Late June 2013 produced a dense run of maritime headlines. This roundup condenses the items the archived blog reposted on 25 June into a single read, grouped by theme. Details come from the original reports as summarised in the archive and have not been independently checked.
Ports and infrastructure
Esbjerg, Denmark. The Port of Esbjerg opened its new Østhavn, or East Harbour, on Friday 21 June. The extension covers 650,000 square metres and is meant to strengthen the port’s position as the leading North Sea base for the wind turbine industry, while leaving room for other lines of business. The opening ceremony was attended by the Danish transport minister.
Container alliances. An analyst commentary welcomed the plan by Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM to run joint schedules on the Asia-Europe, transpacific and transatlantic routes. The so-called P3 network was expected to start in the second quarter of 2014, and the commentator saw it as a positive step that could help trim surplus capacity in the liner sector.
Dry bulk and tanker markets
Capesize outlook. The dry bulk market was described as enjoying a long-awaited rally. The Baltic Dry Index added 35 points in one day to reach 1,062, and the Capesize index gained 90 points to 1,912. An analyst cited in the story expected the Capesize segment to stay bullish.
Euronav financing. The tanker owner Euronav announced a four-year extension of a USD 300 million senior secured credit facility first signed in April 2009. At the time, USD 221 million was outstanding. The facility continues to finance six vessels, including very large crude carriers.
Offshore and shipbuilding
COSL orders. On 19 June 2013, China Oilfield Services Limited signed agreements for 15 vessels. The order comprises one output enhancement vessel, four platform supply vessels of 6,000 horsepower and two of 9,000 horsepower, two anchor handling tug supply vessels of 8,000 horsepower, four of 12,000 horsepower and two of 15,000 horsepower. Five shipyards will build them.
Atwood drillship. A subsidiary of Atwood Oceanics signed a turnkey contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering for a fourth ultra-deepwater drillship, to be named Atwood Archer, with delivery expected by 31 December 2015.
Gas and LNG
- Russia. GTT and FESRC signed an agreement on 21 June, during the St Petersburg economic forum, for the design and construction of LNG carriers in the Russian Federation. The target is the Zvezda shipyard near Vladivostok in the far east.
- South Korea. Steel was cut at the DSME yard in Okpo for the hull of Petronas’s first floating LNG facility, described as the first project of its kind to reach the construction phase.
- Argentina. With no long-term LNG import contracts, Argentina was due to receive a spot cargo at Bahia Blanca from Trinidad and Tobago aboard the Methane Spirit, which has a capacity of roughly 163,000 cubic metres, according to ship-tracking data.
More from the same week
- Nigeria. LNG exports from the six-train Bonny plant in the Niger Delta were delayed for a fourth straight day after the maritime security agency NIMASA blocked ships from the terminal in a dispute over freight levies, Nigeria LNG said.
- Awards. Swire Shipping, the liner division of The China Navigation Company, received the Liner Owner/Operator Award 2013 at the Seatrade Asia ceremony in Hong Kong on 21 June.
- US Navy work. General Dynamics NASSCO received an USD 11.2 million contract modification for detailed design of afloat forward staging base changes for the third and fourth Mobile Landing Platform ships.
- Arctic design. A group of Delft University students, working with Damen, produced a concept for a 100 metre Arctic modular towing supply vessel.
- Offshore design. Skipsteknisk won design contracts for four new vessels for COSL, which it called a breakthrough in the Chinese offshore market after entering the country in 2007.
- Terminal equipment. Trelleborg was chosen to supply fender systems for all three LNG projects on Curtis Island in Queensland, Australia.
- Greek ordering. Shipbroker data showed Hellenic owners ordering 153 percent more newbuildings in May than in April, the fastest contracting pace since the start of 2009.
- Flexibility in boxships. A commentary noted that 73 percent of containership capacity contracted since 2009 had been for very large ships, and discussed how operators cope with that concentration.
- Collision inquiry. A Norwegian car carrier operator said it was checking whether one of its vessels had been involved in an accident with a Japanese fishing vessel off Japan on 23 June.
People and crewing
Manpower services. The shareholders of iPS and Seacontractors said they had concluded a strategic partnership and would integrate their manpower services, covering recruiting, crewing, contracting and payrolling of maritime and offshore personnel worldwide.
Day of the Seafarer. To mark 25 June, InterManager, whose members manage more than 250,000 seafarers and are involved in a third of the world fleet, restated its commitment to crew welfare and announced a package of activities on crew issues. Read more on crew management.
Casualty at sea
One patrol boat and three tugs reached the position where the containership MOL Comfort had broken apart on 17 June in heavy weather while bound for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A fifth vessel was due the next day, and the boats were preparing for salvage while the bow and stern sections still drifted. The sequel is covered in the July roundup.
Reading the month
Three themes ran through the news: shipowners and yards positioning for LNG and offshore growth, carriers cooperating to cut capacity, and the human side of the industry, which this site covers in its blog hub.