mpc 2009-003

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Maritime Press Collection 2009-003 News reports taken from various internet news sites Wednesday, April 10, 2009 (82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 1 / 18 Your feedback is important to me so please drop me an email if you have any photos or articles that may be of interest to the maritime interested people at sea and ashore PLEASE SEND ALL PHOTOS / ARTICLES TO: [email protected] WORLD SECOND LARGEST OFFSHORE HAVY CARRIER Offshore Heavy Transport AS (OHT) Tel. 82 51 463 8250 Email: [email protected] www.oht.no

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Maritime Press Collection 2009-003

News reports taken from various internet news sites

Wednesday, April 10, 2009

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 1 / 18

Your feedback is important to me so please drop me an email if you have any photos or articles that may be of interest to the maritime interested people at sea and ashore

PLEASE SEND ALL PHOTOS / ARTICLES TO:

[email protected]

WORLD SECOND LARGEST OFFSHORE HAVY CARRIER Offshore Heavy Transport AS (OHT)

Tel. 82 51 463 8250 Email: [email protected]

www.oht.no

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 2 / 18

SHIPBUILDING NEWS

China: Shipbuilders still in doldrums  China's fledgling shipbuilding industry is set for more hard times as industry insiders have indicated that the global shipbuilding industry is unlikely to recover in the near

future. New shipbuilding orders received by China in the first quarter of this year fell 98.3 percent year-on-year to 0.19 million deadweight tons (dwt), according to Clarkson Research Service. New orders worldwide in the first quarter have fallen by 97 percent to 1.33 million dwt. "New orders worldwide will be less than 5 million dwt in the first-half of this year and it will be quite optimistic if the figure reaches 15 million dwt for the full year," said Zhu Rujing, researcher, China

Shipbuilding Economy Research Center. Zhu estimated the 204.6 million dwt orders Chinese shipyards have pooled by the end of 2008 will decline to 150 million dwt. "The global shipbuilding depression will last three years at least, or even more than five years," Zhu said. Although major shipyards in China have pooled enough orders for production till 2011, order cancellations may increase as clients are facing cash problems. "In 2009, Chinese shipyards will deliver vessels of 56 million dwt as planned, but I guess 5 percent of them will be cancelled," said Zhang Guangqin, president, China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry. Over the next three to four years, the cash shortage in global shipbuilding industry is likely to touch $300 billion, with the shortage in China around $30 billion, said Li Li, deputy general manager, Shipping Finance Department, China Export-Import Bank. The Bank recently granted credit lines of 100 billion yuan and 60 billion yuan to China State Shipbuilding Corp and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, the two largest shipbuilders in the country. Li proposed that the government, financial institutes and shipbuilders jointly establish an industrial investment fund for shipyards. Source: China Daily

China Eximbank loads up support for shipbuilders 

The Export-Import Bank of China, a policy bank led by the State Council, granted shipbuilding-related loans totaling 102.46 billion yuan ($14.99 billion) and $7.45 billion through the end of 2008. The bank also issued bank guarantees of $20.3 billion which supported export of 2,698 vessels totaling 92.58 million deadweight tons, said bank vice president Zhu Xinqiang.

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Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 4 / 18

to-be-developed carrier is expected to slash freight fees backed by its light ship weight and enhanced safety.” Source: Maeil Business

Drydocks looks beyond offshore marine sector 

SHIPYARD giant Drydocks World-SE Asia is looking for business beyond the offshore and marine sector to keep its four yards busy, says chief executive Denis Welch. Although the offshore and marine sector will continue to grow in the long term, the worldwide economic slide and credit squeeze has made it difficult to secure new orders for rigs and related equipment. As consultancy International Maritime Associates noted in a recent report: 'The market for new floating production systems has frozen as a result of the abrupt downturn in the global economy. Over the past quarter no orders have

