TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
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- First View : SHUNTIEN
- Crew rescued after Taiwanese fishing vessel Hsiang Fuh No.6 catches fire
- First woman to be appointed as Transnet National Ports Authority CE
- Ghana Shippers call for enforcing of service level agreements
- SAMSA Report: African Marine Waste Conference 2017
- TUI disposes of remaining Hapag-Lloyd shares
- PRESS RELEASES: RCCL signs with NAVTOR for fleet of 49 ships
- Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
- Cruise News and Naval Activities
- Pics of the Day : IMME OLDENDORFF
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Auckland, New Zealand is the scene for today’s First View – why? Because there’s been another devastating earthquake in that country with whom we share so many similarities, not to mention people. The 6.4M earthquake occurred in the very south of South Island, well away from Auckland where this picture of the container ship SHUNTIEN (30,852-dwt) was taken. An idea of how much damage a 6.4M quake can make can be seen from a comparison with the 6.3M earthquake that resulted in sever damage to buildings and loss of life at Christchurch in 2011. Last year the island experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake followed by almost 17,500 aftershocks. Our thoughts are with all those affected.
Coming back to our ship in Auckland harbour, she is owned and managed by China navigation Pte of Singapore and was built in 2013 at the Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding Co in China as the yard’s hull number 641. Her container capacity is 2082 TEU and the ship is registered in Hong Kong. She is being assisted by the Auckland Ports tug WAKA KUME (338-gt). This picture is by Alan Calvert
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CREW RESCUED AFTER TAIWANESE FISHING VESSEL HSIANG FUH No.6 CATCHES FIRE
A fire which enveloped the Taiwanese longliner HSIANG FUH No.6 on Sunday, forced the crew of 30 to abandon ship 460 n.miles East-North-East from Durban and 310 n.miles from the closest shore.
SAMSA, which jointly coordinated the rescue, reports that some of the crew suffered burns, one of them serious. The crew took to life rafts and were later picked up by ships that responded to the MAYDAY.
One of these was the container ship EVER DIADEM which was sailing about 6 n.miles away and which has recovered 16 of the crew while a second responding ship, the bulker SBI ANTARES picked up the remaining 14. Both ships then headed for Durban.
A third responding vessel, the bulker HAMPTON BAY was later released from the scene by the Maritime Rescue Co-ordinating Centre in Cape Town (MRCC CT) which co-ordinated the rescue together with SAMSA.
The NSRI Durban responded to the call for assistance and despatched their rescue boat and paramedics to rendezvous with the 294-metre container ship which had the injured men onboard. The South African Air Force 15 Squadron based in Durban meanwhile sent one of their Oryx helicopters with paramedics on board also to assist.
Two of the crew that suffered injuries were evacuated from the Ever Diadem yesterday morning (11 July) by the Air Force helicopter as the Ever Diadem approached Durban and were taken to a Durban hospital for treatment, one in a serious but stable condition and the other reported as being stable.
A warning has been issued for the abandoned and unmanned vessel still adrift.
SAMSA said that necessary arrangements for the safe delivery and repatriation of the sailors, Philippine, Indonesian, Taiwanese and Vietnamese nationals, was made for them to be met by representatives of their countries on arrival in Durban. By yesterday afternoon the ships were at anchor outside Durban awaiting permission to enter port.
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FIRST WOMAN TO BE APPOINTED AS TRANSNET NATIONAL PORTS AUTHORITY CE
Transnet SOC has announced the appointment, with immediate effect, of Ms Shulami Qalinge as the TNPA’s new chief executive.
She replaces Richard Vallihu who has been…[restrict] appointed to the position of Group Executive: Operational Readiness, Transnet Corporate Centre.
Qalinge becomes the first woman to be appointed to the position of chief executive at Transnet.
She has a background in senior management within Transnet including that as Group Executive, Strategy.
Qalinge holds an MBA from De Montfort University, a Diploma in Industrial Engineering from Nelson Mandela University of Technology, and has completed the Strategic Leadership Programme at the Gordon Institute of Business Science.[/restrict]
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GHANA SHIPPERS CALL FOR ENFORCING SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS
A call has gone out to the Ghanaian Government to enforce service level agreements (SLAs) with the respective service providers involved at the country’s ports.
