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DAILY SHIPPING NEWSLETTER 2004 – 131

PSi-Daily Shipping News 07/27/04

Number 131***DAILY SHIPPING NEWSLETTER***Wednesday 28-07-2004

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The SEA REX is operating at the African West CoastPhoto : Coll Maart Barnhoorn

EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS

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Nordic American stays with BPSuezmax owner Nordic American Tanker (NAT) has resolved the uncertainty over thefuture employment of two of its three ships by signing on for another charter with BP.

But the UK oil major has renegotiated keys aspects of the deal to its own advantage.

The seven-year BPcharters for NAT's150,000-dwt, 1997-built sistershipsBritish Hawk,British Hunter andBritish Harrier expirein September andOctober.

NAT had only foundemployment for onevessel – a five-yearcontract was agreedwith Dubai-based GulfNavigation in May.

Under the newcharters, NAT will receive the spot market rate minus 5%, according to an agreed formula in whichthere is no “floor” to payments. Under the current charters, BP must pay a minimum rate of $22,000 per day, but in the first quarterpaid $72,287 in a strong market, but $43,255 in the second. Spot rates are now about $51,000 per dayfor West African business, although a 5% reduction would be worth $2,550 a day to BP.

“With the market-based income from these two ships, plus the fixed income from our third ship, webelieve that our fleet has the optimal mix of exposure to the spot market, together with a base level ofincome as a cushion against adverse markets,” the owner said. “The market related charters for our two ships to BP eliminate the risk of not finding immediateemployment in the spot market and are a very attractive alternative to the costs of rapidly building aspot chartering operation in-house.” NAT saw its profitability fall sharply through the second quarter as suezmax freight rates plunged 40%.

Brokers said this week however that the market is seen to be in an upward position and rates arerising.

NAT will also take on more responsibility for the two tankers, providing crew and technicalmanagement, although it will look for a ship manager to handle this. “As we assume responsibility for the operation of the two ships, quality and cost effective operationswill be our prime focus,” it said. BP currently takes on this role on a bareboat basis, based on notional operating costs of $8,500 perday per vessel.

NAT added: “Going forward, we will endeavor to keep the operating costs of the ships at this level orlower. “NAT will also, as per industry practices, assume the risks of off-hire due to technical problems and ofincreases in operating costs.”



But investors should get a greater percentage of cash from dividend payments. NAT will cease to be a Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) for US tax purposes, meaning thatpayouts will be taxed at 15% rather than 35% currently. But the company warned: “Shipping income has shown great volatility in the past and is notoriouslydifficult to predict. A strong tanker company management does not so much try to predict rates, as itmust plan to be successful in the midst of uncertainty. “We believe that our policies are appreciated by the capital markets and may result in our having alower cost of capital than some of our competitors.” The ships are nearly debt-free. As a result it plans to expand the fleet, but only when the time is right. Boss Herbjorn Hansson will become full-time, while adding to his executive team.

CASUALTY REPORTINGThe local shipping agency Noor Sons informed Maritime Security Agency (MSA) that its 120-feetgeneral cargo Qadeer Ur Rehman, which departed Dubai Jul 12 for Karachi, with iron scrap and ninecrew members, has capsized in the Arabian Sea. Subsequently, the wreckage of the vessel was spotted40 nautical miles from Karachi without a crew. It is feared that the crew have drowned. A decomposedbody, believed to be a member of the same vessel's crew, washed ashore at Sonara beach yesterday.The shipping agency, Noor Sons, which handled the vessel's operation, said that the crew hadremained in touch with it till Jul 15 but since then all efforts to establish contact had failed. Aspokesman for the shipping agent said that two search vessels with five divers had been sent to thespot.

General cargo Nantai-I (1179 gt, built 1978) sank in the Madura Strait yesterday after it was incollision with 81-metre-long and 10-metre-wide general cargo Era Baru. No fatalities were reported inthe accident. The incident occurred as the Nantai-I was preparing to dock at Tanjung Perak Port inSurabaya, East Java, while the Era Baru was leaving the port for Kupang, the capital of East NusaTenggara. Saleh, the captain of Era Baru, said bad weather forced him to lose control of the vessel,which then hit the side of the 68-metre-long and 11-metre-wide Nantai-I. Police are investigating theaccident.

