TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
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- First View : BOURBON TRIESTE
- Durban handles 191,412 cruise passengers in 2016/17 season
- Uganda’s Gulu logistics hub to target South Sudan & DRC
- China’s much talked about Silk Road, what is it about?
- Maersk expects 27 newbuilds to join fleet this year and next
- Approval for Maersk and Hamburg Süd sale and purchase agreement
- CTF 150 Change of Command
- PRESS RELEASES: Ardent Celebrates Second Year, Looks Ahead
- Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
- Cruise News and Naval Activities
- Pics of the Day : QUEEN ELIZABETH
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The offshore multi-purpose subsea support vessel BOURBON TRIESTE heads into port at Durban during April, to take bunkers and supplies. The vessel is 79 metres in length and 18m wide and has a gross tonnage of 4,290t. Bourbon Trieste is equipped with accommodation for 70 persons and operates at a service speed of 10 knots, with a maximum speed of 13 knots. She was built in 207 at the De Hoop shipyard in The Netherlands and is flagged in Luxembourg. This Picture is by Keith Betts
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DURBAN HANDLES 191,412 CRUISE PASSENGERS IN 2016/17 SEASON
Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) says that the Port of Durban has handled “another successful cruise season” for the 2016/17 period.
This follows the recent departure of the MSC Cruises ship MSC SINFONIA which departed for a number of cruises out of Cape Town before returning to the Mediterranean for the South African winter.
MSC Sinfonia will return to South Africa and Durban in particular in November this year.
The recent cruise season which started in November 2016 and ended about a week ago, saw a total of 191,412 passengers taking part.
This however was a slight decline from the 2015/16 season which saw the participation of 204,158 passengers.
TNPA’s port manager for the Port of Durban, Moshe Motlohi, said that despite the decline in number of passengers, the cruise season remained one of the most popular and growing tourist attractions.
“We believe that our cruise strategy to offer a new and modern cruise terminal will not only make the City of eThekwini (Durban) a popular holiday destination, but will also give the Port of Durban a major face lift,” said Motlohi.
Tender submissions for the development of a new passenger terminal in the Port of Durban closed in February 2017.
About 56 international cruise liners called at the Port of Durban this season, with MSC Sinfonia frequenting the passenger terminal most often.
Other luxury cruise liners which visited the Port of Durban this season included Europa, Artania, Warrior Spirit, Seven Seas Navigator, Silver Cloud, Nautica, Astor and Amadea.
In 2015, in a joint-exercise with MSC, TNPA took a decision to upgrade the current terminal, known as N-Shed, with new features including signage, immigration counters, baggage scanners, conveyor belts and balustrades among other features.
MSC Sinfonia, which had been lengthened to accommodate the growing number of passengers, marked the beginning of the cruise season (in November 2016) with the arrival of 2,600 European and South African passengers who sailed with her from Venice in Italy.
These positioning cruises have become increasingly popular.
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UGANDA’S GULU LOGISTICS HUB TO TARGET SOUTH SUDAN & DRC
[2:27] Short videoclip of first train between Mombasa and Gulu in 20 years
The Ugandan government has secured the funding necessary to build a logistics hub at the Gulu Railway Station, which will provide access to and target trade with South Sudan through Alegu and with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through West Nile.
Both neighbouring countries are Uganda’s largest export markets, reports The Monitor.
The new hub is to be…[restrict] built on at least 24 acres, says Mr Benon Kajuna, the director transport in the ministry of Works and Transport.
The hub is expected to cost US$8.6 million of which $5.6 million is available with funding from DFID and TradeMark East Africa.
“In October 2016, we completed a pre-feasibility study for the project, with designs expected at the end of this year. Currently, a consultant is working on the proposed design for the project. We expect construction to commence by end 2018,” Kajuna told delegates attending the Joint Oil and Gas and Logistics Expo 2017 at Kampala Serena Hotel Conference Centre a week ago.
Gulu will become one of the four areas designated in Uganda to have logistics hubs.
It will serve not only the two export markets for Ugandan goods but will also be available for transit cargo destined for DRC and South Sudan.
