A NewsLink service for Dole Chile

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Cyprus keen on further boosting
shipping sector
Cyprus is planning to boost its shipping registry
in a bid to maintain the nation's status as a
"global shipping power."
At a forum organised by the Cyprus Union of
Shipowners last Friday, President Nicos
Anastasiades said the government is committed
to assisting further development in the shipping
sector, noting that a number of key measures are
underway.
Among the initiatives planned are offering
incentives for maritime industry investors and
raising awareness on the benefits of the Cypriot
flag for vessels and management companies.
Anastasiades said that bolstering the shipping
sector remains a priority as it is one of Cyprus's
economic pillars.
The president likewise stressed that shipping
companies are set to benefit from the recent
discovery of natural gas in the Cyprus Exclusive
Economic Zone, noting that oil production will
likely transform the country into a major energy
hub.
Anastasiades also reiterated that his
government is exhausting all means to
encourage Turkey to lift its restrictive measures
against Nicosia, saying that such embargoes
hinder free competition in the country's maritime
trade with the European Union. Lastly, the
president hailed improving ties between Cyprus
and Greece, noting that the two nations are
committed to jointly develop their shipping
sectors.
SAFETY STUDY
GROUNDS FOR CONCERN?
A 70-metre product tanker ran aground while
navigating near some small islands amid
less-than-ideal conditions.
NARRATIVE
A 70-metre product tanker was steaming
south in ballast, having discharged her cargo
of gas oil the previous day. It was a miserable
night, with squally showers and south-westerly
winds of force seven to eight, although the
visibility was fairly good. The passage plan
had been produced to take a more sheltered
route in the lee of various islands due to the
forecast high winds.
But the tanker had to pass restricted waters,
including some narrow straits notorious for
high tidal streams. A reduced speed was
adopted to ensure they reached the straits at
slack water.
The vessel entered restricted waters about
three and a half miles before the entrance to
the straits, making good at a speed of about
seven knots. The mate was on the helm, with
an AB on lookout and the master acting as
OOW. After about a mile, the vessel passed a
buoy, and the master moved aft to the chart
room to record their position - estimated
visually and using the GPS cross-track
function. While in the chart room, the master
ordered a course change in accordance with
the plan to safely pass some small islands on
the port side, which the mate duly carried out.
The master also switched off the echo
sounder and heard the windnoticeably pick up.
As he returned to the main control area a
couple of minutes later, the AB shouted
"rocks." Despite the engines being put full
astern immediately, the vessel ran aground
seconds later on one of the small islands.
Fortunately there was no pollution and no
injuries, but significant damage was sustained
in way of several tanks, including water
ingress into No1 DB. The vessel was towed
the next morning after an initial attempt failed.
LESSONS
- It is arguable that if the AB had been on the
helm, and the mate had been acting as OOW,
the master would have been far better placed
to have monitored the vessel's overall position
and take appropriate action. This highlights
the need for efficient management of the
available bridge resources.
- Although complying with the regulatory
requirements, the equipment available to the
bridge team was quite basic. Not only did the
radars lack mapping facilities, but also only a
single parallel index could be plotted at any
one time. Source: UK MAIB
Anti-piracy operation finds
illegal drugs cargo off Somalia
New Zealand and Australian forces have
discovered a major cargo of illegal drugs during
anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia,
the New Zealand Defence Force said in a
statement on Monday.
The cargo of hashish, valued at AUD280
million (USD245.76 million), was found aboard
a dhow that a New Zealand air force P-3K2
Orion and Australian frigate HMAS
Toowoomba had trailed from the Arabian Sea to
the Horn of Africa, Xinhua reported.
After four days of bad weather, the crew of the
Toowoomba were able to board the dhow and,
after an exhaustive search, the boarding team
discovered 5,588 kg of hashish in hessian bags,
said the statement.
