Maritime News

Nippon Steel More coking coal source, Ore. Itself

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:38 +0000

Nippon Steel Corp., Japan’s largest steelmaker, will pursue investments in iron ore and coal mines, joining rivals in a bid to curb costs and secure supplies of the steelmaking ingredients.

The company wants to supply 50 percent of its raw material needs by
buying stakes in mines or developing new ones “as early as we can,”
Executive Vice President Shinichi Taniguchi said March 4 in an interview
in Tokyo. Mines partly owned by the mill supply 35 percent of its iron
ore and 25 percent of its coking coal needs.

Nippon Steel, ArcelorMittal and Posco are scouring the world for
resources as prices rise. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest
coking-coal exporter, last week won a 55 percent price increase from
Tokyo-based JFE Holdings Inc., Japan’s second-biggest steelmaker, for a
three-month contract from April 1.

“We have to defend ourselves by increasing the proportion of the
materials we secure from our own sources,” Taniguchi said. “If we see a
good offer, we’ll go for it.”

Nippon Steel shares rose 2 percent to 350 yen at 12:37 p.m. on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange.

Essar Group said at a weekend news conference its purchase of Trinity
Coal Corp., the Indian company’s first overseas coal mine acquisition,
will help lock in raw materials.

Aggressive Pursuit

Posco, Asia’s most profitable mill, will “aggressively” pursue
investments in mines, Chief Executive Officer Chung Joon Yang said last
month in Seoul. ArcelorMittal, the biggest steelmaker, supplies about
half of its iron ore needs and plans to raise the share to between 75
percent and 85 percent by 2014, Bill Scotting, head of strategy, said
last December.

“Global demand for steel products will expand in longer term as the
population and personal incomes grow,” Taniguchi said. “The significance
of having our own sources will increase.”

Nippon Steel, Japan’s four other biggest blast furnace mills and Itochu
Corp. in 2008 agreed with South Korea’s Posco to buy 40 percent of
Brazilian iron ore producer Nacional Minerios SA, known as Namisa, for
about $3.12 billion.

Nippon Steel’s investment in Namisa will boost the ratio of its ore
procurement to more than 40 percent when the Brazilian company’s
expansion is completed in 2013, Taniguchi said.

Raising Output

The Brazilian miner is slated to raise annual iron ore output to 38
million tons from the 18 million tons forecast for 2009, according to an
October 2008 statement by the Japanese steelmakers.

Nippon Steel’s other investment in mines include the Rio Tinto-led Robe
River iron ore venture and the Warkworth coal mine in Australia, as well
as Vale’s Nibrasco iron-ore project in Brazil.

JFE Holdings is spending 50 billion yen ($553 million) to buy a 20
percent stake in a mine in Queensland Australia, its biggest investment
in coal, the company said on Dec. 17.

The cost of 62 percent iron-content ore delivered to the port near
Tianjin in northeastern China, was $133.10 a ton on March 5, according
to the Steel Index, up from $66.30 a year ago.

BHP agreed to sell coking coal on shorter term contracts to customers in
Europe, China, India and Japan, breaking away from annual pricing. JFE
said on March 5 it agreed to pay $200 a metric ton between April and
June.

Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan’s largest shipping line, forecast in October
global sea trade of iron ore will probably reach 1.33 billion tons by
2019. The compares with an estimated 908 million tons for 2009,
according to data compiled by Clarkson Research Services Ltd.

Iron ore contract prices may rise 70 percent this year as producers seek
rates closer to cash levels, Nomura Holdings Inc. said on March 1.

Source: Bloomberg

Four new buildings is delayed at Cosco Zhoushan

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:38 +0000

has agreed to delay the delivery of four supramax bulkers. The four 57,000 dwt bulkers due to be delivered this year to an undisclosed European owner will be delayed by 18 to 19 months.

The final delivery will now take place in March 2012 instead of
September this year. Meanwhile the 57,000 dwt newbuilding Xin Shun was
delivered by the yard to China Cosco last week.

Source: SeaTradeAsia-Online

Newcastle Coal Infrastructure to Export First Cargo

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:37 +0000

Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group, partly owned by BHP Billiton Ltd., said it will ship its first cargo from a terminal at the Australian port this month after spending more than A$1 billion ($909 million) on the facility.

The terminal’s annual export capacity will rise to 30 million metric
tons in 2011, Chris Ford, spokesman for Newcastle Coal Infrastructure
Group, or NCIG as it’s known, said in an e- mailed response to questions
today. The facility has planning approval for 66 million tons a year.