The hub will operate as a Private-Public Partnership (PPP) between government and a number of private sector players.
According to Mr Mark Pearson, a consultant with TradeMark East Africa, the hub will promote logistics services in Uganda. He said that Uganda could even reach the markets as far as the Central African Republic if the hub is commercially viable.
“There is an opportunity for Uganda here if it targets the Eastern DRC market and South Sudan.” South Sudan, he said, will require almost total reconstruction so that country will need to import large volumes of food, construction material, and capital equipment,” Pearson said at the expo. Trade between South Sudan – without the interruptions of war – and the DRC is estimated at nearly $1.3 billion.
Already, research conducted by TradeMark East Africa indicates that the Mombasa-Kampala-Juba route is a cheaper route for goods compared to Mombasa-Juba. “What do you think will happen when the Gulu Logistics Hub is completed? There is a real opportunity here,” Richard Kamajugo, the regional director, trade development told delegates.
It is estimated that the logistics industry in Uganda employs about 200,000 people with the potential of this number doubling by 2030 when oil and gas come on board and the country grows its export capacity. source: The Monitor[/restrict]
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CHINA’S MUCH TALKED ABOUT SILK ROAD, WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
[1:36]
The World Economic Forum, which kicks off here in South Africa from today, has released the short video (above) on China’s new silk route, commonly referred to as ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR).
Ever since the somewhat mysterious project was first announced in 2013, there has been much speculation about the real significance of an undertaking to reopen ancient trade routes between China and Europe.
In their own impressive style, and with the minimum of fanfare, this phenomenon has begun to unfold with trains now running from China some 18,000 kilometres across Asia and into Europe. Recently the first train to arrive in London delivered a cargo of containers – not a large consignment as container trains go but highly symbolic none the less. Shortly afterwards the train departed on the return journey, shaving a reported two weeks off the time it takes for a ship to carry containerised cargo between China and Europe.
Some of that time taken by rail is absorbed by having to cater for several changes of gauge, which necessitates removing every container from the arriving train and reloading onto another for the next stage of the journey.
Meanwhile, every week a similar exercise is being carried out with trains running regular weekly services from China to Spain. Other services to other parts of Europe are likely to follow quite rapidly.
The question arises as to what consequences will the Silk Road, or ‘One Road, One Belt’ (OBOR) as it is also known, have for sending containers by sea? Given the vast quantities of boxes that container ships are now carrying, with the 20,000 TEU mark having been surpassed, one is inclined to say that shipping need not feel threatened. But for certain types of cargo, the saving of two weeks along with the reduction in the cost of cargo compared to that sent by air, can make quite a difference, and perhaps this is where the train service will make its mark.
Olaf Merk, Administrator Ports and Shipping International Transport Forum, stated in his China’s One Belt One Road technical paper that OBOR is unique in two ways as it will bring more choice and more Chinese control of global supply chains. Merk said: “It will have important consequences for the whole world, including for Europe and it requires critical policy choices.
“The global transport model has, for a long time, been very clear: air is fast but expensive, sea is slow but cheap.
“So, only high value added and highly time sensitive goods are transported by air, the rest by sea.
“There were always some options in between, such as rail and combined airsea transport, but these options were fairly marginal for goods transport between continents. The OBOR initiative will change this model radically. Rail will become a real option for long-range freight transport.”
It has also been suggested that other considerations are at play, involving politics and Chinese influence, with China offering to upgrade the rail services in some of the countries through which the Silk Road trains will pass. Could this include having a special ‘same gauge’ railway built to avoid all those time-consuming change of gauges? A look at how China has set about building or refurbishing rail networks in Africa, and how this has improved Chinese influence on the continent, carries its own message.
There are those who think that China is repositioning itself tactically in the global economy. They point out that relationships with the ASEAN region, Central Asia and European countries stand to improve significantly if China directs more of its capital into developing infrastructure overseas.
There are also suggestions that with the railway running through regions where the Chinese have not necessarily been very welcome, and that includes parts of China itself, the prosperity that springs up alongside an operating railway may begin to have a positive improving effect on attitudes.
