DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2013 – 257 Number 257 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Saturday 14-09-2013 News reports received from readers and Internet News articles copied from various news sites. Several laid up vessels at Dutch Harbour in ‘s Gravendeel (The Netherlands) Photo : FLYING FOCUS luchtfotografie - www.flyingfocus.nl © Distribution : daily to 26650+ active addresses 14-09-2013 Page 1 DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2013 – 257 Your feedback is important to me so please drop me an email if you have any photos or articles that may be of interest to the maritime interested people at sea and ashore PLEASE SEND ALL PHOTOS / ARTICLES TO : [email protected] If you don't like to receive this bulletin anymore : To unsubscribe click here (English version) or visit the subscription page on our website. http://www.maasmondmaritime.com/uitschrijven.aspx?lan=en-US EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS The SMIT SENTOSA anchored at Singapore west jurong anchorage Photo : Capt. S.Hardy - Master of MV. Salvern © UAE hopes to build capacity for Somalia While the international community and navies have succeeded in bringing down Somali maritime piracy, problems on land remain. Al Shabab militants are striking at will as shown by their attempt on the life of the president of that Distribution : daily to 26650+ active addresses 14-09-2013 Page 2 DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2013 – 257 country last week and the killing of 15 innocents recently. The fledgling government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud requires long-term support to rebuild the nation still struggling to find its feet after decades of civil war. A good start was made at last year’s conference where, led by the efforts of the UAE, the leaders of Somalia and breakaway Somaliland agreed to begin stalled negotiations after 20 years. At the third counter-piracy conference starting in Dubai today, the UAE and other regional countries hope to build capacity and foster long-term development in the Horn of Africa. “Central to the UAE’s counter-piracy strategy is the recognition that the capability and capacity of countries in the region to combat piracy are varied and at different stages of development. Determining specific gaps thus allows the UAE to target assistance where it can have the greatest impact, thereby advancing regional partners’ security and stability,” said Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a statement. The plan is to help countries like Somalia which are affected by civil strife to develop their own counter-piracy capability, strengthen their rule of law, and protect their sovereignty and territory against the scourge of maritime piracy, said the minister. He said the UAE had strengthened its military’s maritime security capability, engaged and trained private industry on best practices in areas such as port security, and used the legal system as a tool for prosecuting and deterring piracy- related offences. “The recent reduction in piracy in the Indian Ocean region is the result of exactly these kind of strategic, focused and multi-disciplinary approaches that include security operations, investments in economic and social development, humanitarian assistance, and capacity building for local security forces and legal systems,” Shaikh Abdullah said. Credit is due to international naval patrols: Eunavfor, Nato Operation Ocean Shield, and CTF-151, as well as efforts by China, India, Japan and South Korea, which curbed the phenomenon, but Oceans Beyond Piracy, a think-thank, said their mandates would expire in 2014 and gains could be reversed if the global community dropped the ball on Somalia. “It is vital that the international community continues to engage with the government in Mogadishu to provide them assistance and support. It is only when the conditions ashore become stable and there is commerce and employment, that piracy will cease to be a threat to ships at sea,’’ Pottengal Mukundan of the International Maritime Bureau said from London. Maritime forces like the Eunavfor continue to engage with the Somalis. Last week, it hosted the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, onboard the Dutch Eunavfor flagship, HNLMS Johan de Witt. The Somali officials met the EU’s Special Envoy to Somalia, Michele Cervone d’Urso; the EU Naval Force Operation Commander, Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant; and the Head of Mission of EU Capacity Building Mission (EUCAP) Nestor, Etienne de Poncins. The Dubai counter-piracy conference will be followed by the ‘New Deal for Somalia’ summit in Brussels on September 16 where countries will endorse a ‘Compact’ between Somalia and the international community that identifies the key political, security and socio-economic priorities. “Somalia welcomes cooperation with the EU to improve maritime security as part of the broader engagement of the EU in Somalia. Maritime cooperation will have important effect on the stabilisation and