Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 28/04/2017
1. Organised Box Chaos
“Organised chaos” – that’s how one carrier describes the Asia-Europe schedules of the Ocean and THE alliances, believing there’s very little hope of vessels hitting itineraries before June. The source, an alliance member, says the transition of ships and containers from previous schedules to their new alliance hubs had proved more complex than expected – the result being containers stranded at terminals between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. He admitted that phasing-in and -out had been “a disaster”, resulting in big gaps appearing in network coverage. “We are chartering-in or using commercial feeders where we are allowed to,” he said, “but it is tough to get approval, and sometimes the containers will just have to stay on the quay until the next big ship call.”
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2. Navios Buying Spree
Fresh from snapping up the Rickmers Maritime fleet of 13 container vessels via Navios Maritime Partners, Greek owner Navios has entered into a term sheet agreement with another Singapore trust, First Ship Lease Trust, to acquire a controlling stake of the struggling outfit. Navios Maritime Holdings is paying $20m to acquire over 254m FSL Sale Units, and will also acquire all issued and paid-up FSL Asset Management Sale Shares. The Angeliki Frangou led owner is also providing a $20m second priority mortgage convertible loan with proceeds to be used solely to pay down mortgage debt and other loan facilities.
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3. Baltic Steady Slide
The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell for an eight straight session on Thursday as rates for panamaxes and smaller vessels slipped, even as capesize rates strengthened. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was down 13 points, or 1.13 percent, at 1,134 points. The capesize index gained 8 points, or 0.45 percent, at 1,798 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $205 at $13,340. The panamax index was down 60 points, or 4.55 percent, at 1,260 points, its lowest level in a month. Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, decreased $475 to $10,125.
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4. Coming Together On Casualties
More than 250 shipping and insurance professionals gathered this week for the second edition of the Asian Maritime Casualty Forum held during Singapore Maritime Week. The two-day conference is hosted by London Offshore Consultants (LOC), a world leader in marine and engineering consultancy and sponsored by 29 prominent organisations from the industry. Building on its successful launch during Singapore Maritime Week in 2015, this year’s AMCF highlights some of the vital issues in salvage and wreck removal and in particular improving risk management of casualties and the many commercial and technological challenges facing the industry. This morning’s keynote speaker and guest of honour was David Chin, executive director of the Singapore Maritime Foundation, who outlined Singapore’s leading role for casualty management.
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5. 3D Propeller Printed
The Port of Rotterdam’s Additive Manufacturing Fieldlab (RAMLAB) and Autodesk have created a 3D-printed propeller using a hybrid manufacturing process combining wire and arc additive manufacturing using six-axis industrial robotic arms. Currently, if a vessel comes into port needing a replacement part, it can take weeks or months to order and deliver, costing companies millions of dollars while they wait. It can also be quite costly for suppliers to keep large stockpiles of parts in warehouses around the globe. As a main software partner, Autodesk was instrumental in developing RAMLAB’s hybrid manufacturing approach which enables 3D printing large ship components in metal and then finishing the pieces using traditional milling and grinding methods, within a matter of days.
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6. Sulphur Fire Causes Stink
On Wednesday night, a fire at a sulphur storage mound at Port Manatee, Florida sent five people to the hospital and forced authorities to temporarily close U.S. Highway 41. It was the second fire at the site in two weeks. Sulphur fires can pose an additional hazard to first responders: the release of hydrogen sulfide gas, which may be produced when the sulfur is heated. The gas is both toxic and highly flammable, and its presence can lower the flash point of sulphur dust. Fire crews were actively engaged in combating the blaze shortly after it was reported, and it was extinguished by midnight. Michael Rampino, chief of the North River Fire District, told media that his crews used a drone with an infrared camera to identify hot spots and track the smoke plume from the fire.
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7. Oil Discoveries Slow
Global oil discoveries fell to a record low in 2016 as companies continued to cut spending and conventional oil projects sanctioned were at the lowest level in more than 70 years, according to the International Energy Agency (EIA). Both trends could continue this year, and the EIA warns that global oil supply could lag demand after 2020 unless new investments are approved soon. Oil discoveries declined to 2.4 billion barrels in 2016, compared with an average of nine billion barrels per year over the past 15 years. Meanwhile, the volume of conventional resources sanctioned for development last year fell to 4.7 billion barrels, 30 percent lower than the previous year as the number of projects that received a final investment decision dropped to the lowest level since the 1940s.
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8. Floating Dry Dock Sinks
A floating dry dock housing the Norwegian tanker Hordafor V capsized at the Nauta Shipyard in Gdynia, Poland, April 27, 2017. The Nauta Shipyard said in a statement that the dry dock began listing at about 1:30 p.m. local time on Thursday and came to rest practically on its side at a depth of about 10 meters. Inside the dry dock is the Norwegian-flagged tanker Hordafor V, which is owned by Hordafor AS and operates in the aquaculture market. Reports say there were personnel on board at the time of the accident however everyone was able to escape uninjured. Pollution prevention equipment has been deployed to mitigate harm to the environment. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
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9. Frontline Steps Up Fight
John Fredriksen’s Frontline is switching its legal battle for control of tanker operator DHT Holdings from New York to the tiny Marshall Islands after making a fifth offer for the company this week. Frontline, controlled by Norwegian billionaire Fredriksen and owner of a 14.5 percent stake in DHT, has over the past year tried to acquire all of DHT’s shares to forge the world’s largest shipping tanker company. On Tuesday it made another all-share offer — 0.8 of a Frontline share for each DHT share — and set a 24-hour deadline for DHT to respond to the $500 million offer. DHT did not reply to Frontline’s offer within the imposed deadline and on Thursday Frontline filed a complaint in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, where DHT is incorporated, and which has a population of only just over 50,000.
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10. Russian Spy Ship Sinks
A Russian naval intelligence ship sank off Turkey’s Black Sea coast on Thursday after colliding with a vessel carrying livestock and all 78 personnel on board the navy ship were evacuated, Turkish officials said. The rescued crew members of the Russian ship Liman were in good health after the collision with the Togo-flagged Youzarsif H, Turkey’s Transport Minister Ahmed Arslan said. The incident took place in fog and low visibility 18 miles (29 km) from Kilyos village on the Black Sea coast just north of Istanbul. Turkish authorities dispatched a tugboat and three fast rescue vessels, the coastal safety authority said. Advisers to Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim conveyed his sadness over the incident to Russian counterparts, according to sources in his office.
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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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