Dr Kofi Mbiah, the former CEO of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) says that only by enforcing the SLAs can the service providers begin to perform at optimum levels when it comes to cargo clearance at the ports.
This, he said, would help cargo owners having…[restrict] to pay high demurrage charges for failing to release containers on time once the free seven days are up.
“We see Customs officers and clearing agents sitting idly just because the system of a service provider has run down. All of these add to the delays in the clearance process and contributes to demurrage. Even though we enter into agreements with service providers, there are no service level arrangements and subsequently we don’t insist on compliance.”
Mbiah was speaking at a one-day seminar on container demurrage organised by the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers in Accra. He was referring specifically to delays in the release of cargo documentation, inconsistencies in the Pre-Arrival Assessment Reporting System (PAARS) and frequent system downtimes, all resulting in unnecessary demurrage.
He questioned the amount of time that a service provider had within the system – and suggested they should be held responsible and made to suffer pecuniary penalties when they failed to perform.
Dr Mbiah suggested that if this was applied then the service providers would begin to provide the services required of them and that a certain level of efficiency would follow.
Shippers in Ghana have to pay between US$22 and $48 per TEU in demurrage. The shipping lines took in a total of $40 million in demurrages in 2010, $85 million in 2013 and $100 million in 2016.
Dr Mbiah said these huge sums of money could be avoided provided the fundamentals of the valuation process were corrected. He proposed a cargo pre-arrival documentation system be implemented, in which Customs could get an accurate description of shipments and begin risk assessments ahead of the cargo’s arrival.
Congestion at the ports defeats the very essence of containerisation, worsens port efficiency and affects port rent, he pointed out.
“We have to reach out to importers and exporters and make them understand that the huge sums of money that go in demurrages are avoidable. source” B&FTonline[/restrict]
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SAMSA REPORT: AFRICAN MARINE WASTE CONFERENCE 2017
Video clip [18:16] Sylvia Earle: How to Protect the Oceans (click video bottom right for full screen)
The world’s oceans are drowning, but there is an economic opportunity to it
This was the topic of discussion at the African Marine Waste Conference 2017 currently taking place in Port Elizabeth.
With more than 150 million tons of plastic material floating across the world’s oceans – and likely to rise to 950mt in 30 years – and with very little being done about it, the world is facing an imminent ecological disaster, scientists told delegates during the opening day of the conference.
The African Marine Waste Conference 2017 began on Monday with about 200 delegates and will end Friday, with its main aim being to encourage development of concrete plans to…[restrict] turn the tide on plastic and related waste being dumped willy-nilly by nations bordering the continent’s coastline.
Dr Linda Godfrey, a manager of the Waste RDI Roadmap Implementation Unit at the Centre for Science and Industrial Research (CSRI) in South Africa, one of the early speakers on Monday, painted a disturbing picture of particularly the African continent with regards both its current status on waste management as well as imminent future challenges that could make the task of eliminating plastic waste more difficult if not arrested effectively, soon.
She said the continent was largely characterized by poor landfill practices, general poor waste management, uncontrolled dumping compounded by a rapidly growing population of middle income people who were increasingly migrating to predominantly coastal cities.
“Africa is at a watershed, in that if we do not stop and take action now, we are going to be faced with a massive marine waste problem locally, regionally and the potential impact globally. And there are essentially seven reasons that I see for why we should take action now,” she said.
There is no such thing as waste. We know enough!
Dr Godfrey’s presentation correlated with that by United States scientist, Dr Sylvia Earle, a multi science awards winner and founder of Mission Blue as well as a National Geographic Explorer in Residence.
Plastic waste was not necessarily disastrous and instead a great economic opportunity if it was managed effectively through recycling, said Dr Earle.
She said lack of knowledge about the effects of plastic waste dumping particularly in the oceans was no longer an excuse as its effects were now fully understood.
“Most of the oxygen that we breathe is generated by the oceans. Ocean creatures take up carbon dioxide, a carbon dioxide that is important for photosynthesis generating food.
“But too much of a good thing is not only harming the oceans, by making the oceans more acidic, by warming the planet. The carbon dioxide and other gasses such as methane are accelerating the warming of the earth, causing polar ice to melt, changing the climate, changing the weather, changing the one place in the universe that is our home, the only home that humankind – seven billion of us – will ever have.”