development of coastal areas in my country,’’ said President Mohamud in a statement. The two-day conference in Dubai is jointly convened by the UAE Ministry Foreign Affairs, global ports operator DP World and Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC). The organisers said 500 participants comprising foreign ministers, senior government officials, military officers, executives of global maritime-sector companies, and leading experts are expected to attend. DP World called on the private sector to identify mechanisms to further create an environment for sustainable development of Somalia’s emerging economy and address the root causes of maritime piracy. Source : Khaleejtimes Pacific Radiance chooses ULSTEIN’s PSV designs Singapore based Pacific Radiance Group orders two platform supply vessels of the ULSTEIN PX121 design for construction at a Chinese yard. The vessels are estimated for deliveries in Q2 and Q3 2015. The contract includes options for two more vessels. The Pacific Radiance Group is currently managing over 120 vessels. “After researching a few designs we found that the PX121 design suits our targeted markets in the best possible way”, says Mr James Pang in Pacific Radiance, continuing: Distribution : daily to 26650+ active addresses 14-09-2013 Page 3 DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2013 – 257 “Our team is striving towards operating cleaner and more fuel efficient vessels that meets and exceeds all the latest regulatory requirements. In addition, the crews’ and special charterer’s personnel comfort and operability of a vessel in rough weather conditions and strong currents are of increasing importance to our clients. This design meets most of our clients’ operational expectations in terms of e.g. deck space, capacities, speed, position holding capabilities and fuel efficiency. We believe this is achieved by the unique hull design and longer lines that allow for better transit speed and efficiency, saving time and cost for both us and our clients.” The contract with ULSTEIN comprises basic design, engineering, and an extensive package of equipment. The first vessel of the PX121 design started operations in 2012. The design has quickly gained popularity around the world as charterers and shipowners have discovered that the vessel meets the typical PSV requirements with a fuel efficient and competitive combination of loading capacity, speed and discharge capability. The first vessels are operating in the harsh waters of the North Sea, and feedback states that the vessels are working brilliantly. Operators are reporting that the vessels have higher regularity than comparable vessels due to their capabilities both in terms of station keeping and transit speed in foul weather. The crews are very impressed with the X-BOW® performance, saying they wouldn’t have believed it if they hadn’t experienced it. A quote from one of the crews: "No rolling, no spray, just pure fun". ULSTEIN PX121 for Pacific Radiance: Length: 83.4 m Breadth: 18 m Load capacity: 4,000 t Cargo deck: 840 sqm Speed: 14.5 kn Accommodation: 30 persons Clean Design (DNV) Satisfying IMO’s SPS Code (Special Purpose Ships) for carrying up to 60 specialised personnel OILREC class notation for oil recovery in emergency situations Comfort class Newbuilding ordering activity surges again as summer lull has officially ended It might have been a quieter summer in terms of newbuilding orders, but with the first days of September now behind us, activity has rebounded. As the weeks go by though and especially given the latest surge of the dry bulk market, more orders are expected to pour in. For the time being though, as Clarkson Hellas notes in its latest weekly report, "with the dry bulk newbuilding market remaining quiet towards the end of August, this week we have seen a limited number of orders to report although from a single owner and exclusively concentrated on the Capesize market. Rizhao Steel (Cara Shipping) are understood to have contracted two firm 180,000 DWT Capesize at both Dalian and Qingdao Beihai, with an additional two options at the latter.These orders are understood to have been concluded in the middle of this year, with delivery of the first vessel from Beihai lined up for 2015 and the remainder all due in 2016", the shipbroker said. It added that "following a limited number of new orders so far this year, the VLCC orderbook, which currently stands at around 50 vessels, has seen the addition of two firm plus two option 300,000 DWT crude tankers from Metrostar at HHI. Although pricing remains undisclosed delivery of both firm vessels is planned for the first half of 2016. In the product tanker market we understand Clients of Capital Ship Management have declared two options in a series of 52,000 DWT MRs at Samsung Ningbo. These most recent contracts are both for delivery in 2016 and take the total series to six vessels. A polar opposite week of ordering in the container market with a small number of orders in the feeder sizes compared to the numerous orders for 14-18,000 TEU behemoths seen last week.