Top Ten Maritime News Stories 13/03/2017

Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 13/03/2017

1. Bank Dismisses Plan
HSH Nordbank has thrown out the latest Rickmers Maritime restructuring proposal. However, the German bank, which is the largest senior lender to suspended Singapore Exchange (SGX) stock Rickmers Maritime Trust, did add a caveat of hope. The bank has said it might agree to a “material debt forgiveness” of existing loans so long as the beleaguered trust can secure similar, substantial debt forgiveness from its noteholders and its other unsecured creditors, and raise additional equity.
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2. CMA CGM Brakes on New Ships
Announcing its full year results, France’s CMA CGM has said it has no immediate plans to order any new ships. The world’s third largest containerline, which registered a $452m loss for last year, said it did not anticipate any new ship orders on a short-term basis in order “to maintain the still delicate balance between supply and demand”. Maersk Line, the world’s largest liner, has made similar announcements on recent months. CMA CGM also revealed it has postponed to 2018 the delivery of three vessels originally planned for this year.
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3. Gas Carrier Attacked
The Spanish LNG carrier "La Mancha Knutsen" was attacked by pirates in Gulf of Guinea on 90 nautical miles south off Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The tanker was approached by suspicious motor skiff from the stern with at least 7 heavy armed men on board. The Master raised alarm and increased speed, maneuvering to avoid boarding of the vessel. The pirates opened fire against the bridge of the LNG carrier, but after several minutes abandoned the attack and fled to the shore. After the unsuccessful attack the ship reported the accident to the local authorities and headed to Bonny, for investigation.
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4. Owners Wary of Sulphur
Shipowners are growing wary ahead of the 2020 sulphur cap decided by IMO and have chosen to adopt a “wait and see” approach, before they make any hasty decision. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson began its analysis by noting that “the date is sometime in 2020, the event is the annual Alternative Fuels award ceremony held in front of a packed auditorium full of stakeholders covering representation from shipowners, refiners and the oil majors. The audience is eagerly anticipating the announcement of the coveted winner. The best newcomer Oscar went once again to LNG, still not quite worthy of the big prize.
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5. ALLIANCE Eyes UK
The container ships, operating on routes of THE Alliance on the directions Asia-Europe and Europe-North America, which visit UK will call at the terminals of DP World in London Gateway and Southampton. The vessels operating the Asia services FE1, FE2 and FE4 will be serviced at the terminal DP World Southampton, FE3 and FE5 at the DP World London Gateway terminal. The FE3 and FE5 will be the first regular services from Asia and Europe on the DP World London Gateway terminal. DP World Southampton will service all three key alliance carriers – THE Alliance, Ocean Alliance and 2M Alliance.
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6. Philippines Must Act
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said there are plans to transfer an entire military division to Sulu, one of the options mulled as the government works to meet a self-imposed deadline to crush local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. The kidnapping has gotten worse in the first months of President Rodrigo Duterte. There were 18 hostages when he assumed office on June 30. Now there are 31, mostly foreigners. There are 25 foreigners among the 31 hostages including the 7 Vietnamese crewmen abducted in February. A German hostage was also beheaded last February.
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7. Bulker Attacked Off Nigeria
The bulk carrier "Sofia" was attacked by pirates in Gulf of Guinea on 120 nautical miles southwest off Brass, Nigeria. The ship was underway from Lagos to Libreville, Gabon, when was approached by motor skiff with seven heavy armed men, who fired upon the ship and tried to board her. The Master and duty officer raised alarm for piracy attack and increased speed, maneuvering to avoid boarding. All the non-essential crew retreated and locked in the Citadel, while the officers were tried to avoid the hijacking. After about 40 minutes of pursuit the pirates gave up and abandoned the attack, changing course to the shore.
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8. Crew Abandoned by Owner
The crew of the "MV Liberty Prrudencia", stranded on board since November last year, have been forced to agree to sign-off the vessel, but with only one month’s wages and no firm assurance of more. The Indian crew of the have been at anchor off Zhoushan, China, waiting final sign off from their existing employment contracts and payment in full of their outstanding wages. The amounts owed range from $34,799 to $743 and, in total, amount to $148,465.25. The crew’s employers have alleged a lack of funds to pay the full amount owed, and it is possible that the remainder will be remitted through the P& I Club.
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9. COSCO to Close Yards
COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry, China’s third-largest shipbuilder by output, plans to reduce the number of its offshore construction shipyards from five to two by 2020. Under the plan, shipyards in Nantong, Zhoushan and Dongguan will be closed. Shipyards in Qidong and Dalian will remain open as they also build polar ships, drilling platforms and cattle carriers, reports China Daily. Declining international oil and shipbuilding prices, growing costs for materials and labor have become factors squeezing shipyards’ earning ability globally," a COSCO spokesman said.
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10. IUMI New Information Portal
The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) has successfully launched a new interactive information portal – www.iumi.com – which is not only a fitting shop window for IUMI but also a serious tool for those with an interest in marine insurance. The new portal contains IUMI’s extensive and highly valued bi-annual statistics which are available to download. It also has an integrated searchable archive of the complete set of presentations given at the IUMI annual conference from 2010 onwards; as well as presentations and position papers on topical issues.
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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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