All these points and others are discussed in a couple of lengthier videos that you are invited to also watch, courtesy YouTube.
The first is CHINA WATCH with Peter Lee and is 21 minutes, 40 seconds long.
[21:40]
The next video (below), lasting 24 minutes, 55 seconds is courtesy of Aljazeera and is entitled ‘Inside Story – Will the Silk Road be a Success?’ Well worth seeing!
[24:55]
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MAERSK EXPECTS 27 NEWBUILDS TO JOIN FLEET THIS YEAR & NEXT
With the deployment last week of Maersk’s latest container ship, the 20,568-TEU MADRID MAERSK (27 April), the first of the 11 second generation Triple-E ships, she also becomes the first of 27 new container ships that Maersk Line ordered in 2015 to enter service.
Madrid Maersk has been deployed on Maersk Line’s Asia – Europe 2M Alliance service network and on 27 April she called at Tianjin in China to begin loading cargo. This was the first port on her maiden voyage.
Maersk Line will continue to take delivery of the vessels until the end of 2018 and they will replace older and less efficient tonnage. They are also the first delivery of own new-buildings since July 2015.
When the 11 second generation Triple-Es were ordered that year, at a cost of US$1.8 billion, the world was told they would have a container capacity of 19,630 TEU. By surpassing this figure, Madrid Maersk (and her following sisterships) will become, for a short while, the largest container ships in service. OOCL has however an even larger capacity ship due shortly.
Maersk Line’s remaining order book consists of ten 2nd generation Triple-E vessels, nine 15,226 TEU and seven 3,596 TEU container vessels. The order book corresponds to 11% of Maersk Line’s current fleet – a relatively small order book when compared to the industry’s order book of around 15%.
The nine H-class 15,226 TEU ships on order will be 46 metres shorter than the existing Emma (E-class) ships and according to Maersk will have ‘operational versatility’ by being capable of serving smaller ports on north-south trades.
A second order of H-class ships has been postponed by six months.
The seven 3,596 TEU ships are ice-class Baltic feeder ships, designed in view of expected volume growth in the trade and to meet the emission control regulations of the region.
Maersk says that to stay competitive and achieve lowest cost, Maersk Line will continue to manage its fleet capacity tightly. “For example, Maersk Line has a relatively high number of vessels on short term charters. This gives Maersk Line the flexibility to adjust fleet capacity when new vessels come on-stream. Maersk Line is also recycling old and more inefficient vessels. In the first quarter of 2017, Maersk Line recycled seven Panamax vessels.”
According to chief operating officer, Soren Toft, “Our strategy is to grow in line with our main competitors, and we do that through a combination of buying new and used ships and chartering vessels.
“These new vessels help modernise our fleet, significantly improve our operational efficiency and will help us achieve our growth ambitions, regardless of short-term economic cycles.”
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APPROVAL FOR MAERSK AND HAMBURG SÜD SALE & PURCHASE AGREEMENT
The agreement between Danish Maesrk Line and Hamburg Süd whereby Maersk Line would acquire the German container shipping line, has received approval from the boards of Maersk Line and the Oetker Group, owner of Hamburg Süd.
The acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Maersk Line will acquire Hamburg Süd for EUR 3.7 billion (US$4 billion) on a cash and debt-free basis. Maersk Line will finance the acquisition through a syndicated loan facility.
“Today, we have taken…[restrict] a decisive step towards the shared future of Maersk Line and Hamburg Süd. Our due diligence confirmed that Hamburg Süd is a well-run company with strong and highly respected brands. We have confirmed the anticipated synergies and we are convinced that our plan to maximise customer retention is the right path forward. I have no doubt that together we can develop new competitive products to the benefit of our customers and exploit operational synergies. The acquisition is cementing our position as the largest and leading carrier in container shipping, and it will provide great opportunities for the employees of both companies,” says Søren Skou, CEO of Maersk Line and A.P. Moller – Maersk.