The forces were operating under the command
of the Pakistan- navy led Combined Task Force
150 (CTF-150), the Combined Maritime Forces
task group charged with conducting maritime
security operations to deny terrorists the use of
the seas as a venue for attack or to transport
personnel, weapons or other illicit material.
"This was a great result for the combined New
Zealand and Australian force and our Pakistan
Navy colleagues at CTF-150 who led the
operation," New Zealand Air Commodore Kevin
McEvoy said in the statement.
Shipowners' confidence on
Suezmax tanker market up
Renewed confidence among shipowners has
prompted the Suezmax tanker market to rebound
in 2014 following its dismal performance over
the past three years.
In its latest report, Gibson said that
newbuilding ordering activity for the segment
had declined since reaching a new peak in 2010,
when 52 Suezmax Newbuildings orders were
placed in the first half alone. The figure slid by
more than 50% in 2011 and it went down further
in the next two years.
One of the reasons behind the drop, according
to the shipbroker, was the drop in demand for
West African crude in the US, triggering a
dramatic change in trading patterns of Suezmax
tankers from the region.
But according to the shipbroker, gradual hikes
in the spot market coupled with an increase in
spot fixtures in the latter parts of 2013
somewhat boosted shipowners' confidence in the
sector anew this year, resulting in newbuilding
orders to reach 24 as of this month.
Meanwhile, Gibson noted that the VLCC
market also received a much-needed boost in the
past week on the back of charterers' move in
clearing their more immediate lines in
anticipation of holidays in the Middle East, as
well as East Asian nations such as China and
South Korea.
It was, however, a different story for
Aframaxes in the North Sea as tonnage lists
were not able to sustain the week's growth rate.
PAGE 2 - Thursday, October 9, 2014

SHIPPING DATA
BALTIC EXCHANGE
Market snapshot: (October 3)
Dry Index BDI 1037 -4
Capes!e Index BCI 17"# -30
$ana%ax Index B$I ##7 &'
()pra%ax Index B(I 10*# -"
+andys!e Index B+(I "30 -1
EXCHANGE RATES
,e- .ork (/r C0s)
/1n C)rrency 2(D n /1n
n 2(D C)rrency
Brtan ($o)nd) 13"'47 034*43
Canada (Do00ar) 03###4 131*"4
Chna (.)an) 0314*' 4313'0
5)ro 13*"11 037''3
Inda (6)pee) 03014* 413"400
Indonesa (6)pah) 030000#* 1***"300
7apan (.en) 0300'104 10'3#400
,or-ay (8rone) 031"31 43"30*
$h0ppnes ($eso) 030**3 443'100
$o0and (90oty) 03*'#" 333"00
6)ssa (6)b0e) 030*"1 3'3'1"1
(n1apore (Do00ar) 037#00 13*#*0
2krane (+ry:na) 03077* 1*3'4"0
INCIDENTS
Heavy rain hampers search for
missing Malaysian navy vessel
A Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) combat vessel
with seven onboard lost contact with an escort
vessel during a voyage in the South China Sea,
according to state news agency Bernama.
The Malaysian Air Force had sent a
Beechcraft aircraft to search for the missing
navy vessel but heavy rain was hampering the
search operation, local media reported on
Monday.
Bernama quoted Chief of Navy Abdul Aziz
Jaafar as saying that the CB90 type of combat
vessel lost communication with the escort vessel
KD Paus during a voyage in the South China
Sea.
He said in a statement that the vessel left the
RMN base in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of
Sabah, at 5am on Sunday and lost contact with
the escort vessel at 11:15am, adding that the
incident occurred during bad weather in the
region.
Abdul Aziz said a search operation had been
carried out by RMN assets, the Royal Malaysian
Air Force and the Malaysian Maritime
Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
He said that the crew of the seven people on
the missing vessel was headed by Lt Azri Bakar,
Xinhua reported.
The MMEA had assigned two vessels and a
plane to assist the search and rescue operation,
according to The Star, a local English-language
newspaper.
