Daily Shipping Newsletter 2004 – 163 Vlierodam Wire

DAILY SHIPPING NEWSLETTER 2004 – 163

Number 163***DAILY SHIPPING NEWSLETTER*** Monday 30-08-2004

THIS NEWSLETTER IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY :

VLIERODAM WIRE ROPES Ltd. wire ropes, chains, hooks, shackles, webbing slings, lifting beams, crane blocks, turnbuckles etc. Binnenbaan 36 3161VB RHOON The Netherlands Telephone: (+31)105018000 (+31) 105015440 (a.o.h.) Fax : (+31)105013843 Internet & E-mail www.vlierodam.nl [email protected]

The CORSICA VICTORIA seen departing from Civitavecchia Photo : Risto Brzoza ©

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EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS Oude PSD-boten nog niet in de vaart Het is nog niet duidelijk wanneer de vijf voormalige PSD-boten, die aan Italiaanse rederijen zijn verkocht, in de vaart komen.

De schepen, die ooit voeren tussen Vlissingen en Breskens en Kruiningen en Perkpolder, liggen aangemeerd in Zuid-Italië, maar er is nog geen sprake van dat ze worden ingezet.

Dat komt onder meer omdat er nog geen havenvergunning is afgegeven.

'Bomb joke' captain deported DEPORTATION and time already served was the sentence handed down to the master of a Turkish vessel who joked about having a bomb on his vessel. Capt Yildirim Bayayer Tumer pleaded guilty in US District Court to making a false statement in regards to the 22 July incident when the 47-year-old Turkish national told a Coast Guard boarding party that a bomb in his cargo holds would explode when the ship reached its destination port of Philadelphia. In court, the judge described Tumer as a "well- educated family man who made a mistake.” The captain then, through an interpreter, apologised to the court and the “whole American public” for his action. Tumer made the ‘bomb’ remark after tiring of the boarding party’s inspection of the Cenk Kaptanolgu, but quickly retracted the statement. The vessel was seized, subjected to a detailed inspection and held for days before being allowed to proceed to port under command of a new master. Tumer has been in jail since the incident and was released after the hearing and ordered to leave the country.

Peijs gunt veerdiensten Wadden nieuwe concessie De rederijen Doeksen en Wagenborg mogen zeker tot 2023 de veerdiensten van het vaste land naar de waddeneilanden blijven uitvoeren. Minister Peijs van Verkeer en Waterstaat is van plan de rederijen een nieuwe concessie voor vijftien jaar te geven. Dat meldde een woordvoerster van haar ministerie zaterdag. De onderhandelingen tussen ministerie en rederijen zijn nog niet helemaal afgerond, maar de verwachting is dat er binnenkort kan worden getekend. Enig punt van overleg is nog in hoeverre de overheid verantwoordelijk blijft voor het openhouden van de vaargeulen naar de eilanden. De nieuwe concessie gaat in 2008 in. Directeur P. Melles van Rederij Doeksen is tevreden met het conceptcontract. Hij wijst er op dat rederijen een meerjarenconcessie nodig hebben voor de exploitatie, aanschaf en onderhoud van de dure veerboten en aanlegsteigers. Bij regionaal busvervoer bijvoorbeeld zijn veel kortere concessies gebruikelijk.

Indonesian navy captures seven pirates in Natuna Islands

The Indonesian navy said Wednesday it has arrested seven alleged pirates after a foreign cargo ship was robbed in the Natuna Islands north of Borneo.

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Four of the suspects were apprehended Saturday, a day after pirates held up the MV ACX Hisbiscus as it traveled from Singapore to the Philippine capital of Manila, the navy said in a statement.

The four were believed to be part of a nine-member group armed with guns and daggers who robbed the cargo vessel on Aug. 20, Rear Marshall Didik Herupurnomo was quoted as saying in the statement.

Three others were arrested later, said Capt. Kadir, a navy spokesman. The statement didn't say where the ship was registered. Herupurnomo said piracy in the area had significantly fallen since Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia began coordinated naval patrols in July in the nearby Malacca Straits, a key oil and trade route.

Some 50,000 ships ply the straits each year, carrying oil from the Middle East, and goods bound for Europe through the narrow passage between peninsular Malaysia and Singapore on one side and the Indonesian island of Sumatra on the other.- CASUALTY REPORTING SVITZER BIDSTON SLIPPED FROM THE BLOCKS (????)

The SVITZER BIDSTON – Photo : Michael Bracken ©

The tug 'Svitzer Bidston' is undergoing repairs after being involved in an incident at a local dry-dock on the Mersey..