NCIG, co-owned by Whitehaven Coal Ltd. and Centennial Coal Co., won in
2005 the tender to build a third terminal at the world’s biggest export
harbor for power-station coal, beating a bid by Port Waratah Coal
Services Ltd., owner of the existing two terminals. NCIG has conducted
feasibility studies and investigated funding for future expansion, Ford
said.

The outlook for coal demand is positive in the short to long term, he
said.

Rio Tinto Group, Xstrata Plc and BHP Billiton are among mining companies
that export the fuel from Newcastle. About 82 percent of the coal
exported through the port in 2009 was used for power stations, according
to Port Waratah.

Source: Bloomberg

Indian coal imports in fiscal year 2010 seen by 21pct YoY to top

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:36 +0000

Reuters reported that India’s coal imports are expected to rise by 21% YoY in the 2010-11 financial year, which begins in April 2010, as local output lags booming demand in the energy hungry country.

Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal coal minister told Reuters that the government may
also allow JVs with foreign partners to bid for coal blocks to help
boost output of the fuel that meets over half of the energy demand in
the expanding economy.

He added that “This year, we have increased our production by about 8%.
But energy requirement has increased by 15%.”

Source: Reuters

RP to export more sugar to the United States, despite the weakness of the local supply

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:35 +0000

THE PHILIPPINES, which has become a net sugar importer this year, is willing ship an additional 75,000 metric tons (MT) of the commodity to the United States by the third quarter on top of its annual sugar quota allocation.

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), in its Feb. 23 letter to the
US Department of Agriculture (USDA), said the Philippines was prepared
for the possible additional raw sugar allocation for the United States.

“Our stocks will allow us to ship an additional maximum volume of 75,000
MT by fiscal year ending Sept. 30,” Rafael L. Coscolluela, who was
SRA Administrator at the time the letter was sent, said.

This was in response to a query from USDA on whether the Philippines can
supply additional raw cane sugar, confirming talk that the US might
import more sugar amid tight global supply.

The 75,000-MT volume will be on top of the 136,201 MT that the
Philippines has shipped to the US this year under the latter’s
tariff-rate quota scheme. The last time the US asked for additional
sugar was in 2005 as a result of damage to sugarcane crops caused by
Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Coscolluela, who has resigned to run for a congressional seat, said
in a phone interview on Friday the country can meet the additional US
requirement without sacrificing domestic supply if the private sector
will be able to bring in 150,000 MT of the commodity under a scheme
approved by the government last month.

“That is why we need the 150,000 MT but while we have to serve the US
quota, what is important is to beef up domestic supply,” he said.

Archie B. Amarra, executive director of the Philippine Sugar Millers
Association, said there should be no problem with the additional sugar
export since the country still has enough inventory.

“The Philippines is fortunate that the US gets its sugar from us. The US
is generally a preferred market because of the premium it puts on sugar
prices,” Mr. Amarra said.

Mr. Amarra said if the Philippines fails to deliver the additional sugar
requirement, it might lose the opportunity to get a better market since
the US traditionally offers a higher price.

“The premium varies. In the first week of February for instance, the
world sugar price was at $30 cents per pound, while the US price is at
$40 cents per pound which is why it is a favored market,” Mr. Amarra
said.

The Philippines currently gets 13% of the total volume allocated by the
US for sugar imports. The USDA is expected to release the allocation for
additional sugar imports by April.

But while the Philippines is ready to export an additional 75,000 MT to
the US, the country is also planning its own importation by bringing in
150,000 MT to beef up domestic supply — the first time since 2006 when
the country bought 50,000 MT of sugar under a counter-trade program.

Based on the SRA data, the initial production estimate for crop year
ending August is 2.147 million MT. Including 421,000 MT from last year’s
inventory, total sugar supply is expected to reach 2.57 million MT.

Demand meanwhile is expected to be 2.1 million MT for crop year ending
August. With the 136,000 MT to be exported to US this year and the
21,000 MT for export to other countries, the ending sugar supply
inventory should be 313,000 MT by August.

“The problem is the 313,000 MT is less than the ideal two-month buffer
stock of 360,000 MT, that is why we need the 60,000 MT to cover for the
buffer stock,” Jose Rojo G. Alisla, acting SRA chief regulation officer,
said in a phone interview.

The 60,000 MT represents the first tranche of the 150,000 MT that the
government approved last month for private importation. Mr. Alisla said
the remaining 90,000 MT was meant to cover domestic demand.