She said the conference currently underway in Port Elizabeth was a good opportunity to not only share the knowledge at hand about the effects of plastic waste in the oceans but to also explore creative solutions necessary to effectively manage waste.
Increasing plastic waste management practices
Meanwhile, it emerged that South African authorities were not only looking at increasing plastic waste management practices soiling its own three oceans characterized by 3200km of a coastline and some 1.5-million square kilometres of an Exclusive Economic Zone but also it intended taking full economic advantage of it.
Operation Phakisa Waste Management
Dr André Share, head of the Operation Phakisa (Oceans Economy) in the Department of Environmental Affairs revealed that an Operation Phakisa Waste Management initiative in the offing and would be rolled out soon.
“Very soon, we will have a Waste Phakisa, and there we will unpack not only what we are doing with the waste, but also looking at how we turn this waste into opportunities and look at the whole secular economy in respect of waste.”
Dr Share in an opening speech delivered on behalf of the Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs, said the launch of the Operation Phakisa (Oceans Economy) initiative three years ago was incrementally showing positive returns in terms of investment in both ports infrastructure and related private sector investments in a whole range of projects across the country’s coastline.
“However, these developments, and indeed coastal development in general must be balanced with a need to ensure the health and integrity of our coastal and oceanic resources.
“Our oceans are under threat from pollution both from land based activities and sea based activities.
“The entire oceanic ecosystem is exposed to a wide range of pollution sources, such as illegal dumping practices, spillages from ships, waste disposal from port dredging operations to mining operations, and the discharge of sewage and storm water agricultural run-off and litter from land based sources.”
This he said was despite the existence of stringent rules and regulations for all of the pollutants finding their way into the seas.
Dr Share said a sectoral approach was necessary to find a way to manage the waste streams and a “waste Phakisa” was on the cards to address the issue.
The Port Elizabeth 2017 conference has attracted attention from several countries across the world, with representations from both Africa, Oceana, the US as well as European countries including Norway.
Indonesia Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Dr Satri Burhanuddin said his country delegation was attending the conference to learn about what solutions Africa might come up with that would be useful in his country for implementation.
“Africa is more like Indonesia. The middle class is growing and growing and so we actually face the same problem. So we want to learn also how Africa faces this problem.”
[/restrict]
You can read this full report including a number of video and audio presentations on the SAMSA website CLICK HERE
source: SAMSA
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TUI DISPOSES OF REMAINING HAPAG-LLOYD SHARES
Germany’s TUI Group, the world’s number one integrated tourism group operating in around 180 destinations worldwide, has cut the final cord linking it to the container business by disposing its remaining shares in Hapag-Lloyd AG.
The disposal of the remaining 8.5 million shares took place in an open market block trade (Accelerated Book Building) to a guaranteed minimum price close to today’s market closing. Prior to this trade TUI AG had…[restrict] already disposed 6.0m shares in individual open market transactions since March 2017.
The shares realised TUI €244m ($278m), and taking its share disposal in the container carrier since March to around €400m.
TUI said that revenues from the disposal are to be used for investments in hotels and cruise ships and to strengthen the balance sheet. By concluding this sale it has achieved its strategic objective of a vertically integrated tourism group.
“By disposing of all of its remaining Hapag-Lloyd AG shares TUI AG successfully concludes its non-core business disposal program as defined after the merger between TUI AG and TUI Travel PLC in December 2014, achieving its strategic objective to transform TUI AG into a pure play vertically integrated tourism group,” said Horst Baier, TUI Group CFO. “As announced the revenues will be used for the transformation to an integrated tourism business with the focus in own hotel brands and cruises and in strengthen the balance sheet.”
For 2018 and 2019 TUI AG is contemplating to structure the intended cruise ship acquisitions of MEIN SCHIFF 1 and MEIN SCHIFF 2 (cruise ships) by the British subsidiary TUI UK from TUI Cruises GmbH as a straight cash transaction. TUI UK will then take over Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 from TUI Cruises into their British fleet.
TUI AG previously accounted for its shareholding in Hapag-Lloyd AG as a financial asset available for sale. As at 31 March 2017 the carrying value was €395.0m in TUI AG’s consolidated balance sheet.
About TUI Group
TUI Group’s share is listed in the FTSE 100 index, the leading index of the London Stock Exchange and in the German open market. In financial year 2015/16, TUI Group recorded turnover of €17.2 billion and an operating result of €1.001 billion. The Group employs 67,000 people in more than 100 countries and offers its 20 million customers comprehensive services from a single source. It covers the entire touristic value chain under one roof.
