MARITIME NEWS

Monday, March 10, 2014 International maritime news for seafarers

Dry bulk freight market on track to recovery

Improving tonnage supply, coupled with stabilising global demand, will likely boost the dry bulk freight market late this year or in early 2015, according to an industry think tank !peaking at the 1"th #oaltrans conference held in the coastal city of $oa, %eter Malpas, &raemar !eascope research director, said that the dry bulk segment has been posting dismal results over the past three years due to an oversupply of vessels, noting that there have been hundreds of orders for !uprama'es and %anama'es last year despite the fact that (,000 vessels are already handling dry bulk cargoes )e added that industry players are taking advantage of low newbuilding costs and most of them are keen on replacing their ageing fleet *In 2015, there are going to be another 200 plus ships coming into the market It+s a little bit difficult to see any significant recovery with that number of ships,* according to Malpas )e said that the dry bulk freight market is set for a much,needed boost amid the upcoming harvesting period in !outh -merica and the .! $ulf #oast /he official noted that global supply and demand will also begin to stabilise at the end of the year as more cargoes are e'pected to surface to absorb the e'cess tonnage )owever, Malpas called on industry players not to e'pect much as rates will not immediately return to their healthy levels as in previous years */here will be recovery toward the end of the year, but the recovery will be very modest,* he said

SAFETY STUDY A FALSE SENSE OF SECURI !

- timber deck cargo is always vulnerable to movement when hit with great force by considerable amounts of water amidst bad weather

FAC S

- 1,"00 tonne, 40,year,old cargo vessel was carrying 1,250 tonnes of logs in winter -bout 250 tonnes of the logs were stowed on deck /he logs were 5 5 metres long and rested on wood bearers to prevent them sliding on the wet deck /hey were held in place by webbing lashings and two,metre high, (0mm0 uprights fitted into sockets welded at the hatch coamings at 2 5,metre intervals 1ue to a deep depression producing severe gales, the vessel remained within the lee of the land for most of her voyage )owever, the location of her destination port meant that she would have to eventually transit more e'posed waters /he vessel+s manager asked the master if he planned to delay the voyage and shelter )owever, the master, although having reduced speed to about four knots because of the weather, assessed that an une'pected lull would enable the ship to make it to her destination /he master pressed on, but when the vessel+s heading was altered away from the lee, she encountered increasingly severe conditions /he force of a large wave overloaded the lashings in the fore and middle sections of the deck /he lashings parted, the logs moved to starboard and bent the uprights (0 degrees -bout 100 tonnes of loose logs fell overboard

FINDIN"S
, - timber deck cargo is vulnerable to movement when hit with great force by considerable amounts of water /he water can get between the timber, and pounding and rolling can generate tremendous loading on the cargo and its lashings , In cases where severe weather and sea conditions are unavoidable, masters should be conscious of the need to reduce speed and2 or alter course at an early stage , 3og cargoes can take time to settle, and their lashings need to be tensioned regularly /his is not always possible in rough seas and no matter how effective lashings might seem, they are no match for imprudent ship,handling in heavy weather , /he use of hog wires between the cargo and linking the uprights make log stows more secure by sharing the load with the uprights and the lashings !ource4 .5 M-I&

E#ten$ion of %& incentive$ to local $hi''ing firm$ $ought

Incentives being given by the %hilippine government to local shipping firms are set to e'pire this year, prompting the Maritime Industry -uthority to seek an e'tension /he incentives have been around for ten years as the government look for ways to boost the local shipping industry Maritime Industry -uthority officials have appealed to lawmakers to e'tend the incentives, which were part of the 1omestic !hipping 1evelopment -ct

/he -ct cites that one of the country+s ob6ective is to have *a strong and competitive domestic merchant fleet owned and controlled by 7ilipinos or by corporations at least 809 of the capital of which is owned by 7ilipinos and manned by :ualified 7ilipino officers and crew * /he incentives include e'emption from value,added ta' ;<-/= on the importation of ships and tankers as long as they meet the re:uirements and conditions <-/ may also be waived for companies importing life,saving e:uipment, safety and rescue e:uipment and fire fighting systems, among others /he Maritime Industry -uthority is hoping their appeal will be considered by lawmakers in e'tending the incentives provided