Rights to import 60,000 MT of sugar auctioned last Feb. 23 drew only
seven qualified bidders who were willing to bring in only 16,000 MT,
indicating a lack of interest because of the stabilizing sugar prices.

Data gathered by BusinessWorld showed that three of the seven qualified
bidders paid for volumes lower than what they originally sought last
month.

Rosemarie S. Gumera, SRA department manager for planning and policy
department, confirmed in a text message that 3,000 MT of sugar had been
pulled out by the bidders. This means that they will likely bring in
only 13,000 MT.

“I still have to confirm today if all of them have paid since the
allocation is considered forfeited if they have not paid until Friday
last week,” Ms. Gumera said.

A sugar trader, who requested anonymity, attributed the lack of interest
to the high P2,300 per 50-kilogram bag landed price set by the
government, which is higher than current domestic prices averaging
P2,100 per bag for refined sugar.

“Sugar prices have already started to stabilize and the government
should change the lan-ded price otherwise we will just buy from the
domestic market and keep the stock. The government should also extend
the delivery date of the first tranche from May because it puts too
much pressure on us,” the trader said.

Sugar prices in the New York Intercontinental Exchange closed last week
at $0.2167 per pound (lb.) from $0.30/lb last Feb. 1. Local sugar prices
have remained stable at P54 per kilo after touching a high of P60 a
kilo at the end of January, data from the Bureau of Agriculture
Statistics showed.

The government had said it would push through with the importation of
the remaining 90,000 MT under an export replacement scheme. Plans for a
re-bidding of the 44,000-MT have yet to be finalized.

Mr. Alisla said the government remains committed to fulfilling the
additional US quota requirement and should the private sector fail to
bring in the 150,000 MT, the country’s buffer stock will be affected.

Source: BusinessWorld

Vietnamese Bergmann 400,000 tonnes for export of iron ore to China

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:34 +0000

Hoang Anh Gia Lai JSC, a Vietnam-based miner, on Friday said that it signed a contract to export 400,000 tons of iron ore to China this year, sources reported.

The company said in a statement filed with the Ho Chi Minh Stock
Exchange that the iron ore will be produced at the company’s mine in
Laos. The mine has a proven iron ore reserve of over 20 million tons.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai JSC said that it plans to export 1 million tons of
iron ore in 2011 and 1.5 million tons in 2012. Most will be sold to
China.

The company also owns an iron ore mine in Cambodia with an estimated
reserve of over 30 million tons, according to the statement.

Source: China Knowledge

Zambia with Glencore in talks on oil supply tenders

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:34 +0000

Zambia has chosen Glencore Energy as the preferred bidder to supply 1,4-million tons of petroleum feedstock to the southern African country over two years, the procurement authority said on Saturday.

Zambia is the continent’s top producer of copper and uses a lot of
diesel in the mining operations that are the backbone of its economy.

“The central tender committee granted authority to the Ministry of
Energy and Water Development to enter into negotiations with Glencore
Energy UK Limited,” Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA)
spokeswoman Hazel Zulu said in a statement.

“The Ministry of Energy and Water Development is expected to report back
to the central tender committee within 21 days after which a decision
will be made whether to award the contract to Glencore or not,” she
said.

Zulu said the issues to be agreed with the winner would include the
timeframe for the supply of the first cargo through the port of Dar es
Salaam in Tanzania.

Other companies that tendered for the contract are Kuwait’s Independent
Petroleum Group (IPG), Lukoil International Trading and Supply Company
(LITASCO) of Russia, Vitol SA, Trafigura SA, Addax Energy SA and Kenya’s
Gulf Energy.

IPG’s deal for the supply of oil to Zambia expired in December.

Source: Reuters

Crude Oil Rises Up to eight weeks at increasing investment

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:33 +0000

Crude oil rose to an eight-week high as investors purchased oil and fuel futures amid returns that have outpaced other securities.

“The financial flow may soon send prices to $85, even if that’s not
justified by physical demand,” said Kyle Cooper, a managing director at
energy consultant IAF Advisors in Houston. “You’re seeing a lot of money
move into the market.”

Oil has advanced 80 percent over the past year, greater than the Dow
Jones Industrial Average’s 59 percent increase. Futures traded in a
$1.66 range today, drifting between gains and losses, as equities and
the dollar fluctuated.

Crude oil for April delivery increased 37 cents, or 0.5 percent, to
$81.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest
settlement price since Jan. 11.

