at [...]

Shipping industry needs to scrap 30% of orders

Seafarer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:11:30 +0000

cargo There should be a 30 per cent scrapping of existing order book, for the shipping industry to maintain the current status quo and prevent the situation from further deteriorating, a senior industry official has said. To maintain an equilibrium between supply and demand, the industry needs to scrap 30 million dead weight tonnage (dwt) over [...]

Korea’s Shipbuilding Industry See Signs of Recovery

Seafarer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:01:37 +0000

ship After struggling from declining orders during the global recession some signs of recovery are being seen in Korea’s shipbuilding industry. Samsung Heavy Industries announced on Tuesday that it won deals worth 750 million US dollars with four European shipmaking firms to build nine oil tankers and it will build a marine facility in Southeast Asia. It [...]

Asia-Europe Container Cargo Soars

Seafarer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:54:54 +0000

conteiner The rate of growth in Europe-Asia container traffic is picking up pace, and trans-Atlantic cargoes are growing modestly, according to the latest figures from ocean carriers. Westbound shipments from Asia to Europe rose nearly 11 percent in January from a year ago to 1.13 million 20-foot equivalent units, according to the European Liner Affairs Association. January [...]

North German shipowners face perfect storm

Seafarer — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:44:57 +0000

cargo Thomas Mann would recognise a great deal in the office of a contemporary north German shipowner. The air of genteel calm, the model boats and the continuing family control of many would be recognisable to the writer of Buddenbrooks, the saga of a 19th-century Lübeck shipowning family. Many shipowners have offices [...]

Order books weigh down shipping

Seafarer — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:26:18 +0000

cargo Shipping companies in the Middle East account for approximately $3 billion (Dh11bn) worth of orders, release of which will further affect the shipping industry, a senior industry official has warned. The movement during the next 24 months will determine how several players in the industry will move forward, he said. Kevin Oates, Director of Teviot Consultancy, [...]

Bangladesh ship breakers strike hikes plate cutting prices

Seafarer — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:15:57 +0000

ship The Financial Express reported that the country’s around 200 re rolling mills have suffered because of work stoppage at ship breaking yards in Chittagong. Mr Sheikh Masudul Alam a former general secretary of Bangladesh Re rolling Mills Association told the FE that “Many of our small units have suffered following the long work abstention by [...]

Seafarers sound the alarm over suspicious flags

Seafarer — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:58:50 +0000

cargo Are the unregulated Flag Of Convenience (FOC) to blame for security lapses in the region? This is the question many maritime experts are asking. According to seamen in Mombasa, FOC vessels flying Kenyan, Tanzanian and Zanzibar flags had increased tremendously in the region’s Indian Ocean territorial waters in the recent past. An investigation revealed that most [...]

Piracy costs shipping firms over $100m annually, says report

Seafarer — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:55:01 +0000

pircay Piracy off the coast of Somalia is costing the international shipping industry at least $100 million a year, a new report states. Aside from payments in ransom - estimated at about $110 million over the past two years - there have also been increased transportation and insurance costs, as well as costs related to protecting [...]

New sewage plant regulation threatens shipowners

Seafarer — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:48:46 +0000

cargo Shipowners may receive heavy fines and imprisonment if they fail to meet international rules for organic load in sewage plants. The matter will be discussed at the upcoming Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) conference in London on 10-11 March. Stringent guidelines on black water treatment were implemented on 1 January. [...]

Rough seas may be ahead for shipping IPOs

Seafarer — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:37:08 +0000

cargo Two bulk shipping companies will be competing for investors’ attention next week when they are expected to go public, but analysts are questioning their ability to nab much cash. The first company, Baltic Trading Ltd., was formed by drybulk shipper Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd., based in New York. The second, Crude Carriers Corp., of [...]

Somali pirates, security personnel in 4 shootouts

Seafarer — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:34:36 +0000

piracy Signaling a new offensive mindset, international military officials vowed Friday to fight the pirates as swarms of Somalis moved into the waters off East Africa. Four shootouts with pirates showed that high-seas attacks are intensifying with the end of the monsoon season. Nearly half the 47 ships hijacked off Somalia last year were taken in [...]

Unfair treatment of seafarers - Serious implications for the seafarers involved

Seafarer — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:21:51 +0000

ship Unfair treatment cases often have wide implications for the individual seafarers involved. The reasons for this can be found in the fact that such cases typically question the seafarers’ respect for the law and because they have serious consequences for the seafarers - regardless of whether the seafarers are convicted or not. Consequences range from long [...]

Malacca threat raises cost stakes for shippers

Seafarer — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:05:38 +0000

tanker Heightened fears of an attack on oil tankers transiting the Strait of Malacca, a key shipping lane for world trade, could lead to higher insurance costs for shippers and may lead to longer journey times, analysts say. The Singapore Navy believes a group is planning attacks on oil tankers in the Strait, a Singapore shipping [...]

More than 50 ships stuck in Baltic Sea ice: maritime authorities

Seafarer — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:46:51 +0000

cargo Around 50 ships, including large ferries reportedly carrying thousands, were stuck in the ice in the Baltic Sea Thursday and many were not likely to be freed for hours, Swedish maritime authorities said. “Around 50 commercial vessels are waiting for help from ice breakers (and) we have had as many as six large passenger ferries [...]