Top Ten Maritime News Stories 12/09/2016

Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 12/09/2016

1. Some Goods Moving Again
A ship of bankrupt Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd has unloaded in California and is expected to leave port today, and truckers expect to pick up cargo soon, shipping industry officials said, in a good sign for importers. The "Hanjin Greece" docked in Long Beach on Saturday after a U.S. bankruptcy court granted it protection and terminal operators agreed to take it. However, the Greece carries only a fraction of the $14 billion in goods on dozens of ships owned or leased by the world’s seventh-largest container carrier, which filed for receivership in a Seoul court on Sept. 4.
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2. Spikes in Freight Rates
Maersk Line is seeing a short-term rise in freight rates and an inflow of new clients after the collapse of Hanjin Shipping Co. “There’s no doubt that we’re seeing a reaction in the rate market,” Klaus Rud Sejling, the executive in charge of Maersk Line’s east-west network, said in a phone interview. “The question is, what will happen with the rates in the longer term. In the short term, the effect is positive, but there are many factors that can influence rates in the medium and in the long term.” “What we’re hearing from the customers that are coming to us is that they are seeking a partner that’s stable,” Sejling said.
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3. Ship Seized by Marshalls
One of three Hanjin ships moored off Southern California’s shores was seized by U.S. Marshall’s officers, officials have confirmed. Two fuel suppliers teamed up to lay a claim last week on the "Hanjin Montevideo", said an attorney for one of the companies. The cargo craft has been sitting inside the breakwater while the financially crippled Korean shipping giant tries to hammer out a bankruptcy plan to resume business. Deputy U.S. Marshal Matthew Cordova confirmed the assets had been seized. Maritime law allows such companies to plant a lien on a ship, he said.
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4. Indonesia Edges into Philippines Deal
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will allow Indonesian maritime authorities who are in pursuit of pirates to enter his country’s waters to capture them. “We can make it clear that if the chase begins in Indonesia and continues in international waters, and inside Philippine waters, they can go ahead and blast them off,” the firebrand leader said yesterday. Mr Duterte said, “That’s the agreement. Blow them up. That’s my word actually with Widodo. I said, ‘Blow them up’… and maybe if there are sharks around, then we can just feed them to the sharks,” on his inaugural state visit to Indonesia.
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5. Piracy Progress, Hotspots Remain
Indonesia remains a hotspot that in the first half of the year saw about one quarter of all piracy attacks reported worldwide take place in its waters. In addition, the waters between Malaysia and Indonesia remain dangerous because of kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which recently executed two Canadian hostages and is holding at least 10 more for ransom. "A search on our database shows 141 incidents [worldwide] this year until Sept. 5," said Natasha Brown, an official at the IMO. There were 223 incidents in the comparable period of 2015, indicating "a downward year on year trend," Brown said.
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6. Headaches for Marine Insurers
The shipping industry is rapidly embracing the use of digital technology and the prospect of unmanned ships is not a million miles away. But while this will enhance the safety of the industry, it will also present a headache for marine insurers, who will need to grapple with a new set of risks. That is the view of Dieter Berg, the president of IUMI. “I am convinced that digitisation will completely change our industry within only a few years,” said Berg. Where new risks sit will become clear only over time. “Does it fall with the manufacturer? The software programmer? The ship owner? There are many legal issues.
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7. River Cruise Slams Bridge
A number of German newspapers are reporting that the Viking Freya struck a rail bridge, last night, crushing the wheelhouse and killing two officers who were navigating the ship. The ship came to rest under the rail bridge and a pedestrian bridge which paralleled the rail bridge. The river cruise ship had just left the town of Erlangen on its way to the Hungarian capital of Budapest, and was operating on the main Danube River at night when the accident occurred. The accident reportedly occurred at 1:30 A.M. The dead officers were a 49-year-old who was at the helm of the vessel and a 33-year-old man.
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8. Ports Facing Challenges
International container terminal operators are facing challenges these days, including the slowdown of demand growth and rising operating costs amid the doldrums in the container shipping sector. Shipping research and advisory firm Drewry has forecast that global container port demand will grow by less than 3% per annum over the next five years with projections softening in particular due to the sharp slowdown in China’s exports. “I believe the good times were over about 10 years ago. But it took some time for people to figure it out,” says Charles de Trenck, a veteran shipping analyst based in Hong Kong.
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9. Ship Capsizes and Evacuates
The general cargo ship M Star 1 capsized and sank in Andaman sea on 25 nautical miles southwest off Great Western Torres Islands, Myanmar. The vessel started getting water ingress and listing to starboard. The captain ordered evacuation of all the crew to lifeboat and life rafts. The abandoned cargo ship M Star 1 capsized later in front of the eyes of the seamen. The local authorities were informed about the accident and organized search and rescue operation. The offshore supply tug Lewek was closest to the scene of capsizing and found all the 14 crew members – 12 seamen on liferaft and 2 on life boat.
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10. Crew Guilty of Polluting
Two Filipino senior ship engineers, who have been found guilty of dumping pollutants at sea and attempting to hide the deed from US authorities, face 20 years in prison. A federal US jury in North Carolina, convicted Oceanic Illsabe Limited, Oceanfleet Shipping Limited and two of their employees, senior engineering officers Rustico Ignacio and Cassius Samson, both Filipinos, of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), obstruction of justice, false statements, witness tampering and conspiracy. Oceanic Illsabe Limited reportedly owns the "M/V Ocean Hope", which dumped tons of oily waste into the Pacific Ocean.
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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions  www.seacurus.com

 

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