PRINCESS OF THE PACIFIC (PHILIPPINES) Salvors from Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp. failed to refloat ro/ro Princess of the Pacific Jul 21.Capt. Edgardo Gualbero, Malayan Towage CEO said that attempts to tow the vessel to open waterwere unsuccessful. The vessel was still carrying various types of cargo when the salvage attempt wasmade. "It was just too heavy," Capt. Gualberto explained. To lighten the vessel, salvors havetransferred its cargo to a salvage barge. Another attempt to refloat the vessel will be made betweenJul 31 and Aug 2, when the tide is highest, Capt. Gualberto said. This is the third time that salvors hadattempted to refloat the vessel. During the first two attempts, tow lines attached to the vessel broke.The vessel was on its way from Manila to Zamboanga port in Mindanao when it developed enginetrouble in the vicinity of Nogas island and drifted into shallow waters on Jun 23.



SHIPYARD NEWS

The ANASTASIS arrived at the Rotterdam United Shipyard in Schiedam – photo : Jan Simons ©

Aker adds offshore duoNorway’s Aker Yards group has won orders for two platform supply ships worth a total of NOK 400m($57.27m). Aker Brattvaag and Aker Langsten will build one vessel each for domestic owners DOF andSimon Mokster Shipping respectively. The DOF ship will be delivered in the summer of 2005 while theMokster vessel will be completed during the second quarter of 2005, said Aker Yards. Brattvaag alsosigned a provisional agreement with DOF for construction of a further ship, with a definite go-aheadexpected next month.

Setramar inks at Dutch yardDutch shipbuilder Royal Niestern Sander has won an order from Italy's Setramar SpA for a 14,650-dwtmultipurpose (MPP) ship and an option for a second.

The newbuilding, basically a bulker capable of also carrying containers, is based on the same hull astankers delivered by the Delfzijl-based yard to Petromarine of France, the 14,800-dwt Dordogne andArdour (both built 2003). But a yard spokesman added: "When you transform a tanker to a bulkcarrier you have a completely different main frame and construction." Setramar, based in Ravenna, isscheduled to take delivery in the middle of 2006. It is understood a charter has already been securedcarrying cargoes of small stones between Turkey and Italy for between five and 10 years.



Niestern Sander is likely to sub-contract building of at least part of the Setramar hull to a lower-costyard in eastern Europe. Damen's facility in Okean, Ukraine, handled steelwork for the Petromarineships and Maritim in Poland is supplying hulls for 10 smaller Niestern Sander MPPs. All final outfitting ofhulls is handled by Niestern Sander itself. "Unlike other yards we only buy the hulls. Thesuperstructure, including carpentry and engine-room installation, is done here at this yard," said thespokesman.

The Setramar MPP differs from the Petromarine tankers by having a larger superstructure toaccommodate more crew, a complement of around 16. One unusual feature is its two large, 400-cbm-per-hour pumps because the ship will have to deballast and load simultaneously while maintaining thesame draft. Niestern Sander's backlog of 10 other MPPs comprise six of 5,800 dwt for InterseeSchiffahrts of Germany and four of 6,100 dwt for Wagenborg Shipping BV of the Netherlands.

Around 200 people are employed by Niestern Sander, which is also building a research vessel for useby the French Navy.

Hyundai yard gets huge order from KuwaitKuwait's energy minister, Sheikh Ahmed Fahd al-Sabah, has confirmed that Hyundai Heavy Industriesis set to win the largest share of a $525m, seven-ship order to be formally signed next month.

Hyundai will build four vessels and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering three for Kuwait OilTanker Co (KOTC), the minister indicated during a visit to Singapore. These figures confirm reports inlast week's issue of Trade-Winds that Hyundai is negotiating with KOTC to build two VLCCs as well astwo very large gas carriers (VLGCs). Daewoo is set to win a contract to build one long-range 2 (LR2)and two long-range 1 (LR1) products carriers. The first vessel of the estimated KWD 1.8bn ($525m)package is scheduled to be delivered in 2006.

Kuwait Oil Tanker Co has been planning this major round of newbuildings for over four years.

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Lineas Fred. Olsen has sold the BARLOVENTO (ex PRIDE OF CHERBOURG (I) ex VIKINGVOYAGER) to the Greek Saos Ferries. She will be over in October 2004 and will be operated

between Piraeus, Chios and Lesvos or between Laurio, Chios and Samos.Photo : Tommy Bryceland ©

MISC to sell off more older bulkers and focuson energy

MALAYSIA International Shipping Corp is planning to sell off more of its older dry bulk andcontainerships as it concentrates on energy transportation, writes Marcus Hand in Singapore.

