This digest condenses the maritime stories the archived blog reposted on 31 May 2013. It covers carriers, fleet orders, the environment and safety. The facts come from the archive’s summaries of the original reports.
Carriers and cargo
Bananas and refrigerated boxes. Maersk, the world’s largest container line, moved 8.4 billion bananas in 2012. A Bloomberg report argued that its reliance on refrigerated containers helped it stay profitable in a year when the industry posted a second consecutive loss.
Los Angeles lease. The mayor announced a deal with Yang Ming to extend its lease at the West Basin Container Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles by nine years, from 2021 to 2030. The agreement was said to represent between USD 365 million and USD 525 million in additional port revenue.
Ordering and fleets
- Hellenic owners. Greek shipowners placed 44 percent more newbuilding orders in January to April than a year earlier. The biggest jump was a 300 percent rise in containership orders, followed by a 67 percent increase in another category.
- Fednav. The largest international bulk carrier operator in Canada announced six new vessels, ordered from Sumitomo Corporation and Oshima Shipyard and built in Japan, to expand its Great Lakes-capable fleet.
- Norbulk. The company won supervision of two Crown 63 bulkers at Sinopacific in China and would later manage them technically. The Crown 63 Ultramax design burns 25.8 tonnes a day at 14.3 knots, 13 percent less than the Crown 58, and its first ship earned a Bureau Veritas EEDI attestation with an efficiency gain of up to 20 percent.
- Equipment. Maersk Supply Service ordered two large stern rollers from the German supplier HATLAPA for tugs being built at the Asenav shipyard in Chile for oil and gas work.
Environment
Low-emission cargo ship. Rolls-Royce delivered the first Environship, the Eidsvaag Pioner, to a Norwegian owner. The design combines a wave-piercing bow with an LNG-powered engine and was said to cut CO2 emissions by up to 40 percent.
Green awards. The Port of Long Beach honoured twenty shipping lines at its annual Green Flag and Green Ship awards for slowing down or using cleaner vessels. The Green Flag programme began in 2005, and in 2012 almost 96 percent of ships calling at Long Beach took part.
Arctic debate. The International Chamber of Shipping board was due to meet political leaders and the IMO secretary-general in Oslo on 5 June to discuss sustainability and shipping in the Arctic.
Deliveries and new vessels
- Containerships. The CMA CGM Alexander von Humboldt, second ship of what was billed as the world’s largest containership series, was christened in Hamburg. It measures 396 metres by 54 metres and started its first voyage series from Pusan on 19 April.
- LNG. GasLog took delivery of the 155,000 cubic metre tri-fuel diesel-electric LNG carrier GasLog Sydney from Samsung Heavy Industries, on budget and early, and it began a medium-term charter at once.
- Offshore. Work started at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven on the offshore construction and pipe-laying vessel Ceona Amazon, 199.4 metres long, with the keel due in August.
- Tanker pools. Navig8 launched the Alpha8 pool for long-range products tankers, with five aframaxes already committed, to benefit from longer tonne-miles from new Middle East refineries.
- Technology. Light Structures and GTT agreed to market a fibre-optic sloshing monitoring system for LNG tanks.
Incident
Sixty-three workers were evacuated from the semisubmersible rig Island Innovator off Norway after it began taking on water and tilting during hull work. One worker was slightly injured.
Late-May additions
- Ferries and LNG. Washington State Ferries began exploring LNG as a fuel for its Issaquah Class ferries, citing fuel as its fastest-growing operating cost and the chance to cut emissions.
- Cruise fire. Royal Caribbean put a figure on the impact of a fire in an aft industrial area of Grandeur of the Seas, which was taken out of service for about six weeks of repairs.
- LNG as fuel. A new non-governmental body, the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel, was set up after a decision by SIGTTO to promote safety and good practice in using LNG as ship fuel.
- Portfolio changes. Maersk Tankers sold its five owned very large gas carriers to the BW Group, which also took over five time charters, as part of a strategy to focus on fewer segments.
- Transpacific rates. A weak US economy and too much capacity left carriers with little leverage in the annual contract negotiations, with Asia to US West Coast volumes down almost five percent in the first quarter.
- Offshore delivery. The platform supply vessel Rem Fortune was christened at Kleven’s Ulsteinvik yard on 15 May and was due to start a long-term contract with ConocoPhillips.
- Guides and ferries. Fathom issued a revised second edition of its reference guide on ship efficiency, and Flensburger launched the 210 metre ice-classed ConRo ferry Oceanex Connaigra for a Canadian owner.
Market commentary
A senior specialist advised Gulf Cooperation Council countries not to expand port capacity yet, because the shipping industry had not recovered from the global slowdown, and urged a realistic assessment of regional needs.
Safety
Collision off Texas. The US Coast Guard reported a collision between a deep-draft tankship and a bulk carrier about 30 miles off Galveston. There were no injuries or pollution reports, and both vessels had damage but were stable.
Transfers at sea. On Denmark’s initiative, an IMO sub-committee drew up guidelines for safer transfer of people between ships at sea. Denmark had pushed for them after a fatal accident during a transfer in the Copenhagen roads in 2010.
Connections
Fleet growth means demand for trained crews. See the crew management overview and, for more on training standards, the training and development page. Related reading: the freight rate outlook.