Seacurus Top Ten Daily News Stories 24/10/2014
1. Mass Flow Woes for Bunkering
The world’s biggest bunkering port plans to end the so-called “cappucino effect” in ship fuelling through new meters designed to stop suppliers from short-changing customers, although the industry is warning of a short-term sales dip. Bunkering is the process of supplying fuel to ships. The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore, which sold more than 42 million tonnes of bunker oil in 2013, will be the world’s first port to mandate the use of mass flow meters.
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2. Big Projects Struggle at Low Oil Mark
High-cost energy projects globally will struggle to stay profitable if crude oil prices stay around $80 a barrel to $85 a barrel and some proposed developments may be shelved, according to Oil Search Ltd. “The bottom line is that much of the industry around the world needs $80, $85 consistently to provide returns,” Managing Director Peter Botten said. “If it stays at that level, marginal projects will struggle, and eventually production will adjust.”
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3. New Face of Seafarers Welfare
The ITF Seafarers’ Trust – the charity arm of the International Transport Workers’ Federation – has appointed leading shipping figure Kimberly Karlshoej as its new head. Ms Karlshoej was recently director and programme officer of The TK Foundation, the trust named after her father, J Torben Karlshoej, who founded the Teekay Corporation. She said, “Shipping is a low-profile industry, and to the wider public, seafarers are practically invisible"
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4. Somali Port Programme Begins
The Somali government’s grand vision for Mogadishu port under its new Turkish managers sees modern container ships replacing wooden dhows, new cranes easing the back-breaking work of porters and a surge in state revenue as traffic rises. Outsourcing port operations to Turkey’s Albayrak Group is one more sign of Somalia’s slow rehabilitation, a dramatic shift from more than two decades of war when clans battled for control of the most valuable assets.
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5. Praise for IMO Bunker Moves
Intertanko has praised moves at IMO to introduce quality control testing for bunkers, calling it “a step in the right direction” as new sulphur limits loom in North Europe and North America. Although engine-room sampling already takes place aboard vessels under MARPOL Annex VI, IMO has agreed to consider tests which would involve bunker fuel on the supplier side, before it is delivered to the vessels. The testing is essential to ensure compliance.
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6. Subprime Shipping Finance Crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis is thought to be major reason of great economic slowdown since 2007. Experts believe a similar time bomb sits within the shipping finance market. How can banks avoid coming to terms with the fact that much of their collateral is worth far less than they represent? An imbalance of value and prices, lax regulation on banking industry, deteriorating incentives and short-sighted governance mean problems exist.
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7. Exchange Visit at Sea for Ocean Shield
Last week sailors from EU Naval Force Spanish frigate, "ESPS Navarra", embarked in the Danish frigate "HDMS Esbern Snare". The Danish frigate is part of NATO’s counter-piracy operation, Ocean Shield. The Commanding Officer of ESPS Navarra flew across to the Danish frigate in ESPS Navarra’s AB212 helicopter to meet his Danish counterpart. Exchange visits such as this help to strengthen cooperation and coordination in the fight against piracy.
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8. New Trends in Shipping Market
Various trends are reported by shipbrokers in the newbuilding and s&p markets over the past few days. The newbuilding market appears to be thinning out, as many potential orders are currently on hold. Similarly, in the s&p markets, ships supply is on a high, thus exerting pressure on prices. According to Clarkson Hellas’ latest new building report gas is the only sector they have seen activity this week, with two Korean yards announcing new orders.
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9. AIS Assisted Collision in Dover Straits
An investigation by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch into a January 2014 collision between a Rickmers’ cargo ship and a crane barge in the Dover Strait has found that the cargo ship’s watch officer was overly reliant on AIS information displayed on the ECDIS and did not maintain a proper lookout or pay attention to the ship’s radar leading up to collision. It was found, the Rickmers Dubai’s OOW was alone on the bridge and he did not see Walcon Wizard.
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10. Breakthrough Ballast Water Initiative
An NYK Group company has gained Japanese government approval for its “breakthrough” ballast water management system (BWMS) that does not require drydocking for installation. Nippon Yuka Kogyo’s SKY-System, developed with Katayama Chemical Industries, has received approval from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The system uses a chemical biocide, Peraclean Ocean, to sterilise organisms in the water.
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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
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S Jones
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