The Malaysian national shipping company is taking advantage of the dry bulk boom to sell off its olderbulkers for a healthy profit. “For the bulk shipping business, the attractiveness of the second-handvalue of bulk vessels provides further opportunity for MISC to consider divesting more of its oldervessels,” MISC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican said in his chairman’s statement in thecompany’s annual report. Earlier this year, MISC sold 15 older small handysize ships en bloc toThailand’s Precious Shipping for $98m, booking a $84m profit on the deal. Following the sale, MISC’sbulk fleet consists of 36 ships comprising: 11 panamaxes; nine handymaxes; 15 handysizes and onemultipurpose carrier.

A move to concentrate on the long-haul sector of the liner shipping market will also see the Malaysiancompany selling off some of its smaller boxships currently deployed on intra-Asian trades. Earlier in theyear, MISC signed a contract for two 7,900 teu vessels to be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and MarineEngineering for delivery in 2006 and 2007 for deployment on the Asia-Europe trade.

At the same time it moved to rationalise its business in the intra-Asia sector which it described a“difficult market” for the company. “MISC will focus its liner business on the long-haul service wherenew investments will be required, rationalise its difficult intra-Asia segment and identify older and lessefficient vessels to be disposed,” said Tan Sri Marican.



The company also aims to expand its integrated logistics capability in the liner industry by expansion ofits land-based logistics business. As liner and bulk shipping businesses are rationalised MISC is lookingto LNG and tanker shipping to secure its future earnings.

“MISC will continue to focus on growing the high yield energy transportation segment and retaining itsleadership position in the LNG and petroleum shipping businesses,” he said.

Vlaamse havens positief over akkoordDe particuliere havensector in Vlaanderen heeft positief gereageerd op het regeerakkoord dat denieuwe Vlaamse regering heeft opgesteld. De Vlaamse Havenvereniging (VHV) is vooral tevreden methet voornemen van de nieuwe bewindsploeg om de bestuurlijke vernieuwing in het havenlandschap teversterken. De uitgangspunten daarbij zijn de verzelfstandiging van de havens, de eenheid van beheervoor het havendomein, de publieke verankering en een faciliterende rol voor het Vlaamse Gewest.

S'pore-flagged ship detained at UKport after safety checks

A SINGAPORE-flagged bulk carrier was among nine foreign-flagged ships detained by theUK's Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) after failing a Port State Control safetyinspection.The detentions were made on June 25, a few days before the July 1 deadline forimplementation of new ship and port security rules.

The 1997-built capesize bulk carrier Cape Mercury was held at Port Talbot for threedays. An MCA statement said that detainable deficiencies were: port lifeboat winchbroken, crew not familiar with lifeboat lowering procedures causing breakdown of winchand unsatisfactory emergency drills.

The Cape Mercury is operated by U-Ming Marine Transport Ltd, Singapore, a subsidiaryof Taiwan-based U-Ming which had problems recently when another of its large bulkers,the Cape Africa, lost a large section of shell plating and had to be taken into a safeanchorage in South Africa.Describing a situation which cast great doubt on the effectiveness of the Cape Mercury'ssafety management system, an MCA spokesman explained what the agency's surveyorhad discovered.He told Shipping Times: 'Lifeboats were found seized in their davits. This prompted us toask for a full fire and abandon ship drill. At fire drill no records were kept of the incidentand the communication and command were poor.'For example, the master was alone on the bridge. The fire party only put on their firesuits when they got to the seat of the fire. At abandon ship, no alarm was sounded, noone had their lifejackets and no head count was taken.'He added: 'It emerged that the safety management system did include procedures andchecklists for drills but no one had used them. Subsequent drills did show animprovement.'

US-based classification society American Bureau of Shipping, which issued the ship'sSafety Management Certificate, was called and a full re-audit was carried out. The MCA spokesman said that Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore officialsresponded immediately after they were informed and are understood to be taking up thematter with the company.



TT-Line will boost route to DevonportTT-LINE is to spend A$5m (US$3.5m) in Sydney to boost the underperforming Sydney-Devonportroute, which carried just over 13,000 cars and fewer than 30,000 passengers in its first six months ofoperations, reports Lloyd’s List DCN in Sydney . The marketing campaign, which starts this week, ispart of an A$11m package aimed at countering intense price competition from airlines.