Brent crude for April delivery rose 58 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $80.47 a
barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest
settlement since Jan. 11. Brent is trading at a $1.40-a-barrel discount
to the New York contract, the narrowest level since Feb. 18. A shrinking
differential may discourage shipments to the U.S. from the North Sea.

“There’s well-entrenched bullish sentiment here,” said Tim Evans, an
energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. “We will
tend to see prices increase if we don’t have a decisively bearish
story.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.20 point to 1,138.50. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average declined 13.68 points to 10,552.52.

The dollar traded at $1.3637 per euro, down 0.1 percent from $1.3637 on
March 5. The greenback increased as much as 0.2 percent and dropped 0.6
percent today.

$100 Oil

Iran’s OPEC governor, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, said $100 a barrel is a
“good” price for oil, the state-run Mehr news agency reported. “In
determining the crude oil price, global inflation and the swings in
dollar value should be considered,” Mehr cited Khatibi as saying.

Ministers from the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries will meet on March 17 in Vienna to decide whether to adjust
production quotas. OPEC agreed at three meetings in 2008 that the 11
members with quotas would cut daily output by 4.2 million barrels, a
record reduction, as demand tumbled during the worst global recession
since World War II.

Prices will probably fall to $60 a barrel during the fourth quarter of
the year, Adam Sieminski, the chief energy economist at Deutsche Bank AG
in Washington, said on Bloomberg Television. “The second half of the
year could be weak because inventories are high, demand is still
relatively weak, there’s plenty of supply and lots of OPEC spare
capacity.”

U.S. Inventories

An Energy Department report on March 10 will probably show that U.S.
stockpiles of crude oil rose 2 million barrels last week, according to
the median of 12 estimates from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Supplies climbed 4.03 million barrels to 341.6 million in the week ended
Feb. 26, the highest level since August and 5.7 percent above the
five-year average.

Analysts were split over whether gasoline inventories declined or
increased last week. Stockpiles of distillate fuel, a category that
includes heating oil and diesel, fell 1 million barrels in the week
ended March 5, according to the median of responses in the survey.

Gasoline for April delivery climbed 1.82 cents, or 0.8 percent, to end
the session at $2.2892 a gallon in New York. It was the highest
settlement since Oct. 1, 2008. Heating oil for April delivery increased
0.81 cent, or 0.4 percent, to $2.1055 a gallon, the highest settlement
since Jan. 12.

Speculator Bets

Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their bets on
oil prices rising in New York for a third week, according to the U.S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Speculative net-long positions in oil, the difference between orders to
buy and sell the commodity, gained 7.1 percent to 91,417 contracts in
the week ended March 2, the commission said on March 5.

Oil volume on the Nymex was 494,666 contracts as of 3:09 p.m. in
electronic trading in New York. Volume totaled 549,484 contracts on
March 5, 6.7 percent less than the average of the past three months.
Open interest was 1.33 million contracts, the most since Feb. 12.

The exchange has a one-business-day delay in reporting open interest and
full volume data.

Source: Bloomberg

Arrow Energy will receive $ 3 billion takeover bid

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:31 +0000

Arrow Energy Ltd., a major owner of natural gas assets in northern Australia, said Monday that a company jointly owned by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina has sent it a takeover bid worth $3.3 billion Australian dollars ($3 billion).

Nearly half of Shell’s production of oil and equivalents comes from gas,
so Arrow is a natural target for Europe’s largest oil company — and
Shell already owns a 10 percent stake of Arrow’s operations outside
Australia.

Shell confirmed it was considering acquiring the Australian company, and
said talks were in an early stage.

Brisbane-based Arrow said in a statement to the stock exchange it had
received a nonbinding indicative proposal of AU$4.45 ($4.06) per share
plus a share in a new entity comprised of Arrow’s international
business.

Arrow advised shareholders to take no action at the moment, and said the
company had appointed financial and legal advisers to look at the
proposal.

Shares in Arrow Energy surged more than 40 percent to AU$4.98 ($4.54).

Arrow Energy is an integrated energy company focused supplying coal seam
gas to eastern Australia and Asia. It claims to have the largest coal
seam gas reserves in Queensland state.

The company had been planning to list 20 percent of its Arrow
International arm, retaining 70 percent, with the remainder already held
by Royal Dutch Shell.

Among major integrated oil companies, Shell considers itself expert in
converting methane to liquified natural gas, or LNG, so it can be
shipped rather than piped away from its source.

It has a separate LNG project in the works in Queensland which would
benefit from the extra supply from Arrow.