been placed. This is the first time since 1996, when IMA began tracking the floating production sector, that no orders have been placed during a reporting quarter.' But Dubai-owned Drydocks is not sitting on its hands and hoping for the best. Mr Welch is thinking out of the box - and looking at new lines of business he can pursue with the facilities and skills the company has. 'We're looking for opportunities to diversify - not in a radical sense, but looking for some iterations on what we do at the moment,' he says. For a start, Drydocks is well placed to manufacture industrial plant modules and alternative energy devices such as windmills and supporting structures. Renewable energy alone offers huge opportunities. For example, China and India are modernising rapidly and will require plant and equipment as they try to go greener. Mr Welch is confident there are openings for Drydocks - and aims to bring in about 20 per cent of turnover from new lines of business such as renewable energy in the near term. 'The market is potentially enormous,' he says, as policy-makers in Vietnam, Japan and elsewhere in Asia add to the strong impetus already present in the US and Europe. He is on the lookout for opportunities to tie up with other specialists with the expertise to work on such projects, for which Drydocks could fabricate parts - such as pylons and other sub-sea structures for wind power generation projects, for example. But as Drydocks looks to non-traditional areas, there is still work to be had in the traditional marine and offshore sector. There is continuing demand on the support services side of the offshore segment. 'There is a market for a huge number of specialist support craft, especially as fields get more mature,' Mr Welch notes. There is also fleet replacement, as many workhorse anchor-handling tugs are getting old, he says. The average age of the global offshore support fleet is 18.5 years. Other areas of interest for Drydocks include interesting projects by small entrepreneurial companies that require advanced design facilities. For instance, Drydocks has had enquiries about working with a Dutch company that has a radical method of providing heavy lift transport.

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 5 / 18

Mr Welch, who will be one of the speakers at a session on shipbuilding and conversions at the Sea Asia 2009 Conference, is confident that Asia has a major role to play in the world shipping and marine industry. And he is equally confident that Drydocks will play a major part in this growth - even as it looks for extra business in other spheres. Source: Business Times Singapore

Japanese shipyard closes down 

Medium-sized shipyard Kanasashi Heavy Industry has closed down due to it being unable to obtain the necessary loan capital from any bank. According to Clarkson’s information, the orders Kanasashi holds is enough for next three years. There are 16 vessels in all and most of them are break bulk vessels between 21,500 and 33,400 dwt with a total value of about 72.2 billion yen.?Kanasashi Heavy switched from ship repair to newbuildings two years ago. It is based in central Japan. Source: SeaTradeAia-Online

Keppel moves to specialise Philippine yards 

KEPPEL Shipyard says it is trying to replicate the operational specialisation of its Singapore yards in the Philippines as it moves to focus its Cebu yard solely on shipbuilding. Keppel, which has three yards in the Philippines, is downsizing its workforce at Keppel Cebu as it switches the yard to concentrate solely on specialised vessel building. “If in all three of our yards in Singapore we were to do everything, we would not be as strong as we are,” said Keppel Shipyard executive director Nelson Yeo.

In Singapore, Keppel FELs specialises in rigbuilding, Keppel Shipyard in shiprepair and conversion and Keppel Singamarine in the building of specialised vessels. “It is a strategy we want to follow in the Philippines,” Mr Yeo said. This will mean that while the Cebu yard focuses on shipbuilding, Keppel’s Subic and Batangas yards will concentrate on the shiprepair and conversion businesses. The decision has, however, proved controversial in the Philippines, with Keppel cutting its 400-strong workforce at the Cebu yard by as much as half through a combination of lay-offs and redeployments to other facilities. However, according to local reports, a deal was struck on Wednseday with the union Keppel Shipyard-National Federation of Labor. On the decision to focus the Cebu yard solely on shipbuilding at this time, Mr Yeo stressed that it would concentrate on specialised vessels and not the building of conventional ships. Keppel is currently extending the very large crude carrier dock at its Subic yard so that it

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 6 / 18

will be able to accommodate two capesize bulkers for repair at any one time. Meanwhile, Keppel will soon start sending staff to its new joint venture yard in Qatar ahead of the first dock coming onstream at the end of the first quarter 2010. The $450m Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine Shipyard in Ras Laffan is a 80:20 joint venture between Qatar Gas Transport (Nakilat) and Keppel Shipyard, and will be managed by the Singapore company.