The New South Wales state government has contributed A$2m to the campaign. Figures from the BassStrait passenger vehicle equalisation scheme showed 10,000 fewer cars travelled between Melbourneand Devonport between September and April than the previous year.

TT-Line carried a record 510,000 passengers in 2002/03 on its A$290m ships

Norasia staakt twee diensten

Boven : De NORASIA POLARIS – Foto : Jan van der Klooster ©

Norasia Lines trekt zich tijdelijk terug uit twee oost/west-diensten die in samenwerking met ChinaShipping gevaren werden. Het gaat om de AMX-dienst tussen China en het Middellandse-Zeegebied ende AAC-loop over de Pacific. Beide diensten werden in februari gestart als opvolger voor de MedAmerica Pacific-pendulumdienst (MAP) die beide vaargebieden bestreek. Door het gebrek aan schepenwaren zowel de AMX als de AAC niet langer regelmatig.

Vroon acquires Seaworx



Vroon has expanded its specialist fleet with the purchase of Oceanmotive BV,commercially known as Seaworx, from AP Moller subsidiary SvitzerWijsmuller.

Seaworx operates survey, chase and guard vessels mainly in the North Sea offshore sector as well aswork ships in the Atlantic basin. Vroon will merge the Seaworx activities with those of Telco Marine, a Vroon subsidiary based in DenHelder, active in the same market segments as Seaworx. All Seaworx shore and sea staff will transferto Vroon together with the fleet that consists of 11 vessels. No financial details were disclosed.

Vroon intends to rename the merged activities at the start of the fourth quarter of 2004 to VroonOffshore Services BV. The combined fleet will consist of 23 units. The Dutch shipowner has anotherthree 3,500-dwt platform supply vessels on order at China’s Zhenjiang Shipyard in Jiangsu for deliveryin 2005.

NOL opts for long-term post-panamax charters

Deal with Mitsui for 4 vessels; no immediate plans to order super-sizedcontainer ships

Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) signalled that it prefers to charter the 'workhorses' of theindustry - the post-panamax container ships - to grow its fleet, rather than acquirenewbuildings of larger, mega ships in the near future.NOL said yesterday it finalised an agreement to take on long-term time charter, four post-panamax container ships from Mitsui of Japan, to be delivered in 2007 and 2008.The ships of 5,888-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) capacity were secured at what NOLdescribed as 'highly competitive' charter rates.

Top : The NOL TOURMALINE – Photo : coll: Piet Sinke ©

Explaining why NOL had no immediate plans to order super-sized container ships, thecontainer transportation and logistics group's president and CEO, David Lim, said: 'It willmake sense in the future to have larger ships in some trade lanes such as Asia-Europe,and we are likely to place orders down the line. But the size of ships we are charteringtoday will still be ideal and in use on key trade routes long into the future. 'This additionto our fleet offers us a lot of flexibility in configuring our network,' he said in a statementa day before the group is expected to announce a near-doubling of second-quarter profitwhen reporting its first-half results.



Speaking at the contract-signing ceremony in Singapore yesterday, NOL chairman ChengWai Keung said the ships were secured at a long-term time charter rate of US$24,300 aday, rates comparable with those seen five years ago. 'In today's climate, when charterrates are so high, this is highly competitive,' he said.

'Shipping is a growth industry. These charter agreements signal our intention to continuegrowing our fleet over the long term to meet demand. We will also increase our capacitythrough our strategic partnerships and alliances. We will continue to work to maintain theresponsiveness of our network, making the most of our assets to meet our customers'needs,' Mr Lim added.The vessels will take APL's fleet of ships in the 5,000-6,000-TEU class to 16. Thesevessels are known as the 'workhorses' of the industry because of their large cargo-carrying capacity, speed and port infrastructure compatibility, which allow them to bedeployed in the Asia-Europe and transpacific trades.'This flexibility is particularly important in today's dynamic global sourcing and productionenvironment,' NOL said in the statement.

SALESBULKERS

Kambara Kisen of Japan is said to have sold two handymax bulker contracts to a German owner for$27m each. They are being built at Tsuneishi Zosen's Cebu facility and will be delivered in 2005.

The 172,000-dwt bulker Gran Trader (built 2001) is said to have been sold to HebeiOcean Shipping Co (Hosco). The NKK-built ship, which reportedly went for $57m, is set tobe delivered to the new owner in February next year.

Three weeks ago the 172,000-dwt bulker Pierre Ld (built 1999) was reported sold for$45m.