It is rumoured that during an attempt to dry-dock her she slipped from the blocks and damaged her azimuthing props, skeg and puncturing the hull in one of her fuel tanks.

At present she is in dry-dock and the props have been removed and work continues to repair her.

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Cargo ship sinks off India TWENTY sailors were missing after a cargo ship sank off India's west coast, coastguard officials said.

A search was called off at nightfall after the Indian ship, carrying rice for Somalia, went down 20km off the western Indian port town of Jakhau. "We sent out a helicopter, five boats and one of our ships to rescue the crew members, but the sailors could not be traced by dusk," coastguard spokesman S B Venketesway said, adding that a fresh search would be launched tomorrow.

It was not immediately known whether the rice was meant for the civilian population of drought-hit Somalia or Indian soldiers deployed there as UN peacekeepers. SHIPYARD NEWS Northrop Gets Navy Contract

Northrop Grumman Corp. on Friday received a $197 million contract with the Navy for nine months of maintenance work on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

The defense contractor said it will modernize the carrier's F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft equipment and weapons stowage systems, improve living areas, repair ship systems, and maintain propulsion plant systems. The contract follows a year of advance planning under a contract from last summer, the company said. Enterprise will arrive at the Newport News shipyard in early September.

Northrop built the ship at its Newport News, Va., facility in 1961. The company said Enterprise is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Shares of Northrop closed down 3 cents at $51.63 on the New York Stock Exchange. Karachi Shipyard being revamped: NA told

The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that efforts are being made to revamp the Karachi Shipyard to make it a profitable entity.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Tanweer Hussain Syed responding a call attention notice informed the House that the government injected over 665 million rupees to revitalize it during the last three years but the efforts gone fruitless. He said it needs 300 million rupees annually to make the shipyard profitable institution but there is no chance as it is not getting orders to build ships and boats since long time. He said the machinery installed in the shipyard is outdated and there is need to change the whole set up to get new orders.

He suggested constitution of a committee to look into matter and resolve the issue of non-payment of salaries to employees of the shipyard.

The calling attention notice was moved by Liaquat Baloch and others. They were of the view that non- payment of salaries to the employees of Karachi Shipyard for the last four months is causing grave concern. On a move, the House allowed withdrawal of the Removal from Service, (Special Powers) (Second Amendment), Bill 2003 (Ordinance No.11 of 2003). The leave for withdrawal was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Raza Hayat Hiraj.

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ROUTE, PORTS & SERVICES

THIS SECTION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY :

TOTAL VESSEL MANAGEMENT K.P. van der Mandelelaan 34 - 3062 MB Rotterdam (Brainpark) - The Netherlands Telephone : (31) 10 - 453 03 77 Fax : (31) 10 - 453 05 24 E-mail : [email protected] Telex : 24390 wosh nl

Biglifts TRAMPER departed Sunday from Rotterdam with as deck cargo the DMS RAVEN bound for the Middle East. Photo : Piet Sinke © China Merchants transfers tankers CHINA Merchants Holdings International is to sell its fleet of seven Aframax tankers to affiliated company China Merchants Energy Transport Investment for HK$1.31Bn ($168M). Both the companies are subsidiaries of the China Merchants Group. An independent valuer had appraised the fleet at HK$1.19Bn, meaning the sale achieved a gain of about HK$195M. The sale of the vessels is subject to approval from minority shareholders which is expected to be given at an extraordinary general meeting

PSi-Daily Shipping News Page 5 8/29/2004 DAILY SHIPPING NEWSLETTER 2004 – 163 to be held on 4 October. CMHI explained that the sale had been made to enable the company to focus on its core business of ports and port-related operations. CMHI managing director Li Yi said the money from the sale of the tankers will be invested into this sector. CMHI has plans to add 10 berths each year to its port operations until 2006 which will bring its total number of berths to 80.

Ferry deal for U-boatyard? A German shipbuilder that once built U-boats for Adolf Hitler will likely build B.C. Ferries new Super-C Class Ferries. "Our information is that B.C. Ferries has already signed a contract with German shipbuilder Flensburger, subject to the approval of the board of directors of the corporation, to build the new ferries," George MacPherson, president of the B.C. Shipyard General Workers' Federation, told The Province yesterday.

He said he was aware the German company once built U-boats during the Second World War but did not wish to make any further comment on it. B.C. Ferries said "the process isn't complete yet and we don't want to comment any further." It did, however, confirm the board of directors would meet this fall to consider the matter but said it doesn't make the date of board meetings public.