Official 'ro'o$e$ re$cue facilitie$ on South China Sea

#hina should build search and rescue ;!->= transport facilities like airports and ports on the !outh #hina !ea in response to marine and air accidents, a political advisor said on !unday, in light of an ongoing multinational search for a missing plane ?in @huo, a member of the Aational #ommittee of the #hinese %eople+s %olitical #onsultative #onference ;#%%##= and an information technology e'pert, said #hina+s !-> capacity on the !outh #hina !ea is far from what is needed for dealing with emergencies like shipwrecks and air crashes *It is imperative to build !-> ports and airports on the !outh #hina !ea,* ?in said ?in noted that aircraft sent by #hina+s maritime !-> centre are capable only of relatively short flights, and there is :uite a long distance between where they take off and the far,away waters on the !outh #hina !ea, Binhua reported */hey C!-> aircraftD can reach there, but will be unable to return,* ?in said In the case of an air crash, !-> ships and planes will be dispatched in first time to locate the black bo' of the crashed plane, so offshore facilities like ports and airports will be needed for an interim stop, according to ?in .nder the international convention, each country will have its !-> area of responsibility based on areas of national 6urisdictions #hina is responsible for !-> on the ma6ority of the vast waters of the !outh #hina !ea, ?in added ?in+s remarks came as 6oint search efforts from #hina, Malaysia, !ingapore, the .nited !tates and <ietnam have been launched to hunt a Malaysia -irlines M)"E0 flight that vanished from radar since !aturday morning and is suspected to have fallen into the sea

Ab(uction ca$e$ off "uinea "ulf u') Drya( *arn$

1ryad Maritime has sounded the alarm over the rising number of cases involving crew abduction in the $ulf of $uinea, with two new cases being reported 6ust this past week Fn March 4, a muli,purpose offshore vessel was attacked by maritime criminals -n offshore tug suffered the same fate the following day !i' crew members were kidnapped in the two incidents -ccording to the leading maritime intelligence provider, the gangs involved in the lawless act operate mostly in seas off Aigeria, #ameroon and G:uatorial $uinea %rior to the two cases, 1ryad recorded similar attacks on eight vessels that resulted in the abduction of 20 crew members .p to this day, 12 of them remain in captivity Ian Millen, an official with 1ryad, said maritime criminals mostly target senior officers such as master and chief engineer because they are more likely to attract a higher ransom amount )e called on crew members who had been abducted by sea pirates before to come out and help inform other seafarers on what to do during such ordeals /he official likewise urged shipowners to uphold necessary guidelines and procedures onboard their ships to avert future abductions from occurring

"oogle barge crui$ing from San Franci$co to (elta

$oogle+s mystery barge floated /hursday to its new home in the #alifornia delta after the Internet company was ordered to move it from !an 7rancisco, /he -ssociated %ress reported /he odd,looking, four,story vessel made of recycled shipping containers departed from /reasure Island to comply with a Hanuary "1 regulatory order concluding that $oogle Inc didn+t have the proper permits to build it there #onstruction stopped on the pro6ect late last year $oogle says the barge will serve as an interactive technology centre when it+s done )owever, various theories have been floated about its purpose -mong the most popular have been that $oogle is building a party boat, roaming data centre or a:uatic store

PIRACY

!emen u'hol($ ten+year ,ail for -- Somali 'irate$

-1GA , -n appeals court in the southern port of -den upheld a 10,year 6ail term !unday for 11 !omali pirates convicted of trying to hi6ack a ship in ?emeni waters /he group were convicted by a lower court in 2010 of hi6acking a *foreign ship* in 7ebruary 200(, using -5,4E assault rifles, rocket,propelled grenades and a ladder of the type used by pirates to board vessels )eavily armed pirates using high,powered speedboats have operated in the $ulf of -den for years, preying on ships and at times holding them for weeks before releasing them for large ransoms paid by governments or shipowners )owever, the number of pirate attacks has diminished since international warships began patrolling waters off the )orn of -frica, -7% reported