Source: Associated Press

Libya vows equal treatment for foreign oil companies

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:29 +0000

All international energy firms will be given equal opportunities to work in Libya, the country’s top oil official said on Monday after U.S. firms were caught up in a row between Washington and Tripoli.

“We are going to give a chance to every international oil company,
whether they are from East or West,” Shokri Ghanem, head of the
state-run National Oil Corporation, said at an energy conference. “There
is no difference between companies.”

Libya is demanding that Washington apologise after a U.S. official made
caustic comments about Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Last week Ghanem
summoned the local heads of U.S. energy firms to convey Tripoli’s anger.

U.S. energy companies including Exxon Mobil, Occidental and Hess have
invested heavily in Libya, home to Africa’s largest proven oil reserves,
since the country emerged from decades of international isolation.

Ghanem, who was speaking on Monday at the Oil and Gas Libya conference
in Tripoli, made no specific mention of the dispute with Washington.

OPEC ‘TO HOLD OUTPUT STEADY’

The Libyan energy chief, underlining comments he made a week ago, said
he expected the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to
leave its oil output targets unchanged when it meets in Vienna on March
17.

He said OPEC still did not have a clear enough picture of the world
economic outlook to be able to change its targets. “Do not expect any
decision on decreasing or increasing (production) at the OPEC meeting
next week,” Ghanem told the conference.

Libya’s spat with Washington centres on a speech Gaddafi made last month
calling for a “jihad” against Switzerland. The term is often translated
as “armed struggle”, but a Libyan official has since said Gaddafi meant
only an economic boycott.

Asked about the speech, a U.S. State Department spokesman said it
reminded him of a previous Gaddafi address which, he said, involved
“lots of words and lots of papers flying all over the place, not
necessarily a lot of sense.”

Libya’s ambassador to the United States said last week his country
wanted good relations with Washington but would not allow its leader to
be insulted.

The dispute showed the sensitivity of Tripoli’s ties with the West more
than six years after its decision to abandon weapons of mass destruction
led to a rapprochement with Washington.

Libya had already been locked in a dispute with Switzerland since July
2008 when Gaddafi’s son Hannibal was briefly arrested by police in
Geneva on charges — which were later dropped — of mistreating two
domestic employees.

Source: Reuters

DNV: Second Polarcus delivered Ship

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:19 +0000

Dubai-based owner Polarcus has taken delivery of Polarcus Naila, a modern 12 streamer 3D seismic vessel built to the ULSTEIN SX124 design and classed by DNV.

Polarcus Naila is the sister ship to Polarcus Nadia, delivered to the
Polarcus Group in December 2009. The vessel was built at Drydocks World -
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and will transit to West Africa to
commence a charter for Noble Energy Cameroon Limited.

Scott Jervis, DNV’s newbuilding manager in Dubai, confirmed that this is
the second vessel in a series of 6 vessels and all will be classed by
DNV.

“The schedule is for all 6 vessels to be delivered from Drydocks World
Dubai by summer 2010. It is an aggressive schedule by the yard to
deliver sophisticated vessels continuously over a sustained period.
Especially as the series of vessels are of different designs and all
bring new challenges. The focus is fully maintained by DNV Dubai to meet
the demanding schedule of dynamic positioning sea trials and vessel
deliveries.”

Polarcus Naila is a purpose-built seismic vessel incorporating the
innovative ULSTEIN X-BOW? and designed to meet the exacting
specifications for offshore seismic operations worldwide. The 88.8m
double-hulled vessel incorporates some of the most recent developments
in maritime systems and is fitted out with the most advanced seismic
technology commercially available, including the latest generation
Sentinel? solid streamers.

“Polarcus Naila is one of the safest and most environmentally sound
seismic vessels in the market with diesel- electric propulsion, high
specification catalytic convertors, DP2 dynamic positioning, and
advanced bilge water cleaning, enabling the vessel to conform to
existing and envisaged IMO and Class rules and to comply with DNV’s
stringent CLEAN-DESIGN and COMF-V(3) class notations,” said Scott
Jervis.

Source: DNV

Liberian Registry Historic Breaks 100m Mark

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:17 +0000

The Liberian Registry passed the historic figure of 100m gt with the christening and delivery of the 50,792 dwt bulk carrier Sanko Mercury in Japan on March 4.