The $500-million contract is being bitterly opposed by the B.C. shipbuilding industry and other segments of society, including former premier Bill Vander Zalm and three North Shore mayors, who believe it is a mistake to go offshore and that local shipbuilders have been unfairly shut out of the competition.

MacPherson admits that "we are down to one yard on this but have not given up hope. B.C. Ferries has changed it mind before." He said the board should have some serious questions to ask. They will only get to see one set of figures, that of the German bid, and not those of the others, he said.

"I am hopeful that some sanity will come back into this. I stress we are not demanding the job of building these ships. "All we are asking is to let us bid and if our numbers don't make sense then we do not deserve to get the job," he said. The federation also took another shot at B.C. Ferries president David Hahn yesterday for defending his decision to go offshore to build the three ships.

In an interview last week, Hahn said denying Canadian industry a chance to build the ships is justified in order to prevent another "fast ferries" fiasco. MacPherson said that is "unfair punishment for a past misguided government decision. David Hahn is doing nothing for this province or its economy by disparaging local industry to cover up for his bad decisions," he said. B.C. shipyards built the two larger Spirit-class ships for B.C. Ferries in the early 1990s. Flensburger is an old German company and was founded in 1872. The first ship launched was the iron tallship Doris Brodersen in 1875. It has since built over 700 vessels ranging from sailing ships, to tankers, ferries, barges and naval ships.

And, in a further twist of historical irony, the Royal Canadian Navy was responsible for sinking at least two of the 28 U-boats turned out by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft: U-356 in 1942 and U-1302 in 1945. NAVY NEWS First Vessel for NDF Navy Arrives THE first combat vessel of the Namibian Navy, the corvette Lt-Gen Jerobeam Dimo Hamaambo announced its arrival at the Walvis Bay harbour on Wednesday morning with a 21-gun salute.

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The government of Brazil donated the 50-year-old vessel to the maritime wing of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF).

Left : The BAHIANA (V 21) a sistership of the PURUS in the Brazilian Navy

Photo : Coll Piet Sinke

It took the crew of 64 officers about a month to sail the corvette from Brazil to Namibia. "The handover of the ship marks the success and fruitful naval co-operation between the two countries that came into being with the signing of a Naval Co-operation Agreement on March 4, 1994 and later renewed on December 3, 2001," said Errki Nghimtina, Minister of Defence at the welcoming ceremony.

The Minister said the agreement stipulated that the Brazilian Navy would assist with the training and establishment of the maritime wing of the NDF, as well as the supply of vessels. The corvette is the first combat vessel in the small fleet of the navy.

It consists of the Oryx patrol vessel obtained from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and two harbour patrol boats donated by the South African government.

The Minister of Defence said the vessel would be used to protect Namibian waters and help fight pirates trying to plunder marine resources.

D: 911 tons (960 fl) S: 15 kts Dim: 55.72 × 9.55 × 3.6 A: 1 76.2-mm 50-cal. U.S. Mk 26 DP; 4 single 20-mm 70-cal. Oerlikon Mk 10 AA Electronics: Radar: 1 Decca . . . nav. M: 2 Sulzer diesels; 2 props; 2,160 bhp Range: . . ./. . . Fuel: 135 tons Crew: 5 officers, 65 enlisted

"You can call on them whenever you observe a violation in Namibian waters," he told Minister Abraham Iyambo of Fisheries and Marine Resources. Nghimtina also called on the crew of the vessel to uphold the spirit of the man the vessel was named after. The late Hamaambo was a founder member of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), the armed wing of Swapo during the liberation struggle, and became the first Chief of the NDF until his retirement in 2000.

Peter Vilho, Commander of the Maritime Wing provided the history of the corvette, which was built in Holland, by L. Smit, Kinderdijk, and launched in 1954 and commissioned in the Brazilian Navy in 1955. The 55m long vessel was first called Purus (V 23) after the Indian warriors of the Amazonian people, and is of the class Imperial Marinheiro.

Its armament consists of a 3-inch gun and four 20mm machine guns. It is also equipped with towing, fire fighting and damage control equipment. During its service in the Brazilian Navy of 2 092 days it covered 494 000 nautical miles. The ship was refit before its transfer to Namibia, and on June 25 it was re-commissioned in honour of Hamaambo at the naval base of Aratu in Salvador, Bahia. More than 180 officers and ratings have been trained so far for the Namibian Navy, of which 168 were trained at various naval institutions in Brazil.

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Navy Commissioned Destroyer Momsen

The newest Arleigh Burke- class guided-missile Destroyer, Momsen, is commissioned Aug. 28 during a ceremony in Panama City, Fla.

