Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 28/04/2016
1. IMB New Nigeria Figures
As piracy on the world’s seas continues to fall, new figures from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB) highlight growing violence off the coast of West Africa, where 44 seafarers have been captured so far this year. Worldwide, IMB recorded 37 piracy and armed robbery incidents in the first quarter of 2016, down from 54 in the same period last year. Three vessels were hijacked and 29 boarded, with 26 crew kidnapped.
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2. NIMASA Calls for Armed Action
The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has called for a military-led patrol of Nigerian maritime domain to reduce incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. Peterside stated this when he visited the Chief of the Naval and Army Staff in Abuja. It was claimed the rising incidents of piracy had affected the economic fortunes of the nation and urged the military to initiate a joint patrol.
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3. Broken Ships Head East
Out of 239 end-of-life ships sold for breaking in the first quarter of 2016 a total of 79 per cent of ships ended up on South Asian beaches, according to the data collected and analysed by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform. The figure makes this quarter one of the worst ones in the last years for non-beaching yards around the world, the Platform said. Out of 189 vessels that reached the shores of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, 127 were bulk carriers.
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4. Politics, Pollution and Passengers
A powerful committee of UK MPs has stepped into a row over plans to let cruise ships spew diesel fumes day and night in the heart of London. The environment select committee said any developments that made the capital’s air quality worse should be avoided. At stake is whether 1,600-passenger liners should be allowed to run their engines to generate electricity. Residents want power lines to be installed from shore to keep the air clean.
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5. Wrong Time Wrong Place
A ship at the Port of Rensselaer dumped 20 gallons of oil into the Hudson River on Earth Day. New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation says they received a call about an oil sheen on the river around a ship called the "South Wind". The ship’s captain said waste oil from the engines backed up onto the deck and was discharged into the river. The ship has been cited but DEC says it had minimal environmental impact.
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6. Maritime Lien Enforced
A maritime lien placed against a U.S.-owned and Panamanian-flagged vessel has been enforced by the United States Court of Appeals, clearing the way for further legal proceedings involving World Fuel Services Singapore (WFS Singapore). Court records seen by Ship & Bunker show that the case, which was decided earlier this month, pertains to a bunker delivery made in November of 2012 by Singapore fuel supplier Transocean Oil.
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7. Stormy Shipbreaking Period
The shipbreaking industry had a stormy 2015. The year started off with high volumes wherein the first four months of 2015 saw a 10 percent increase in the number of ships over the previous year and an increase of 88 percent in light ton displacement (LDT) volumes. The main reason for the increased LDT volume was Cape size bulkers being sent for recycling as a result of the poor freight markets being experienced by the dry sector.
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8. Low Oil Hits Gas
Low oil prices are denting the take-up of liquefied natural gas as a cleaner source of energy to power ships, and it will be a few more years yet before the fuel makes serious inroads into the marine bunker market. The global shipping sector is under pressure from governments to reduce harmful emissions from vessels, including sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon dioxide (C02), by using cleaner fuels is less attractive today.
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9. Oil Giants Dented
ExxonMobil lost its top-tier credit rating from Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday for the first time in almost 70 years, as slumping crude prices crimp the oil giant’s ability to fund projects and return big amounts of cash to shareholders.
S&P, a unit of McGraw Hill Financial Inc, cut Exxon’s rating to "AA+" from "AAA," a one-notch demotion. The downgrade was a symbolic blow for a company that prides itself on strength and discipline.
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10. MLC Money where Managers Mouth Is
Thome Ship Management has agreed to provide seafarers on 41 Thome vessels with online movies and content. Part of the Thome Group, which is one of the world’s leading ship managers, Thome Ship Management will initially roll out the MOVIElink service to product tankers and LPG carriers. "Thome Group is committed to ensuring our seafarers have an excellent work environment, and crew welfare services are a key part of that mission"
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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
Best regards,
S Jones
Seacurus Ltd
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