Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 31/05/2017
1. Death Ship Fears Confirmed
Two Filipino seamen who were working on the so-called "death ship" Sage Sagittarius died as a result of foul play, a Sydney coroner has found. Head chef Cesar Llanto, 42, died on August 2012 after either being thrown overboard or killed on the ship and his body disposed of later by a person or persons unknown, said NSW Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund. He disappeared off the coast of Cairns and his body has never been found. Chief engineer, Hector Collado, 55, died a fortnight later on September 14 , from multiple injuries he sustained after being struck over the head by some kind of weapon by a person or persons unknown as the ship entered Newcastle, the coroner said.. Mr Collado was then either thrown over the handrail outside the ship’s storeroom on the second deck or fell over the handrail to his death.
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2. Cyber SAFE Vessels Delivered
Korean shipyard Hanjin Heavy Industries has delivered three ships which are the first to be classed with Lloyd’s Register’s notations certifying the autonomous systems onboard as safe from human error. Three newly-classed ships, including tanker “Trammo Dietlin”, were built for Global United Gas Carriers, affiliated with Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co. Not only has the class body certified the first ship to Cyber (AL-SAFE) notation, but it has also completed the first certification regarding streaming ship data into a “big data platform”. With the certification, the operator meant to minimise human error and ensure the ships were safe and efficient when running in autonomous mode.
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3. David Attenborough Makes Progress
Cammell Laird shipyard informs it has reached the nine-month milestone in its project to build the U.K.’s new polar research ship the RRS Sir David Attenborough. The Merseyside-based engineering services giant beat off competition from around the world to be appointed to build the £15 0million vessel. The ship, which is the biggest commercial shipbuilding project in Britain for 30 years, has been commissioned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and it will be operated by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), transforming the U.K.’s polar research capability. Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret CBE said since August 2016 1,800 metric tons of steel, out of a total of 5,200 metric tons, had been fabricated to make the hull of the ship, which carries the Cammell Laird hull number 1,390 and is due to enter service in 2019.
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4. Greece Keen on BREXIT Swoop
The Greek government wants to persuade shipowners and shipping-insurance companies based in London to move their European Union headquarters to Greece as the U.K. prepares to exit the bloc. “We’re in contact with five large ship-insurance brokers who are considering various EU member countries for the transfer of their headquarters,” Shipping Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis said in an interview in Piraeus, Greece’s biggest port. Kouroumblis declined to name the firms as the talks are private. “We’ll meet by the latest in June to discuss the terms they’d like in order to choose Greece,” he said. The government has also asked U.K.-based Greek shipowners to consider returning their headquarters to Greece after Brexit, even though the country can offer little in the way of financial incentives given its tight financial situation, the minister said.
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5. Rolls-Royce Radical Overhaul
Rolls-Royce has revealed a radical overhaul of its vessel design philosophy which aims to optimise construction and operations without reducing the use of space on board. In the process it will ensure that a Rolls-Royce designed vessel, whether it is an offshore support vessel or an expedition cruise ship, is instantly recognisable world-wide. The new design incorporates four key features in each design. These are a knuckle line that slopes down towards the bow and links the new designs with older UT and NVC designs. A vertical side area and vertical upper stem which simplify the design and decouples the hull form from the superstructure. The vessels will also have a topside sheer line with a small convex curvature. These features will be present in all the designs in some form but can be modified depending on the ship type.
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6. Seafarers Complain about Officials
A group of Filipino seafarers has filed a complaint against several officials of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) for allegedly arrogating authority in implementing an executive order aimed at providing incentives for using newly-constructed ships. In his 11-page complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday, Nelson Ramirez, president of the United Filipino Seafarers, accused MARINA administrator Marcial Quirico Amaro III of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Grave Misconduct, Grave Abuse of Authority and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of Service. Also included in the complaint were former MARINA administrator Dr. Maximo Mejia Jr., deputy administrator for operations Atty and a host of others.
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7. Harsh Realities for Shipping
Delegates attending the opening sessions at Nor-Shipping in Oslo sat bolt upright when Tony Seba started speaking. Seba, a Stanford economist who is also the founder of tech think tank RetinkX and a serial Silicon Valley investor, predicted some harsh realities for shipping in the coming decade. Shipping will be 10 years behind all other industries in digital tech take up, Seba said, warning that disruption in maritime will come from outside the sector. He urged delegates to get into a mindset as if they had just started their businesses today, if they were to prosper in the future digital economy. Shipping needs to stop thinking linear, he warned, technology disruptions tend to happen as an S-curve. Seba discussed car-hailing phenomenon Uber and suggested that by 2030 95% of people will not own a car.
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8. Ship of the Year Announced
In a ceremony at the Nor-Shipping trade fair in Oslo, the new state-of-the-art high-voltage cable laying vessel NKT Victoria was announced as winner of the prestigious Ship of the Year award. Norway’s Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Anniken Hauglie presented the award. The prize was presented to the vessel owner President and CEO of NKT Michael Lyng, shipbuilder Kleven’s CEO Ståle Rasmussen, design company Salt Ship Design’s CEO Arne Stenersen and captain of the vessel, Svein Ole Sæter. The annual award goes to a Norwegian-built vessel that represents innovation, value added and technological advances. The new NKT cable-laying vessel is among the world’s most advanced and provides improved cable-laying precision based on DP3 capability and an ROV using cameras and sonar, eliminating the need for divers.
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9. Box Trade Losses Mount
The majority of container shipping companies lost money in the first quarter of 2017, but despite a combined operating loss of $16 million, analysts Drewry forecast positive end of year profits. Drewry’s Container Insight Weekly reports that market recovery towards an industry operating profit of around $1.5 billion in 2017 will start from the second quarter when new contracts roll over. “Exceptionally strong demand growth in Q1, 2017, and far higher annual contract rates will create even more profitable conditions for the remainder of the year,” says Drewry. In the first quarter, CMA CGM with an operating margin of 5.5 percent and HMM -10.1 percent. Drewry states: “The disparate set of results is perhaps the most interesting takeaway from the first reporting season of the year".
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10. Baltic Exchange on Slide
The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell to a nearly three-month low on Tuesday, hurt by weaker rates across all vessel segments.; The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, fell 12 points, or 1.32 percent, to 900 points – its lowest since March 1. The capesize index fell 27 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,564 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $225 at $11,484. The panamax index was down 3 points, or 0.36 percent, at 842 points. Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, decreased $31 to $6,764.
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S Jones
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