DSME chiefs take pay cut 

DAEWOO Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering chief executive Nam Sang-tae is to return 20% of his 2008 salary as a gesture to encourage executives and staff to reduce costs by Won500bn ($369m) in 2009. DSME management and executives will return 10% of their 2008 wage packets, and workers and staff-level employees will suffer a wage freeze during 2009. Mr Nam was initiating the move so that the company could take on an additional 1,800 new workers, a source within the shipyard told Lloyd’s List. Some 750 new workers will be employed at DSME’s main shipyard. The remainder will work at the company’s affiliate operations. The move represents a 25% increase in recruitment

allotment from earlier plans, as the company grapples with unprecedented levels of new orders received in 2006-2007. DSME secured orders worth approximately $16bn in 2008. Born: by Mike Grinter

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Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 7 / 18

Offshore News

BG Group makes discovery at Corcovado‐1  Dubai-based Specialist Services has completed the design and manufacture of a 50-man accommodation module and additional living quarters for Chevron for the existing Erawan living quarters platform in the Gulf of Thailand. Construction of the 160-ton accommodation module took eight months. The living quarters consists of four, two and one-man cabins laid out over 16 units on two levels. Living quarters of this size are normally manufactured as single jetty side modules and shipped for final installation using heavy lift crane barges which has high cost implications. By ensuring that each unit weighed no more than 10 tonnes (11 tons), it was possible to utilize the existing platform crane and thus avoid the high cost and logistical problems of hiring a heavy lift barge. The units were fabricated and pre-assembled to form to complete living quarters in Specialist Services Dubai yard. Offshore installation and hookup were undertaken by Chevron. Along with commissioning, these activities took eight weeks to complete. Source: Energy Current

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 8 / 18

Repsol strikes oil, gas in Sirte Basin offshore Libya  TRIPOLI: Repsol has discovered oil with the A1-NC202 new field wildcat well in the Sirte Basin off the coast of Libya. The well is located just over nine miles (15 km) west from the coast and 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Benghazi City, Libya. The well drilled to a total depth of about 15,815 feet (4,820 m) in a water depth of about 164 feet (50 m) using Premium Drilling jackup COSLForce. The initial production testing established a flow of 1,264 b/d of 26-degree API oil and 580,000 cf/d of natural gas through a half-inch choke. The Dernah

formation was tested at an interval between 4,484 feet (1,367 m) and 4,442 feet (1,354 m) total depth. The well represents the first discovery in block NC202, which was awarded by Libya's National Oil Co. (NOC) in November 2003. Repsol Exploration Murzuq operates the block with 21 percent interest. Partners are NOC with 65 percent interest and OMV Oil and Gas Exploration with the remaining 14 Source: Energy Current

Silverstone hits insufficient gas at Northwest Vulcan  CALGARY, AB: Silverstone Energy Ltd., a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Storm Ventures International Inc., has abandoned the 48/25c-6 well on the Northwest Vulcan prospect in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf sector of the Southern North Sea. The well was drilled efficiently to 7,910 feet (2,411 m) total depth by Transocean jackup GSF Labrador under a turnkey well management arrangement with ADTI. It encountered a 265-foot (81-m) gas column and in Silverstone's view, appears to share a common gas water contact over the extent of the Vulcan Northwest structure, which was previously tested with wells 48/25a-4 and 48/25b-5, and it extends east onto block 48/25b. The overall prospect is estimated to contain between 150 Bcf and 250 Bcf of gas in place in the tight Upper Leman reservoir. Following the wireline log, measurement while drilling and preliminary core analysis evaluation of the Rotliegendes Leman sandstone reservoir, the decision was taken to plug and abandon the well due to the limited gas in place determined on the joint acreage. Silverstone considers the well an appraisal of the fallow discovery on the adjoining lands in 48/25b and is reviewing the well results, including final core analysis, a detailed

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 9 / 18

petrophysical review and other commercial information before determining commerciality and finalizing the overall development strategy. Silverstone CEO Matt Brister said, ''Our partnership is disappointed that the 48/25c-6 well did not encounter sufficient reserves to support stand alone commercial development, but Silverstone [is] very encouraged that the new technical information supports a positive view as to the commerciality of our Northwest Vulcan fallow discovery adjoining to the east and may have some synergies with other company-operated activity in the immediate area."