Speaking at the delivery ceremony at the Oshima Shipbuilding Company in
Nagasaki, Scott Bergeron, Chief Operating Officer of the Liberian
International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), the US-based
managers of the Liberian Registry, said, “This is a genuine milestone in
ship registry history, and testament to the way in which Liberia has
truly become part of the fabric of high-quality modern shipping. Be it
classification society, underwriter or flag, very few organisations join
the top table of 100,000,000 gross tons, but that is exactly what
Liberia has done over a period of years.

“In the past five years alone, the Liberian Registry has grown by 40m
gt. That is twice the growth rate claimed by its nearest competitor in
terms of total tonnage rankings over the same period, and establishes
beyond dispute that Liberia is far and away the fastest growing quality
shipping flag in the world.

“Of course size is not everything. But it speaks volumes when a ship
register achieves the phenomenal growth which Liberia has posted in
recent years and which can still point to an established reputation for
maintaining the highest standards for vessels and crews, confirmed by
Port State Control and other regulatory authorities.

“Liberia has exceeded its all-time tonnage records by signing up
top-quality owners and operators who are attracted by our excellent
safety record, our high standards of responsive and cost-effective
service, and our proactive approach to problem-solving across all areas
of the business. When you are attracting quality owners, especially in a
tough market, it makes it easier to attract even more quality owners.”

Bergeron adds, “It is particularly pleasing and appropriate that it
should be a Japanese vessel which has taken us over the historic 100m gt
mark. Japanese vessels have been registering with Liberia for over
forty years. Three years ago, LISCR Japan KK was established as a
full-service office in Tokyo. This has been an important factor in the
registry’s particularly strong growth in Japan.

During that time, Liberia’s president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has
visited Japan and met with executives from leading Japanese shipping
companies, a number of whom have publicly confirmed that, as a result of
what they deem to be a good business environment, with clear economic
advantages, they expect to see a further increase in Japanese ship
registrations with the Liberian Registry.”

Source: Sanko Mercury

MISC launches new Singapore-Bangkok Weekly Shipping Service

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:16 +0000

MISC Bhd has introduced a direct weekly liner shipping service, Siam Singapore Shuttle Service, between the port of Bangkok and Singapore.

The direct container service made its maiden voyage on Tuesday from
Singapore, a statement from MISC said here Tuesday.

It is expected to provide a significant boost for importers and
exporters with faster transit, better connectivity, space availability
and service commitment to meet the growing demand for carriage of
cargoes within the Asian region, expecially cargo from and to Thailand.

Source: Bernama

France seizes Somali u0026quot 35

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:15 +0000

The French navy has captured 35 piracy suspects off Somalia’s coast – hailing it as the most successful mission since EU operations began in 2008. French officials said four mother ships and six smaller boats had been seized in four operations since last Friday.

EU forces used helicopters and fired warning shots to capture the
pirates, France’s defence ministry said.

The EU launched its anti-piracy mission in December 2008, but the
pirates have since attacked ships in a wider area.

The EU’s mission has focused on the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s
busiest shipping lanes which was being ravaged by pirates.

But recently, the attackers have struck hundreds of miles further south -
near the Seychelles and even as far afield as Madagascar.

Legal problems

The defence ministry said the frigate Nivose was backed by an Italian
vessel and Spanish aircraft during its three-day mission.

The ministry did not specify where the action took place, but said 22
suspected pirates were held on Friday, two on Saturday and 11 more on
Sunday.

It is not yet clear what France intends to do with the suspects.

More than 100 Somalis accused of piracy have been sent to Kenya, but
very few have been convicted and most are languishing in jail awaiting
trial in the country’s overburdened legal system.

A handful have been sent for trial in France, the Netherlands and the
US.

But jurisdiction over suspected pirates seized on the high seas remains
unclear and calls for an international tribunal to be set up have so far
come to nothing.

Lawlessness in Somalia allows the pirates to function with relative
impunity in their own country – and many pirate leaders have reportedly
amassed fortunes through ransoms paid by shipping firms.

War-ravaged Somalia has had no functioning central government since
1991.

Source: BBC News

Sloman Neptun launches Italy-Algeria link

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:14 +0000

A new shipping link between Italy and Algeria is set to launch later this month, operated by Sloman Neptun Shipping and Transport, writes Kirsten Shepherd.

Using multipurpose tweendecker vessels, the new service will connect the
Italian ports of Livorno and Genoa with ports in Algeria on a monthly
basis.

Owned by Sloman Neptun, the four vessels have ro-ro ramps that can be
used for rolling stock weighing up to 195 tonnes and are suitable for
mobile cranes, mobile construction equipment or mobile oil drilling
equipment.

