Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 05/04/2017
1. Huge Ship Fire Erupts
The Indian navy has been drafted in to help Sri Lankan authorities fight a huge fire that erupted late last night on MSC’s 14,000 teu vessel, "Daniela". The blaze started near Colombo in what appears to have been a container in the aft of the vessel and has since spread to become a serious inferno. The ship had been en route from Singapore to the Suez Canal when it changed course, seeking emergency assistance. Currently five vessels are fighting the fire near the Colombo anchorage.
———————————————————————————
2. Maersk Ship Collision
Just after midnight on April 4, the small freighter "Dan Fighter" collided with the newly built container ship "Maersk Genoa" on the waters of the Westerschelde, the estuary leading to the Port of Antwerp. The Dan Fighter was inbound on a voyage from Bilbao and the Genoa was outbound headed for Bremerhaven. Under circumstances that are still under investigation, the Fighter made contact with the Maersk Genoa’s stern. Dutch media reported both vessels suffered damage, including a crack above the waterline on the Genoa’s stern, but there were no injuries, no reports of pollution and no containers lost over the side.
———————————————————————————
3. Pirates Shift Hijacked Vessel
Pirates who hijacked an Indian cargo dhow with 11 crew on board have moved the vessel to an undisclosed location off the Somali coast until their ransom demands are met, a pirate leader told Reuters on Tuesday. The vessel, "Al Kausar", was initially taken to El Hur, near the port of Hobyo in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Galmudug state but was then moved to avoid approaching security personnel, pirates said. Pirate leader Aw Kombe said negotiations were under way with businessmen in the port city of Kismayu for the release of Al Kausar, which was seized on Saturday.
———————————————————————————
4. P&I Warning on Liquefaction
Just days after the mysterious loss of the South Korean ore carrier "Stellar Daisy", the London P&I Club released a new guide to managing the risk of cargo liquefaction – the dangerous phenomenon associated with damp mineral ores. Each load of a bulk commodity contains moisture and air in addition to the cargo itself. Vibration and motion cause the cargo to compact over time, and if there is enough moisture, the settling process can displace all of the tiny air pockets between each grain of ore. Under certain circumstances, this consolidated wet cargo may liquefy and generate an enormous free surface effect.
———————————————————————————
5. Top Changes at BV
Philippe Donche-Gay, President of classification society Bureau Veritas, has been promoted to the role of Senior Executive Vice President of Bureau Veritas, reporting to the group’s CEO, Didier Michaud-Daniel. His new role sees him lead the implementation of Bureau Veritas’ strategic plans in parallel with his position as President of the Marine & Offshore Division. Donche-Gay, commenting, said: “We have ambitious targets to continue the transformation of our entire business. One of the areas I will be building on across the whole Bureau Veritas organization is the progress Marine & Offshore has seen in pursuing a digital strategy.
———————————————————————————
6. Build Costs on the Up
Shipyards anxious to recoup part of the losses of the past years are eagerly awaiting for higher contract to materialize, in order to raise prices. In its latest weekly report, Allied Shipbroking noted that “despite the still limited flow being seen in terms of new orders, we have started to see some slight increases being noted in the price figures being quoted by shipbuilders. This has been more so for dry bulk vessels, likely being assisted by the sharp rise in secondhand asset prices that have been seen over the past couple of weeks.
———————————————————————————
7. Nations Plan Pirate Action
The three Southeast Asian island nations of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are preparing for a joint naval operation to protect regional trade routes from piracy and terrorist threats. The campaign will target activity in the Sulu and Celebes seas. Speaking to the Financial Times, Philippines defense minister Delfin Lorenzana said that the three nations participating are very concerned about foreign terrorists who have accessed the region through those waters. The campaign would help ensure safe passage for commercial ships through monitoring and escort efforts.
———————————————————————————
8. Major Spill Clean Up
Environmental workers continued their clean up operations several days after a major oil spill was spotted off the coast of Kalba on Tuesday. The kilometre-long spill, the source of which is still under investigation, has been confined to a small corner of the breakwater on Khor Kalba. Specialised personnel from several departments, including the Armed Forces, the Coast Guard, the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah (EPAA) and the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations LTD (ADCO) were pressed into action earlier this week and continue to battle the slick.
———————————————————————————
9. Chapter 11 Beckons
John Fredriksen’s Seadrill is warning investors of losses ahead of likely schemes of arrangement or Chapter 11 restructuring. Seadrill has reached agreement with its banking group to extend the maturaties on $2.85bn in debt as its continues negotiations with banks, potential new investors and advisers to its bondholders on a comprehensive restructuring. Although the restructuring plan is yet to be completed Seadrill issued a stark warning of substantial impairment, dilution or losses for its investors.
———————————————————————————
10. Merger Deal Complete
Wilhelmsen and Wallenius have completed a merger deal leading to a new ownership structure for their jointly owned investments in Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, EUKOR Car Carriers and American Roll on Roll off Carrier. The merger between Wilh. Wilhelmsen – owned 72.7% by Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding – and Wallroll was completed in Norway today, with Wilh. Wilhelmsen as the surviving company. From now on, the new name of Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA shall be Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, trading under the ticker WWL at the Oslo Stock Exchange.
———————————————————————————
Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
Best regards,
S Jones
Seacurus Ltd
Registered in England No. 5201529
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
A Barbican Group company
Telephone: +44 191 4690859
Facsimile: +44 191 4067577
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.seacurus.com
Registered Office: Suite 3, Level 3,
Baltic Place West, Baltic Place,
South Shore Road,
Gateshead,
NE8 3BA,
United Kingdom
This message, and any associated files, are intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it was addresses and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately.