CO-OPERATION In(ia) Sri Lanka) .al(ive$ 'le(ge to boo$t maritime tie$

In a bid to improve security and regulation, the leaders of Maldives, India and !ri 3anka have formally agreed to co,operate and share information regarding maritime,related issues /he three countries+ military leaders met at the third Aational !ecurity -dvisor ;A!-= level /rilateral Meeting on Maritime !ecurity #ooperation held in Aew 1elhi last week Indian Aational !ecurity -dvisor and chairman of the meeting, !hivshankar Menon, noted that while incidents of security threats in the area have decreased, there is no room for complacency */he immediate threat that we have been facing in the last few years is piracy and that fortunately is down &ut, even though the number is down that doesn+t mean the primary source of the problem, which is on land, has been solved Ie need to keep putting in this effort,* he said at the meeting -side from information sharing, the three countries also vowed to co,operate in dealing with oil pollution and similar issues

PORT OF THE WEEK

%ort of Da Nang
/he port of 1a Aang is the third largest in <ietnam after )o #hJ Minh #ity and )ai %hong In 200K, 1a Aang+s port handled 2 E million tons of cargo, of which 1 2 million tons were e'ports, 525,(00 tons were imports, and (K5,800 tons were domestic cargo Fver 2(,800 passengers passed through the comple' in 200K, a significant increase over previous years /he port system consists of two areas4 /ien !a !eaport, and !ong )an /erminal /ien !a !eaport has a navigation depth of 11 metres and is able to receive medium range tankers of up to 45,000 1I/, as well as container ships and large cruise ships /he approach to !ong )an /erminal is 22 kilometres long with a navigation depth of si' to seven metres It can accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 1I/ /he state,owned <ietnam Aational !hipping 3ines ;<inalines= is the port authority for 1L Aang+s port system 1espite the fact that the port+s infrastructure is not specifically designed to accommodate cruise ships, the number of large cruise ships docking at 1a Aang %ort has increased in recent years In the first two months of 2010 alone, 12 cruise ships docked in the port city, carrying 8,4EE passengers It is critical as one of the ma6or cargo and passenger,tourist terminals in <ietnam, in addition to )o #hi Minh #ity and )ai %hong 1a nang is also the biggest city on the !outh #entral #oast of <ietnam It is situated on the coast of the !outh #hina !ea, at the opening end of the )an >iver &eing the commercial and educational centre of #entral <ietnam, it is on the path of Aational >oute 1- and the Aorth, !outh >ailway, which makes it a hub for transportation /he city is located within 100km of several .AG!#F Iorld )eritage !ites, including the Imperial #ity of )ue, the Fld /own of )oi -n, and the My !on ruins /he city was previously known as #ua )Ln during early 1ai <iet settlement, and as /ourane ;or /uron= during 7rench colonial rule It is the third biggest economic centre in <ietnam after the capital )o #hi Minh #ity and )anoi &efore 1((E, the city was part of Muang Aam,1a Aang %rovince Fn 1 Hanuary 1((E, 1a Aang was separated from Muang Aam %rovince to become one of five independent municipalities in <ietnam 1a Aang is listed as a first class city, and has a higher urbanisation ratio than any of <ietnam+s other provinces or centrally governed cities

SHIPPING DATA
/AL IC E0C&AN"E
Market snapshot: (March 7) Dry Index BDI 1543 +63 Capesi e Index BCI !"#$ +15$ %ana&ax Index B%I 1$75 +1" '(pra&ax Index B'I 1131 +" )andysi e Index B)'I 663 ((nchan*ed)

E0C&AN"E RA ES
+e, -ork (.ri C/s) .*n C(rrency in 0'D Britain (%o(nd) 1167!6 Canada (Do//ar) $1"$11 China (-(an) $1163! 2(ro 113#74 India (3(pee) $1$164 Indonesia (3(piah) $1$$$$#7 4apan (-en) $1$$"6#1 +or,ay (5rone) $11673 %hi/ippines (%eso) $1$!!5 %o/and (6/oty) $13!"" 3(ssia (3(7/e) $1$!74 'in*apore (Do//ar) $17##3 0kraine ()ry8nia) $11$65 0'D in .*n C(rrency $15"7" 111$"7 611!7" $17!$# 611$"$$ 1144$1$$ 1$313$$$ 51"7"$ 4413#$$ 31$3$$ 36145$1 11!6#6 "13"!#