US rigs fall by 38  The number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas in the US declined this week as producers continued to scale back exploration and production amid sliding energy prices. The number of oil and gas rigs fell to 1005, down 38 from last week, according to rig data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of gas rigs was 790, a drop of 18 rigs from last week, while the oil-rig count declined by 20 to 204, said a Dow Jones report. The number of miscellaneous rigs remained at 11. Colorado lost five rigs, Texas lost 22 rigs and Alaska lost three this week. Oklahoma lost four rigs while California and North Dakota lost two rigs each. New Mexico lost one and Louisiana gained five while Arkansas gained one.

Total may develop China block this year  French oil company Total may formally launch the development of its first major gas block in China before the end of this year. PetroChina's "chairman is very supportive of this joint venture between our two groups and we should be ready to make the launch decision before the year end," Total chief executive Christophe de Margerie told reporters in Beijing. Total and top Chinese oil producer PetroChina signed a production sharing contract in 2006 for the evaluation, development and production of the Sulige South gas Block in the

Inner Mongolia region that covers 2390 square kilometres. Total has already submitted an overall development plan to PetroChina, Chinese media reported. PetroChina also has similar deals with Royal Dutch Shell on the Changbei gas Block in Inner Mongolia and Chevron on the Chuandongbei Block in Sichuan province to tap gas deposits that it finds difficult to extract, reported Reuters.

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 10 / 18

SHIPPING NEWS

Hapag‐Lloyd cuts €500m in costs  GERMAN container line Hapag-Lloyd has started a major restructuring programme that will see the company cut jobs and apply short-time work in an attempt to cut costs by €500m ($661.9m). In addition, Hapag-Lloyd will reduce the number of its regional offices from five to three, company spokeswoman Eva Gjersvik confirmed. There will be branch offices for Europe, Asia and the Americas. After its acquisition of CP Ships, Hapag-Lloyd had established separate offices for northern and southern Europe and for North and South America. These will now be combined again. Ms Gjersvik said that the company wants to apply reduced working hours for onshore staff in Germany. The company is still in negotiations with staff representatives so it is not clear in which areas short-time work will be applied and when it will start. “We believe that it will start soon,” Ms Gjersvik said. Under short-time working rules in Germany, the government’s unemployment fund pays

part of the wages lost by workers when working reduced hours. Hapag-Lloyd also aims to reduce its staffing levels and does not rule out laying-off employees. “We hope that this will not be necessary,” Ms Gjersvik said. She did not reveal how many jobs would be

cut. “It depends on the outcome of the talks with staff representatives,” she said. The talks will probably last until May. Ms Gjersvik added that Hapag-Lloyd had already reduced the number of staff by 200 since 2008. This was due to a streamlining of the organisational structure in the US subsidiary. The company has also implemented a freeze on recruitment and expects to reduce costs by €500m in 2009. The restructuring will see a strengthening of the Hamburg headquarters of Hapag-Lloyd as certain areas of work will be centralised in Germany. Yesterday, Lloyd’s List reported that Hapag-Lloyd wants to move its UK documentation offices to India and China where it operates global service centres. Hapag-Lloyd has also started to shrink its fleet. Chief executive Michael Behrendt said in an interview that the number of vessels had been reduced from 148 to 130 since the beginning of the financial crisis. “We partly handed back chartered vessels as we fortunately made mainly short-term contracts, compared with many of our competitors,” Mr Behrendt told the German press. Mr Behrendt also revealed that Hapag-Lloyd had so far not cancelled any orders for newbuildings. “So far no shipowners have managed to cancel their orders,” he said. “The shipyards insist on fulfilling contracts.”