In a statement Maersk Line says the acquisition is in line with its growth strategy. ‘It represents a unique opportunity to combine two complementary businesses and realise sizable operational synergies as well as commercial opportunities. Combined, the two companies will be able to realise operational synergies in the region of US$ 350-400 million annually over the first couple of years following completion of the transaction.’
Hamburg Süd will maintain its own structure under its separate brands and is expected to deliver a high customer retention adding to Maersk Line’s growth agenda.
Accordinmg to Maersk, the combined network will include increased number of weekly sailings, faster transit times, more port calls, more direct port-to-port calls and less need for transhipment, to the benefits of both Maersk Line and Hamburg Süd customers.
The cost synergies will primarily be derived from integrating and optimising the networks as well as standardised procurement. In addition, APM Terminals’ global portfolio will benefit from increased volumes, specifically the many investments made in the Latin America Region.
“We consider the purchase price of EUR 3.7 billion a fair valuation of Hamburg Süd. By keeping Hamburg Süd as a separate and well-run company, we will limit the transaction and integration risks and costs while still extracting the operational synergies. The acquisition of Hamburg Süd will therefore create substantial value to Maersk Line already in 2019,” says Søren Skou.
To continue and strengthen the future growth of Hamburg Süd, Maersk Line emphasises its plans to preserve the customer value proposition of Hamburg Süd. It also commits to maintain the presence of Hamburg Süd in Hamburg, Germany, and has agreed to lease the local head office, initially for a period of five years.
“Hamburg Süd has a strong brand and an attractive customer value proposition. We believe these elements are key for our acquisition to become a success. Therefore, Hamburg Süd will remain under own management and with full brand responsibility,” says Søren Skou.
“We see the acquisition of Hamburg Süd by Maersk Line as a natural development and we are convinced that Hamburg Süd will thrive under continued own management and maintain not only the services offered to its customers, but also provide its employees a fantastic opportunity to continue shaping the future of the industry as a leading service provider,” says Dr. Ottmar Gast, Chairman of the Hamburg Süd Executive Board.
With the acquisition, Maersk Line and Hamburg Süd will have a total container capacity of around 3.9 million TEU (3.3 million TEU) and an 18.7% (16.0%) global capacity share (Alphaliner per 24 April 2017). The combined fleet will consist of 743 container vessels.
The process of obtaining regulatory approvals is on schedule. On 23 March 2017, the US Department of Justice approved the proposed acquisition and on 10 April 2017, the EU Commission approved the proposed acquisition, subject to conditions.
Maersk Line expects to close the transaction by the end of 2017. Until then, Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line will continue business as usual as separate and independent companies.[/restrict]
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NAVAL: CTF 150 CHANGE OF COMMAND
In mid-April Canada handed over to France at a CTF150 Change of Command Ceremony. The French Navy (Marine Nationale), supported by the Royal Navy assumed command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) after conducting a handover ceremony with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).
Rear-Admiral Olivier Lebas of the French Navy assumed command of CTF150 from Commodore Haydn Edmundson of the Royal Canadian Navy on 13 April 2017 in a ceremony held at Naval Support Activity in Manama, Bahrain.
CTF150 has been combating terrorism by…[restrict] tackling the narcotics trafficking at sea that is suspected of funding terrorist activities. Notable highlights have included seizure by HMAS Auranta on 2 March where 800 kg of hashish was found and two seizures by USS Laboon on 13 and 17 March yielding 500kg of hashish and 270kg of heroin respectively. Of particular importance was the seizure of heroin, the first such seizure in nearly a year. In total, CTF150 seized 1342 kg hashish, 1 kg opium and 270 kg of heroin.
Concurrently, CTF150 also restricts the use of the seas to conduct maritime attacks, human trafficking, and transport of illegal weapons.
Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) is one of three task forces operated by Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). Its mission is to promote maritime security in order to counter terrorist acts and related illegal activities, which terrorists use to fund or conceal their movements.
The activities of CTF 150 directly influence events ashore, as terrorist organisations are denied a risk free method of conducting operations or moving personnel, weapons or income-generating narcotics.
CTF 150’s Area of Operation (AOR) spans over two million square miles, covering the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman (but not the Arabian Gulf, which is the responsibility of CTF 152).