The first departure of the new service will be from Livorno on March
19th with the main focus being the Algerian ports of Skikda, Bejaia,
Mostaganem and Oran.

Sloman Neptun managing director, Ralf Kaptein says that the line decided
to launch the new link in response to improving cargo development from
Italy. Furthermore, Italian west coast ports are very well placed as
hubs for transshipment traffic from India/Pakistan and the Far East.

Source: Heavyliftpfi

Hanjin Shipping Terminal Chemoil can build bunkers in Korea

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:11 +0000

Global bunker supplier Chemoil and South Korea’s largest shipping firm Hanjin Shipping may jointly build a bunkering terminal in Korea’s Busan New Port, a Busan port official has revealed.

“We are planning to have a new bunkering terminal in Busan port,” Roh
Ki-Tae, president of Busan Port Authority (BPA) told Bunkerworld
Tuesday.

BPA has since 2007 announced plans to build a 60,000-cubic
metre (m?) oil terminal in Busan New Port.

A feasibility study for
the terminal has been completed, with Chemoil and Hanjin Shipping
expected to propose a plan to BPA by the end of March, according to Park
Ho-Chul, director of marketing team for BPA.

“Many shipping firms
have asked the government to provide oil stations at Busan port. The
prospective candidates – Chemoil and Hanjin Shipping – will invest in
building the terminal,” Park said.

“There may be more candidates
interested in the project as it is still in a very early stage,” he
said.

The port authority hopes to start construction of the terminal
in late 2010, Kang Sun-Min, assistant manager for BPA, told Bunkerworld
earlier.

Singapore-listed Chemoil, majority owned by fuel oil trading
house Glencore, declined to comment to Bunkerworld queries on Tuesday.

BPA
has planned for the new terminal to be operated by an international
fuel oil trader and/or tank operator in order to secure supply of marine
fuel into the Korean bunker market.

By securing imports of fuel oil
from a commercial player, the facility would help offset the threat of
declining bunker fuel supply from local oil refineries, according to
BPA.

South Korean refiners have been supplying less bunker fuel into
the country’s marine fuel market as they upgrade their plants to produce
larger volumes of distillates, which reap higher export margins.

Traditionally,
marine fuel sold to foreign vessels in South Korea are sourced
exclusively from local refiners.

Busan, Korea’s biggest bunkering
port, accounts for about 50% of the country’s total bunker sales.

The
port is estimated to have sold between 5.0-5.5 million metric tonnes
(mt) of bunkers in 2009. The authorities do not record official
statistics on bunker sales volumes.

Source: Portworld

Cape Town container terminal plan on track

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:10 +0000

A three-year programme of development at Cape Town’s container terminal is expected to be completed at the end of this year. The project will see about R6 billion spent on civil engineering work and new equipment, including eight new super post-Panamax cranes,

which have the ability to pick up two containers at a time.

Moshe
Motlohi, the terminal executive for Cape Town port, said that
efficiencies had been built in that would reduce the cost of doing
business.

An additional 16 rubber tyred gantry (RTG) operations – in
layman’s terms also a form of hoist – had been phased into the terminal
and a further 16 RTGs “are earmarked to arrive in the second half of
this year”.

Sylvester Augustine, the senior operations manager at the
Port of Ngqura, said the post-Panamax cranes were developed to be
bigger and better than those originally used in the Panama canal.
However, they were not quite as big as the cranes at Ngqura in the Coega
industrial development zone near Port Elizabeth, which could load and
unload ships of the size of the Emma Maersk, the largest container
vessel ever built. It has a length of 397m, a beam of 56m and a draft of
30m.

Cape Town container terminal will be able to service ships of
305m long and excavations of the harbour floor have taken the depth of
the Ben Schoeman basin at the container terminal to 15.5m. The work,
including extending the Ben Schoeman quay by 10m and excavating the
seabed, began in October 2007.

The quay refurbishment and the
replacement of six of the eight old cranes, which can handle one
container at a time, by the post-Panamax cranes has been completed. A
further two are to be installed in the next year.

Motlohi said the
RTG blocks boasted stocking capacity of 6 900 twenty-foot equivalent
unit (TEU) slots “presenting an increase in stacking capacity of up to
40 percent”. This would assist in nearly doubling the overall container
capacity of the terminal from 740 000 TEUs to 1.4 million by the end of
2012.

At the end of last year the terminal received 25 haulers,
bringing the total number to 47, valued at R87 million.