US Navy ship arrives in Zambo for exercises An United States navy destroyer arrived Friday in Zamboanga to participate in the joint military training exercises of Filipino and US soldiers, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Command (Southcom) said.

The USS McCampbell arrived and dropped anchor in international waters just off the Zamboanga peninsula to participate in the PALAH 05-1, a bilateral naval warfare training exercise, the Southcom said in a statement.

USS McCampbell is a Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, a fast and versatile warship that has multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities and can operate independently or as part of carrier battle groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups and underway replenishment groups.

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Based on the US navy fact file, this type of destroyer primarily performs anti-submarine warfare duty. Guided missile destroyers are multi-mission anti-air warfare (AAW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASUW) surface combatants.

Commander Russell Haas commands the USS McCampbell, assigned to Commander Destroyer Squadron One. The ship’s home port is San Diego, California. It was built in Bath, Maine and commissioned in August 2002. The ship has a crew of 30 officers and 310 sailors.

The Southcom said the USS McCampbell will has medical evacuation capabilities, and can conduct evacuation by helicopter.

The PALAH 05-1 seeks to improve unit readiness and interoperability between US and AFP Seals in maritime special operations. The training will also cover mission planning, patrolling, urban training and close quarters combat situations, as well as live fire, marksmanship and jungle survival exercises.

The Southcom said the joint exercises, which began on Aug. 5, will be conducted in multiple phases until the end of the year. About 20 American and 40 Filipino soldiers are participating in the joint training exercises.

The newest and most advanced nuclear-powered attack submarine PCU Virginia (SSN 774) travels along the morning sunrise skyline on its the way from Norfolk Naval Shipyard to complete Bravo sea trials. Virginia is the Navy’s only major combatant ready to join the fleet that was designed with the post-Cold War security environment in mind and embodies the war fighting and operational capabilities required to dominate the littorals while maintaining undersea dominance in the open ocean

Israel beats German navy in sub war game In a rare revelation of war games between Israel and one of its allies, a newspaper reported over the weekend that an Israeli submarine engaged in a mock underwater battle with a German rival and won. According to Yediot Ahronot, the war game took place last week, lasted "a few hours" and involved depths of hundreds of meters. The Dolphin-class submarine "Tekuma" succeeded in tailing the German vessel. She followed the German submarine at a safe distance without being detected until the end of the exercise, the report said.

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"The fact that we are surrounded by enemy countries and are in a constant state of operational action and not just engaged in exercises, has made our underwater operational capabilities some of the highest in the world," Col. Eyal, the outgoing commander of the submarine flotilla was quoted as saying. It was the first time since the three German-made Dolphin class submarines arrived in the country that the navy accepted a sub-to-sub challenge with a foreign navy, the report said.

With a crew of 33 and a captain who is only 31 years old, the Dolphins are the most expensive piece of weaponry in the IDF's arsenal the diesel-electric submarines, manufactured by Kiel-based Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG, were mostly paid for by the Germans. Israel has reportedly sought to purchase two more of the sophisticated submarines. Navy relieves captain after carrier crash

The Navy is relieving the captain of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in connection with a collision with a small boat in the Persian Gulf in July.

In the crash, a dhow smashed into the starboard hull the Kennedy. No survivors from the traditional Arab sailing boat were found. The dhow's origin, cargo and destination are unknown.

The Kennedy itself was unscathed, but two jet fighters on the deck were damaged when one slid into the other as the carrier made a hard turn to avoid the small boat, Navy officials said.

Capt. Stephen B. Squires, the commander of the Mayport, Fla.,-based Kennedy, will be temporarily assigned to duties in the United States, a statement from the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet says.

A Navy spokesman said Squires' removal from command was temporary pending the completion of an investigation into the collision. Vice Adm. David C. Nichols Jr., the 5th Fleet's commander, will formally relieve Squires on Friday, the Navy said. The captain will be replaced by Capt. John W. Miller, who previously commanded the carrier USS Constellation, which was decommissioned last year. The Kennedy is the only carrier operating in the Persian Gulf. Officials said its operations have been unaffected by the July 22 collision.

Navy officials said the collision appears to have been accidental, but acknowledged it raised the specter of terrorist attacks against U.S. warships at sea, particularly because a small boat was able to penetrate the carrier's defenses to strike its hull.

The deadliest terrorist attack on a U.S. ship in the Gulf came on Oct. 12, 2000, when a bomb-carrying boat rammed the hull of the USS Cole, a destroyer, in the port of Aden, Yemen. Seventeen sailors were killed. Senior al-Qaida operatives directed the attack.