This comprises leading tour operator brands and 1,600 travel agencies in Europe, five European airlines with around 150 modern medium and long-haul aircraft, more than 300 Group-owned hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU and Robinson. With cruise ships ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 luxury class vessels to the “Mein Schiff” fleet of TUI Cruises and the vessels of Thomson Cruises in the UK, TUI is also strongly positioned in the growing cruise sector.[/restrict]
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RCCL SIGNS WITH NAVTOR FOR FLEET OF 49 CRUISE SHIPS
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCC), a global leader in the cruise segment, has signed a deal with NAVTOR to install the innovative NavBox solution across its entire corporate fleet of 49 vessels. The deal, which spans the six different operating companies within RCC, will greatly simplify and enhance on-board navigational procedures, optimising efficiency, safety and compliance.
E-navigation specialist NAVTOR launched NavBox in 2013. The solution automatically downloads, distributes and updates all vessel navigational charts and publications – dramatically cutting administration time, while ensuring the very latest, compliant charts are always at hand.
NavBox, which complements NAVTOR’s range of…[restrict] established ENC-based services, is already proving popular with forward-thinking shipowners, with the RCC contract following on from recent fleet agreements with both DOF, EXMAR and Stolt Tankers.
“Royal Caribbean Cruises is a globally recognised and respected industry leader,” comments NAVTOR CEO, Tor Svanes. “The company is known for its commitment to excellence, safety, and driving innovation at sea. They continually strive for the best services and solutions and, in that respect, are an obvious partner for NAVTOR and NavBox.
“It is our mission to simplify tasks for navigators and enhance efficiency for shipowners. NavBox embodies this ambition. For RCC it will work in conjunction with our NavTracker service, which allows on-shore management to track vessel movement and have a full overview of chart usage and update history, to provide completely seamless, fully accountable and business efficient navigation services. We believe this really showcases the huge potential of e-navigation for todays, and tomorrows, shipowners.”
The full extent of the agreement covers the delivery of all official digital charts and publications to RCC vessels across the brands Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, TUI Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises and Skysea. This includes the soon to launch Symphony of the Seas, which will hold the title of the world’s largest cruise ship when it embarks on its maiden voyage on 21 April 2018.
Speaking of the decision to choose NavBox for RCC’s entire fleet, Paul Kingsbury, Manager of Nautical Assets, Safety, and Programs at Royal Caribbean Cruises, notes: “The benefits of this innovative concept across our portfolio of advanced vessels are compelling. We will now be able to drastically reduce our navigators’ administrative workloads, allowing them to focus on important operational tasks and optimal safety, while ensuring compliance with automatic updates.
“At the same time the synergy between our vessels and land-based teams will enable us to have a complete overview of fleet-wide operations and navigational needs. NavBox is another innovative development for a company that, as we know from working together for the past four years, is dedicated to driving forward e-navigation and adding value for its customers. We look forward to seeing its benefits across the fleet.”
NAVTOR has been pioneering e-navigation solutions, service and technology since its launch in 2011, bringing its acclaimed ENC service to the market in 2012. Since that time, it has built a global customer base and recorded a series of industry firsts, launching the world’s first type approved Pay As You Sail ENC service and the first digital chart table (NavStation). The company has established a global network of offices with bases in Norway, Russia, Singapore, UK, Japan and Sweden.[/restrict]
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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.
In the case of South Africa’s container ports of Durban, Ngqura, Ports Elizabeth and Cape Town links to container Stack Dates are also available.
You can access this information, including the list of ports covered, by going HERE remember to use your BACKSPACE to return to this page.
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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.
PIC OF THE DAY : IMME OLDENDORFF
The bulk carrier IMME OLDENDORFF (63,550-dwt) sails into Durban harbour earlier this month. Built last year the 200-metre long geared bulk carrier is owned by German interests and managed by Oldendorff Carriers GMBH based in Luebeck, Germany. Flying the Portuguese flag, she is the latest in a number of ships to carry this name. This picture is by Keith Betts
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth — that the error and truth are simply opposite. They are nothing of the sort. What the world turns to, when it is cured on one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one.”
― Henry Louis Mencken
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