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 11 / 18

However, Hapag-Lloyd has a comparatively small number of vessels on order compared with its rivals. The carrier has a total of 14 vessels on order with a capacity of 8,750 teu each. Two of them will be delivered in 2009, five in 2010 and seven in 2011. Another two 8,750 teu vessels were already delivered in 2008. The company did not order ultralarge containerships of 12,000 teu or above. Born: by Patrick Hagen

Maersk shipping company says safe return of abducted captain in Indian Ocean is top priority 

AP Andrea Phillips holds a photo of her husband, Capt. Richard Phillips on Wednesday, at her home in Underhill, Vt. Phillips is the captain of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship Maersk Alabama which was hijacked by Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa

NORFOLK, Virginia - The shipping company Maersk says the safe return of its abducted captain is now its top priority. Corroborating existing reports, company spokesman Kevin Speers said "the most recent contact" with the ship seized by pirates indicates that Capt. Richard Phillips remains hostage and that a Navy ship, the USS Bainbridge, is on the scene nearby. Speers said Thursday the company "is grateful" for the support it has received from the military establishment and the federal government. He also says "the safe return of the captain is our foremost priority." Speers says everything the company has done in the past 24 hours has been meant to improve chances of a peaceful outcome to the standoff in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia.

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 12 / 18

Boxship charter rates bump along the bottom 

THE very first glimmer of evidence that freight rates have stopped sliding in the Asia to Europe container trades has started to emerge, with some lines reporting partial success with their modest April rate restoration efforts, writes Janet Porter . But ocean rates had already fallen so far that they could not have dropped much further, and much the same could also be said of the charter market where owners are just about covering operating costs. Any further erosion of rates, and some form of lay-off is the only logical option. The number of idle ships is expected to grow sharply in the coming months as lines adjust fleet capacity by returning vessels whose charters expire. CMA CGM alone has said that contracts on 180 of the 297 ships it has on charter will mature this year, and many of these will be returned to their owners rather than re-hired. Others will be chartered back at much lower rates than previously fixed. Latest Clarkson Research figures show that average time charter rates for a geared 1,700

teu ship fell to $5,250 a day in March from $5,500 in February and $18,500 a day 12 months ago. A 4,400 teu panamax saw average daily earnings drop to $8,500 in March from $12,000 a day in February and $38,000 in March 2008 — although market conditions are so thin that there is very little business in some size

brackets. Fixtures are few and far between for ships above 2,000 teu, although Mediterranean Shipping Co has chartered the 3,100 teu Fesco Diomid for one month at a reported $4,800 a day, possibly to ship empties back from Europe to Asia where they are cheaper to store. Most charters are for short periods, although MSC has also taken the 1,835 teu AS Pegasus for six months at a reported $5,250 a day, with the option of another six months. That has led some brokers to speculate whether lines will now return to the market to lock in ships at record low rates, although with so much tonnage at anchor or laid up, there is unlikely to be a shortage of capacity for years to come. Owners are still making very little progress persuading Asian shipyards to cancel orders, although some delivery delays have now been agreed. CMA CGM is one of those that has managed to postpone completion of some big ships originally scheduled for delivery in 2009 by up to six months,. The orderbook has slipped to the lowest level in 18 months, according to Alphaliner, but is still huge. At the start of the month, there were 1,045 boxships of 5.8m teu on order, equivalent to 46% of the current fleet. That compares with the peak of 64% in 2007. But over the next nine months, another 1.4m teu is scheduled for delivery, bringing the 2009 total to 1.7m teu. Alphaliner still expects annual average fleet growth to reach 13%, before allowing for scrapping, over the next three years. Some completed ships are going directly into lay-up.