Augustine
said the civil engineering work cost about R4.3bn and the equipment cost
R2.6bn. The post-Panamax cranes cost about R65m each.

Motlohi said
that highly efficient cranes were being put in at the terminal. This
would save “the time in South African waters” for visiting ships, while
placing local business in a good position as the expansions allowed for
“more trips per truck per day”.

While the number of jobs had not
expanded during the recent recession, worker numbers had remained
constant at 600 jobs, with about 400 operational jobs on site.

The
container terminal expansion is part of Transnet’s contribution to the
more than R800bn infrastructure spending drive by government entities in
the medium term.

Source: Business Report & Independent Online

Maanshan Steel Says Chinese prices are at breakeven levels

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:12:56 +0000

Maanshan Iron & Steel Co., the second-biggest Hong Kong listed Chinese steelmaker, said prices in China are trading around breakeven levels.

“At present, the steel prices are around the breakeven levels,” Chairman
Gu Jian Guo said today in an interview in Beijing. “We’re having a
small profit margin. It’s unlike what others have imagined that steel is
very profitable.”

Chinese steel prices have gained 1.7 percent this year, while Nomura
Holdings Inc. forecast that iron ore costs may surge 70 percent.
Steelmakers in China, the world’s largest maker of the metal, are also
struggling as the government fails to curb overcapacity.

“The economy is surely turning better, but there’s still a lot of new
capacity coming on,” Gu said. “It’s hard to predict steel prices.” The
company’s profit in the first two months is better than a year ago, Gu
said, declining to give details.

Maanshan Steel dropped 0.4 percent to HK$4.94 at 12:29 p.m. in Hong Kong
trading.

There may be 50 million metric tons of new steel capacity this year in
China, rival Angang Steel Co. said March 5.

China’s steel production rose 14 percent to a record 568 million tons in
2009. Steel capacity in China may have reached 700 million tons or
more, Xiong Bilin, deputy director at the National Development and
Reform Commission’s industry department, said in December.

Source: Bloomberg

OPEC weekly oil prices keep rising

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:12:55 +0000

The weekly average price of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kept its upward trend last week, increasing to 76.29 U.S. dollars per barrel, the Vienna-based cartel said Monday.

It was also the second time of the OPEC weekly average oil price to
reach above 76 U.S. dollars since the second week of January this year.

According
to OPEC figures, in the five trading days last week, the OPEC oil
prices had shown an upward trend with an obvious volatility, rising from
75.75 dollars per barrel to 77.27 dollars.

Last week, the debt
crisis continued to spread in Europe. The dollar index also appeared its
weak trend after a three-month rising.

In addition, most of the U.S.
economic figures released last week were better than expected: the
non-manufacturing index in February was 53.0, the highest level since
December 2007; the unemployment rate of February was 9.7 percent, lower
than the previous estimate of 9.8 percent.

These were important
factors in driving both international oil prices and the OPEC oil price
to the highest level over seven weeks on Friday.

In the past four
weeks, the OPEC weekly average oil price kept rising, increasing from
70.55 dollars per barrel to 76.29 dollars.

Analysts predict a
sustained increase in international crude oil prices given the
improvement in oil consumption in the United States due to a continuous
economic pickup, as well as the possible effect of speculative funds.

Source:
Xinhua

Steel rim seen higher on demand, input costs

maritime news — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:12:54 +0000

India steel futures may edge higher this week on the back of reviving demand and rising raw material costs, analysts said. “There are plenty of factors acting in favour… recovering demand and rising cost of inputs,” said an analyst with a local commodity brokerage.

The most-active steel contract on the National Commodity Derivatives
Exchange was trading 0.12% lower at Rs24,920 per tonne at 4:33 pm.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the federal Budget 2010 raised plan
expenditure by 15% in 2010-11 and proposed to invest Rs1.73 trillion on
infrastructure in 2010-11.

The steel sector is expected to grow 6-9% in 2010 on higher demand from
the real estate, construction and automobile sectors, the finance
ministry said in a report on Thursday. Coking coal and iron ore prices,
key inputs in the alloy, have been on a rise, which could support the
prices of the end-product.

JFE Holdings Inc, the world’s sixth-biggest steelmaker, said on Friday
it has agreed with BHP Billiton to pay $200 per tonne for coking coal
for April-June.

“There is a technical breakout in steel above Rs25,200, for a target of
26,200 and maintaining a stop loss of Rs24,800,” said Amrut Deshmukh,
senior analyst with Way 2 Wealth Securities.

Source: Reuters

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