Seacurus Top Ten Daily News Stories 28/08/2014
1. Repeat Offender Banned From Australia
AMSA has issued a direction to the container ship "Vega Auriga" (IMO 9347786) that prohibits the ship from using or entering any Australian ports due to repeated breaches relating to seafarer welfare and maintenance of the ship. The Vega Auriga has been detained by AMSA on three occasions since 25 July 2013 with repeated concerns for the welfare of the crew including improper payment of wages, inadequate living and working conditions.
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2. Independent Scotland Threatens Shipping
A survey by Moore Stephens has found 55% of respondents predicted a damaging effect for the Scottish shipping and offshore sector if the country becomes independent from the UK. In a summary of its findings, Moore Stephens noted that it was the 45% of the respondents included in the survey with existing business ties to Scotland which were, in fact, the most pessimistic about the country’s ability regarding shipping.
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3. Media Focusing on Cyber Security
In a world where young men are willing to pounce on VLCCs using only guts, wooden boats and rusty Kalashnikovs, the threat to shipping and maritime may now also be coming in a much more subtle manner from the computer hacker. If one were of a mind to destabilise the global economy, attacking 90% of world trade might not be a bad place to start. A lack of case-studies for shipping cyber-attacks makes it hard to know what is really going on.
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4. Oversupply Hitting LNG Rates
Oversupply of LNG tonnage will continue to hit freight rates for the “near term” followed by a sudden leap in demand after delayed projects complete, according to Drewry’s latest report. The report highlighted the continued growth of the LNG carrier fleet, to 56m cu m as of June 2014, versus lapsing demand. In 2013, imports to Europe fell 23% due to increasing reliance on pipelines for gas, while Canada and the US have ramped up domestic production.
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5. Profit Tide Turning for COSCO
The tide may be turning for state-backed shipping company COSCO as a slower influx of new vessels and an uptick in global trade begin to lift the industry from its longest slump in three decades. COSCO, China’s top shipping line, is expected to return to substantial profitability in 2015 after five lean years. Its first-half results show a loss of up to 3.2 billion yuan ($520 million) due to weak freight rates and shipping volumes, but better times lay ahead.
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6. Dirty Product Costs Fall
The cost of sending 30,000 mt dirty product cargoes on the Black Sea-Mediterranean route has fallen to a near two-month low, after shipowners moved clean ships to dirty trade to take advantage of higher rates in that market. The current rates are the lowest since an identical assessment June 30. "The Med and Black Sea simply have the problem of there being too many vessels, partly because owners dirtied up some clean vessels", said a shipowner.
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7. Gulf of Guinea Problems Persist
The frequency of piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea has increased at an alarming rate in recent years. According the United Nations’ 2013 Transnational Organized Crime threat assessment for West Africa, piracy in the Gulf “is a product of the disorder that surrounds the regional oil industry.” Nigeria, which produces well over 2 million barrels of oil per day, occupies 530 miles of coastline and drives the industry.
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8. Crew Receive Support from AoS
Distressed crew members of the ship on which 35 illegal Sikh immigrants from Afghanistan were discovered inside a container have attended a special Mass on board. The service land a blessing of the ship, the Norstream, was organised by the port chaplain at Tilbury docks where the migrants landed. The Apostleship of the Sea, said the eight officers and nine crew members were mostly Catholic Filipinos and had been anxious and stressed after the incident.
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9. Video of Slowest Collision Ever
Here is some new video showing a collision between the MV Triton Swallow and the MV Golden Daisy reportedly while the vessels were berthed at a bulk terminal in Buenaventura, Colombia. Media sources have been told the incident actually involved a third vessel, the MV Chios Trinity. It seems the terminal is receiving vessels with drafts greater than the terminal’s max operational draft, which at low tide can cause groundings and accidents such as this one.
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10. Ambassador for Sailors Society
The world’s leading supplier of marine distress signals, Drew Marine Signal & Safety, is delighted to announce its Head of Global Marketing, Chris Feibusch, has been appointed as an Ambassador for the Sailor’s Society. As an Ambassador, Chris will act as a key advocate for the Sailors’ Society, promoting the charity’s cause amongst contacts within the maritime industry and sharing information about its work.
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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
Best regards,
S Jones
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