This past April 24, a dhow approached an Iraqi oil platform in the Gulf. A Coast Guard patrol vessel, the USS Firebolt, launched a small boat to intercept it. When the small U.S. craft approached, the

PSi-Daily Shipping News Page 10 8/29/2004 DAILY SHIPPING NEWSLETTER 2004 – 163 dhow exploded, killing two U.S. sailors and a Coast Guardsman. At roughly the same time, two speedboats approached a different oil terminal in the area. Security guards opened fire on them before the boats exploded.

A previous captain of the Kennedy lost his command in late 2001 when the ship failed an inspection. MOVEMENTS THIS SECTION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY : MULTRASHIP Towage & Salvage Scheldekade 48 4531 EH Terneuzen The Netherlands Tel : + 31 – 115 645 000 Fax : + 31 – 115 645 001 Internet [email protected] http://www.multraship.nl

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The MONARCH OF THE SEAS visited San Diego – Photo : Eric Roe

AIRCRAFT / AIRPORT NEWS

A Navy fighter jet ended up in San Diego Bay after it ran out of runway while landing at North Island Naval Air Station. The lone pilot ejected before the plane hit the water, and he ended up in the bay and was pulled from the water, officials said. The pilot, apparently uninjured, told rescuers his brakes failed.

The plane, an F/A-18C Hornet from a carrier off the coast, was partially submerged in the bay last night.

"The pilot was unable to stop the aircraft and ended up just beyond the runway," said Cmdr. Ed Buclatin, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces. He was taken to San Diego Naval Medical Center, where he seemed in good condition, Buclatin said.

The nickname "Lucky" was painted on the side of the plane by the cockpit. U.S. Coast Guard and San Diego Harbor Police helped rescue the pilot. The plane, in Strike Fighter Squadron 151 with the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, had flown from the ship to North Island, Buclatin said. The Lincoln is now off the coast. Buclatin said he did not know why the Hornet had come to North Island. Sri Lankan Airlines adds new flights to India

SRI Lankan Airlines will add a further 11 flights to its schedule from October 31. The frequencies will increase the total number of flights to 77 per week to India and nine of its current 10 destinations to that country will have at lease one flight per day.

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According to a story in Sri Lankan newspaper News Today, a spokesperson for the airlines said: "Our target is to provide a web of services around India, which will allow rapid connections to both Indians and foreign visitors to many parts of the country. We embarked on a strategy last year to provide daily frequencies to as many of our existing destinations as possible and we have achieved that in respect of India."

The airline mainly uses Airbus A320 aircraft for its Indian sectors and recently acquired its fifth one and plans to purchase more soon.

MK Airlines verhuist vracht naar Oostende MK Airlines verplaatst zijn complete vrachtoperatie van Manston Kent International Airport nabij Londen naar Oostende Airport. De verhuizing werd een feit nadat de Ghanese vrachtmaatschappij en de beheerder PlaneStation het niet eens konden worden over de gebruikskosten voor de Britse luchthaven.

MK Airlines verwacht dagelijks te vliegen tussen Afrika en Oostende. Behalve de lagere kosten, noemt een woordvoerder als voordeel dat de West-Vlaamse luchthaven 24 uur per dag open is. Dagelijks moet er rond het middaguur een vlucht landen op Oostende. De Nederlandse wegvervoerder Balkenende haalt de perishables (fruit, groenten en bloemen) op om vervolgens direct de distributie in Europa te verzorgen. Ongeveer 70 procent van de goederen is bestemd voor het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Balkenende zal voor deze zendingen gebruik maken van de dienst tussen Oostende en Ramsgate van Transeuropa Ferries. In totaal gaat het om enkele tientallen vrachtauto’s per week.

RIJNMOND WEATHER Vooruitzichten van zaterdag t/m dinsdag: LICHT WISSELVALLIG!

Geregeld zon, het blijft tot zondag in de namiddag droog, daarna volgt er regen. Maandag enkele buien en tamelijk veel wind. Dinsdag rustiger met geregeld zon en droog.

© Ed Aldus 2004 ZA-28 ZO-29 MA-30 DI-31 Maximumtemperatuur: 20 20 19 19 Minimumtemperatuur: 14 10 12 12 Zonnekans in %: 40 40 30 40 Neerslagkans in %: 20 30 50 20 Neerslag in mm: 0 1 3 0 Windrichting kracht: WZW-3-4 ZW-3-5 W-4-6 WNW-2-4

…. PHOTO OF THE DAY …..

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SMITWIJS TOWAGE B.V.

Westplein 5b 3016 BM Rotterdam The Netherlands Telephone: +31 10 412 6969 Telefax:+31 10 436 9587 E-mail: [email protected]

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