Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 14/06/2016
1. Grandson and Heir Steps In
The grandson of Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, who transformed A.P. Moller-Maersk into an international conglomerate, was on Monday appointed chief executive of the holding company behind the Danish shipping giant. The move sends a signal that the Maersk family will remain an active owner of the listed company, but it also distances the heir from daily operations, analysts said. Robert Maersk Uggla, 38, who has been CEO of Maersk-owned tug boat operator Svitzer since 2012, will take on the position as CEO of A.P. Moller Holding on Sept. 1., the company said.
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2. Separate Grounding Incidents
The geared bulkers "Chang Hang Feng Hai" and "Belle Rose" separately went aground off islands in the Philippines over the weekend, the nation’s coast guard reports. The Chinese-flagged Hai went onto a shoal off the island of Cagdianao, damaging a ballast tank. All 22 crew members are safe. The Coast Guard called for a dive inspection of the hull; investigations into the cause of the incident continue. The Hai was loaded with 55,000 tons of nickel ore from Cagdiano Mining Corporation at the time of the accident. Separately, the Panamanian-flagged Belle Rose went aground off Monad Shoal, near Cebu.
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3. Not So Smart Move
Bulk carrier "Smart Lisa" collided with three vessels when it lost power yesterday while entering Humen Port in Guangdong. The incident caused a cargo barge to sink, while damage was sustained by general cargo vessel Zhe Xing Hang 96 and working vessel Yue Hui Zhou Gong 663. There were however no casualties caused by the incident. The vessel is owned by Nanjing-based Tranglory Shipping. It has been stabilised and authorities have started investigations into the incident.
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4. No Major Canal Gamechanger
The new enlarged Panama Canal isn’t expected to be a major gamechanger for tanker traffic. Shipbroker Gibson noted that “historically, only about 5% of all traffic transiting the canal are tankers and we do not anticipate this figure to change significantly, once the enlarged waterway is fully operational. The maximum width of the new locks (49 meters) prohibits any tanker larger than a Suezmax from being physically able to transit. Furthermore, a Suezmax can only transit with a reduced draft. The economics of taking a part loaded Suezmax through the canal to discharge in the Far-East will be arbitrage driven.
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5. New Security Joint Initiative
A joint-initiative on maritime security in the Sulu Sea is expected to be established in the next trilateral meeting on June 19 and 20. The joint initiative aims to replicate the Malacca Straits Patrol (MSP) model, said Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. He said Malaysia hoped to seek cooperation with Indonesia and the Philippines Defence Ministries in terms of sea patrol, air surveillance or ‘Eye in the Sky’, intel-sharing, all of which were proven successful in curbing piracy in the Malacca Straits. He said piracy cases have seen a reduction, while no cases have been reported at the straits so far this year.
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6. Abandonment Case Nears End
Seven seafarers of a 15-member crew aboard a stranded chemical tanker drydocked in Ajman Port are expected to see an end to a labour dispute on Tuesday that has dragged on since mid-May over complaints of outstanding salary. Chief Officer George Devadze, a Georgian national, said that five of the seven sailors agreed to accept an offer from their employers on June 9, leaving only two other sailors and him to sign papers on Tuesday. In May, seven sailors said they were no longer eating, alleging they had not been paid back pay since the beginning of the year.
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7. New Shipbrokers Association Launches
The formation of a new association of shipbrokers is announced today. Competitive Ship Brokers Limited (CSBL) has been established to promote and protect the interests of freight market intermediaries and the future of the industry. Shipbrokers are an essential ingredient in the mix of intermediaries which support and enable the global shipping markets to function. The current members of CSBL are Arrow, banchero-costa, BRS, Exeno Yamamizu, Fearnleys, Hartland, Ifchor, LSS, Rigel and Thurlestone. Over the coming weeks the initial members will be reaching out to fellow shipbrokers to invite them to join.
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8. European Owners Speak on Scrap
European shipowners are speaking up in support of responsible ship recycling in Alang, India and the decision by several large shipowners to begin testing upgraded recycling facilities in Alang that are complying with international standards over safety and pollution prevention. The latest show of support comes from the European Community Shipowners’ Association, a trade group representing some 40% of the the world fleet, who says that responsible recycling in Alang is at crossroads of development and should be supported rather than dismissed by critics hanging onto general perceptions of the yards in Alang.
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9. NOL Set to Delist
CMA CGM plans to delist Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) following its takeover of the Singaporean shipper, CMA CGM’s vice chairman Rodolphe Saade told the press. CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping company, said earlier this month it holds over 78 percent of NOL shares after buying Temasek Holdings’ stake in a $2.4-billion deal agreed last year. Minority shareholders can sell their shares to CMA CG until July 18. Saade said he was confident they will sell and added that as soon as CMA CGM holds 90 percent of NOL, Singapore law will oblige any remaining minority shareholders to sell, after which NOL will be delisted.
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10. Fleet Ready for ECDIS Date
he majority of the global SOLAS fleet is now compliant with the SOLAS regulations on ECDIS carriage, according to the latest data published by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) at Posidonia. As of May 2016, 51% of all vessels that are subject to the SOLAS regulations on the mandatory carriage of ECDIS, including those that do not trade internationally, are now fully ECDIS ready. This is an increase of 6% in the past six months. Furthermore, out of almost 42,000 internationally trading vessels, the UKHO now estimates that 59% are ECDIS ready.
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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
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