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 13 / 18

Source: Lloyd’s List

Global LNG fleet set to grow by a quarter  THE global liquefied natural gas tanker fleet may expand by almost a quarter in the coming years as newbuildings come on stream to cope with rising production of LNG, according to

a report by Merrill Lynch. Analysts at the US investment bank expect the fleet, which is currently comprised of more than 300 ships, or 23m dwt, to expand by about 77 ships, or 6m tonnes.

“After a dry spell in the past two years, supply from new liquefaction capacity appears now poised to surge this year and next,” the analysts wrote in the report. They said they expected to see net additions of 17.3m tonnes to LNG supply this year and 41.6m tonnes in 2010 even as economic growth slows across most of the globe. “Despite our expectation of an 18m tonne increase in LNG trade, we believe that the surplus in LNG shipping capacity will likely increase this year, suggesting relatively cheap LNG transport costs going forward,” Merrill Lynch said. Demand for LNG has slumped in Asia as GDP fell in developed nations such as Japan and Taiwan so shipments are most likely to go to destinations in Europe such as Dragon’s new LNG terminal in Wales or France’s capacity in continental Europe. “While the outlook for underlying natural gas demand is also lacklustre due to the deepening recession, European countries will have to rebuild inventories in the coming months, partly relying on LNG imports,” the analysts said. Merrill Lynch expects European LNG imports to increase by only 1bn cu ft a day compared to last year, due to logistical bottlenecks. “Any residual gas that Europe cannot pick up will thus flow to the North American LNG market, in our view,” Merrill said. A number of new projects are being developed this year to boost LNG production. In Russia, the Sakhalin project has now delivered its first test cargo. In Qatar, the first of six 7.8m tonne mega-trains is reportedly on the verge of loading its first cargo destined for the UK, while in Indonesia, BP’s Tangguh LNG project is finally ready to deliver in June. Source: Lloyd’s List

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 14 / 18

Australia ratifies bunker convention  AUSTRALIA has signed the bunker convention, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) announced yesterday. The International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage 2001 entered into force internationally on November 21 last year. The International Maritime Organization received Australia’s ratification on March 16, and the convention will come into force in Australia on June 16. The Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage) Act 2008, which implements the convention in Australia, will also begin on that date, AMSA said. From June 16, any seagoing vessel greater than 1000 gt entering Australian ports or offshore facilities will be required to carry a certificate of insurance or other financial security in respect of civil liability for bunker oil pollution damage, or bunkers certificate. The bunkers certificate will be issued by parties to the bunkers convention stating that insurance or other financial security is in place with the ship to cover the liability of the registered owner for pollution damage up to the limits specified in the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976, as amended. AMSA said Australia had adopted the 1996 protocol amending this convention, which specifies higher limits than the original 1976 convention. Australian-registered ships will be required to have a bunkers certificate issued by AMSA, even if they have already obtained a certificate from another country that is a party to the Bunkers Convention. Foreign-registered vessels will need a bunkers certificate issued by their flag state, if their flagged state is a party to the bunkers convention, or any party to the bunkers convention, if their flagged state is not a party. In addition to issuing certificates for Australian vessels, AMSA can also issue certificates to ships flying the flag of a non-party if a certificate has not already been obtained and the vessel will be entering an Australian port. Source: Lloyd’s List

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 15 / 18

OTHER NEWS

Darwin Port Corporation investing heavily in improvements  Mining Australia reports that the Darwin Port Corporation (DPC) is in the process of spending in excess of A$70 million of investment capital to improve facilities at Australia’s Northern Gateway port.

The Northern Territory (NT) Government has committed A$68.5 million to a capital infrastructure programme to be carried out in 2008/09, and the Australian Federal Government has injected a further A$3.2 million to fund an all-tides access dredging study and a technical and financial feasibility study to assess the implications of using vessels

larger than Panamax class to increase bulk export capacity.

According to the DPC, part of the infrastructure programme involves the development of the East Arm Wharf Facilities Masterplan 2030, which will result in a long-term Port Masterplan and a staged Port Development Plan for East Arm Wharf.