TANKERS

Tankerska Plovidba of Croatia is said to have sold the 40,000-dwt products tanker Iz (built 1984). TheJozo Lozovina-built, double-bottom ship went to an undisclosed buyer for $6.3m, brokers say.

The 23,000-dwt tanker Wels (built 1992) is said to have been sold to a Swedish buyer. The Lindenau-built ship reportedly attracted $20m.

BOXSHIPS

The 350-teu boxship CEC Hope (built 1994) is said to have been sold to a Norwegian buyer. TheNordoeverft-built ship fetched $6.5m, brokers say.

TWEENDECKERS

The 20,500-dwt, Warnow-built tweendeckers Beate Oldendorff (built 1989) and Maria Oldendorff(built 1988) are said to have been sold to Thoresen Thai for $20.85m.

CONTAINERSHIPS

The 1,050-teu boxship Pellini (built 1992) is said to have been sold to an Italian buyer. The MTW-builtship achieved $13.25m.



PIL of Singapore is said to have bought the 1,500-teu boxship Katsina (built 1992). The ShinKurushima-built vessel fetched $23m, brokers say.

Tien extra panamax-schepen voor MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) breidt zijn vloot uit met tien extra maxi-panamax-schepen. DeZwitserse rederij koopt vier eenheden van 5.060 teu die Rickmers Reederei bij de Zuid-Koreaansescheepsbouwer Hanjin Heavy Industries bestelde voor oplevering tussen april en oktober 2006. MSCbereikte ook een akkoord met Gebab voor zes schepen van 4.550 teu die in het voorjaar bij Daewoobesteld werden. De Gebab-schepen zullen tussen eind 2005 en medio 2007 de MSC-vloot versterken.

NAVY NEWS

The M 108 - GRIMSBY seen here arriving in Aberdeen – Photo : Ferry van Rijsbergen ©

Philippine, US navy to launch jointexercises

The Philippine and the US Navy are scheduled to launch another round of week-long joint navalexercises starting from Tuesday in the main northern island of Luzon, the Philippine military saidMonday. The manoeuvres, dubbed as Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training Exercise 2004, isdesigned to promote interoperability between the two forces in combined naval operations which about2,500 Filipino and US troops are to join, the Philippine nave said in a statement.

The exercises, to be held at areas in Zambales and Cavite provinces, also aim to build bilateralfriendship and enhance militar-to-military relationships by giving its participants the opportunity towork together in planning sessions in the field, atsea, and in civic action projects. The exercises willinclude actual exercises at sea involving 10 Philippine and US navy vessels, including the Americanguided missile destroyers.



This event is separate from anti-terrorist exercises being supervised by US Army Special Forcesmembers in the strife-torn southern island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, whichwasscheduled to start Monday.

American troops in the past provided logistical support to the Philippines, a staunch Asian ally of theUS-led war on terrorism, in field operations against the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom groupinMindanao. Washington could not afford to completely abandon Manila in itswar against local militantslinked to Al-Qaeda, which is allegedly behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Untied States,accordingto analysts

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EVER DEVINE was seen at the Port of Long Beach, the 55,604 DWT vessel is built in 1998Photo : Eric Roe ©

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The STENA SEATRADER seen here departing from Hoek van Holland bound for KillingholmPhoto : Rob de Visser ©

The INSIGNIA was seen at Plymouth Sound – Photo : Ian Denton ©



The CHICAGO BRIDGE was renamed in YM CHICAGO and was seen July 21st in RotterdamPhoto : Bram Plokker ©

Semco’s newest tugs SALVANGUARD and SALVISCOUNT started their journey with the FPSO P-50from Singapore to Rio de Janeiro.Photo : SEMCO - Singapore ©

OLDIE – FROM THE SHOEBOXMany thanks on behalf of Sjaak Rooker to the people who responded on the request about data of the

ESPERANZA last week

Today I have another “mystery photo”



A picture of a vessel called LUBEE which sank August 16th , 1936Does anybody has more info about this vessel , what happened and at which location

AIRCRAFT / AIRPORT NEWSPassengers exit United Airlinesflight 840 after it was forcedto land at Sydney Airport July27, 2004. A United Airlinesflight bound for Los Angelesreturned safely to Sydneyairport on Tuesday after anote raising fears of a bombthreat was found on board,officials said

…. PHOTO OF THE DAY …..



The TOR BELGIA – Photo : Jan Verhoog ©

SMITWIJS TOWAGE B.V.

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