Boat capsizes in Thailand
Two Indian tourists drowned Sunday near a
popular resort area in southern Thailand after
their boat capsized in bad weather, police said,
the latest blow to the country's tourism industry.
The pair were not wearing life jackets when
the small boat they were travelling in overturned
during a heavy downpour about 100 metres from
Nopparatara beach in Krabi province, local
police officer Rittichai Wangsud said.
The tourists were returning from a visit to
nearby Railay Beach, which is well known for
the towering limestone crags that line its shores.
Rittichai said the boat's Thai pilot survived
and was in custody. He said the man was being
charged in the deaths and could face up to ten
years in jail, The Jakarta Post reported.
DEVELOPMENT
China launches plan to revitalise
transport sector
The Chinese government has unveiled a plan
that aims to ease the flow of goods at ports,
roads and railways by 2020.
The scheme will try to address excessive road
tolls and poor connectivity that affect
development in the world's No2 economy.
"Infrastructure is comparatively backward and
cannot satisfy the demands of the development
of modern logistics," the government said.
The government will likewise urge logistics
firms to form larger entities through merger. The
initiative aims to resolve "chokeholds" in the
transport sector and improve railway and port
integration as well as launch more facilities to
boost the transport of goods.
Furthermore, the state will ask companies to
construct oil and LNG tankers and ports that can
handle mineral imports.
The plan comes as the administration aims to
address the slowing economy by introducing
new reforms that will avoid massive spending.
In 2013, logistics costs cover 18% of the
country's gross domestic product, which is about
two times more than the logistics spending of
developed countries.
PORTS
Detroit Port Authority head sets
sights on maritime operations
New Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority
executive director John Lofus has pledged that
his agency will put further focus on addressing
maritime issues instead of looking for extra
powers to enhance economic development along
the Detroit River.
The official pointed out that the port body will
have a lot of work to do in resolving issues
related to maritime operations.
"As I look at the challenges and opportunities
that exist in Detroit, my focus is really going to
be the maritime operations. We have plenty to
do. We do not have a lot of recourses," Loftus
said.
Loftus, who replaced John Jamian in August,
said that he will soon release priority measures
that the authority should tackle, including the
launching of a ferry service to Canada.
The executive director believed that the
market is in Canada, but stressed that the agency
needs to initially figure out the essential moves
to successfully launch port expansion and
operations in the neighbouring country.
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PORT OF THE WEEK
PORT OF NAGOYA
The Port of Nagoya, Japan, is situated at
the innermost part of Ise Bay, which is
located at the centre of the Japanese
Archipelago on the east coast facing the
Pacific Ocean.
The Port has steadily grown since it
opened for international trade on
November 10, 1907.
The complex is an integrated
international port, handling all types of
cargo (general, container, bulk, liquid). Its
is the largest port in Japan in terms of total
cargo throughput, which reached 208
million tons in 2013.
The terminal takes pride as the leading
commercial port in Japan in terms of trade
value (total export/import value), which
amounted to JPY16.3 trillion in 2013.
This total transaction is approximately
11% of the nation's total trade value of
about JPY151 trillion.
The Port's interior is also home to
Japan's automobile industry. The Nagoya
terminal is the No1 automobile exporting
port in Japan, shipping approximately 1.5
million complete vehicles annually.
The Port also plays a major role as a
point of entry to Japan, through its
connections with approximately 160
countries around the world.
The complex is administered by the
Nagoya Port Authority, an independent
local government body created by law.
In 2013, there were 32,619 ship arrivals
in Nagoya Port.
Its main trading export items are
automobiles, automobile parts, steel
materials, industrial machineries and
chemical products
It also serves as a major import port for
LNG, iron ore, crude oil, coal and wearable
items.
Various specialised terminals are located
within the Port. Major industrial complexes
such as oil refineries, an LNG base, steel
mills and automobile export bases, each of
which is equipped with cargo handling
facilities, are in operation in the waterfront
areas.