This area is a vital artery of world trade that includes the main shipping routes from the Far East to Europe and the US with over 23,000 shipping movements per year. Over one third of the world’s oil passes through the Area of Operation (AOR) each year. In addition the AOR contains three narrow waterways, choke points, where vessels are required to pass closely between two shorelines. This means they have limited manoeuvrability and are more vulnerable than would otherwise be the case in open waters.
History
Task Force 150 was a US Navy formation under the control of the US Naval Forces Central Command (CENTCOM). After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, it was re-established as a multi-national coalition in order to undertake counter-terrorism operations at sea as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The coalition has grown and evolved beyond that operation’s scope to encompass and address commonly perceived threats to member states and their values.
Composition
CTF 150 is a multinational task force. Participatory nations have included: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, and Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Participation is purely voluntary. No nation is asked to carry out any duty that it is unwilling to conduct.
Command of CTF 150 is rotated between participatory nations on a four to six month basis.[/restrict]
Edited by Paul Ridgway
London
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ARDENT CELEBRATES SECOND YEAR, LOOKS AHEAD
Salvage and wreck removal company, Ardent, celebrates its second birthday with the passing of 1 May 2017.
Ardent has maintained a zero lost time incident record since its inception.
“Despite the initial focus on implementing the merger and challenging market conditions Ardent has…[restrict] successfully won and executed 125 contracts over the last 2 years” said Ardent CEO Peter Pietka.
“Salvage operations are inherently risk filled and completing 125 contracts without a single lost time incident is a testament to the professionalism of our teams,” said Pietka.
Ardent is experiencing significant commercial momentum with several notable contract wins.
During the last month, Ardent teams have completed high profile Emergency Response contracts on four continents.
In late April, 2017, Ardent signed for the removal of the sunken Fluvius Tamar vessel from the English Channel, the largest wreck removal contract awarded so far in 2017.
Ardent has also reorganised its business into two largely “self-sustained” business pillars; the Emergency Management pillar (covering Emergency Preparedness and Response), and the Projects pillar (covering Wreck Removal, Offshore Decommissioning and Subsea Services).
Oliver Timofei is the Director of Emergency Management and Jon Minshall has been appointed as the Director of Projects.
“The new structure is intended to ensure that we for both business areas have ‘fit-for-purpose’ processes, resources and culture which will enable us to serve the respective customer segments even better than today,” explained Pietka.
The new structure also intends to secure that Ardent can retain its focus on its original core business while increasingly offering adjacent services – not least within an offshore context.
In May, 2015, Svitzer Salvage, a part of the Maersk Group, and Titan Salvage, a part of the Crowley Holdings Inc., merged to form Ardent. The company continues be 50 percent owned by Svitzer (Maersk) and 50 percent owned by Crowley.
“Whereas we have done well in the market place it is also true that over the past two years, a tremendous amount of focus has gone into internal issues related to the merger implementation and the recent organisational restructuring. We look forward to the next stage,” said Pietka.[/restrict]
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GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY
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EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT
Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port
Ports & Ships publishes regularly updated SHIP MOVEMENT reports including ETAs for ports extending from West Africa to South Africa to East Africa and including Port Louis in Mauritius.
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CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES
QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman
We publish news about the cruise industry here in the general news section.
Naval News
Similarly you can read our regular Naval News reports and stories here in the general news section.
PICS OF THE DAY : QUEEN ELIZABETH
We recently featured photographs showing Cunard’s Vista-class cruise ship QUEEN ELIZABETH which was completing a visit to Cape Town (25 April) and offer no apologies for repeating the dose, this time with another set of similar pictures of the grand ship sailing for the UK from the Mother City. Queen Elizabeth was launched in 2010 at the Fincantieri Monfalcone Shipyard in Italy as their hull number 6187; she is based on the Vista class and is 294 metres long with a gross weight of 90,901 tons. The pictures are by Ian Shiffman
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“I just want to do something that matters. Or be something that matters. I just want to matter.”
― John Green, An Abundance of Katherines
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