Nice Class Vessel    Introducing a new Superyacht design concept, Palmer Johnson World is a unique Ice Class series of luxury oceangoing superyachts defined by a distinctive style and powerful presence. Capable of traversing the most remote regions in extreme climatic conditions, PJ World uses the latest Rolls Royce design competence in offshore technology to ensure peak performance, endurance, reliability, low ownership costs and maintenance efficiency.

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 16 / 18

Having acquired the Norwegian shipyard Flekkefjord Slipp & Maskinfabrikk’s which is one of a handful worldwide with experience in building complex seismic, research and exploration vessels, Palmer Johnson Norway adopts a new approach whereby the starting point is to optimize the vessel’s design to its operational profile. Exemplifying this groundbreaking approach, specific to the PJ World Yacht- a Rolls Royce UT hull is optimized to a Diesel-Electric Azipull Propulsion system to cultivate a multitude of operational benefits. The design reduces the loss of speed in head seas, reduces vibration and noise levels, improves the vessel’s manoeuvrability and control and contributes to the vessel’s “Clean Class” notification. Further, improvements in propulsion efficiency reduce the required level of installed power therefore reducing both the running costs and the emission of harmful gases

  The Diesel- Electric Propulsion system not only contributes towards the DNV “Clean Class” status, it also allows for greater operational flexibility. The captain can match the number and type of engines that are run to the desired transit speed and on-board hotel load in any set of conditions. The vessel can run with full hotel load at full speed on the main diesels without requiring generators; it can travel at 13 knots on one main engine or at 6 knots on one auxiliary generator set. The vessel can operate on any combination of mains and auxiliaries that match the hotel load and speed at the given time offering optimum controllability.

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 17 / 18

Exceptional station-keeping capabilities are achieved via Dynamic Positioning on the PJ World allowing the vessel to be “moored” in environmentally sensitive or restricted areas without the traditional use of lines or anchors. Instead, the onboard propulsion system and thrusters work together to control the position by centralised automatic responses to variations in sea conditions. Other features include a Certified Heli Deck, Heli hangar, an optional garage designed for a six man Discovery submarine, and a superior Rolls Royce at-rest stabilization system. Security features such as water cannons, forward scanning sonar, thermal imaging, closed circuit television and acoustic shields are also available on this vessel.

True to the Palmer Johnson identity, Italian designers Nuvolari-Lenard have ensured the six-deck interior and exterior living areas provide the highest degree of comfort. Focusing on well-being, healthy living and relaxation, large open spaces are emphasized and extensive panoramic sea views create an open environment for ocean voyages. The owner’s apartment is situated on the fourth, fifth and sixth decks comprising of bedroom suite, walk-in dressing room, separate business and private lounges, office and a Jacuzzi sundeck with 360 degree viewing. One of the first features to be seen on this Superyacht is the novel aft beach house which looks forward onto an outdoor swimming pool deck. Adding to the list of luxuriant features are a fully equipped gym, spa with Hammam, sauna with treatment room, cinema, piano foyer and infirmary.

The layout design shows a high consideration to the separation of crew and guests. A maximum crew of 27 can be accommodated according to the General Arrangement of single, double and triple berth cabins. Crew and staff living areas comprise a separate galley, mess two lounges and dedicated gymnasium. Special attention was also given to provisioning of the vessel along with generous dry, refrigerated and frozen storage.

Maritime Press Collection 2009-003                      Wednesday, April 10, 2009

News reports taken from various internet news sites

(82) 51 463 8250 • [email protected] 18 / 18

PJ World is destined to be another truly iconic Palmer Johnson design. By providing environmentally friendly solutions that heighten performance whilst reducing costs and utilizing robust, reliable systems proven in the most extreme North Atlantic Seas- PJ World promises to be a game changing feat of engineering and design excellence. Palmer Johnson World will transform the conventional concept behind exploration-style vessels and introduce a revolutionary ocean voyager for the future. Source: SHIPTALK

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