The Essential Tool For Today's Ship Owners And Ship Managers
Panama has calmed fears over the effects the global financial crisis will have on the expansion plans for the Panama Canal by tying in five major multilateral agencies from Europe, Asia and Latin America to handle the $2.3bn needed for the next stage of expansion.
Panamanian President Martín Torrijos announced the final financing structure which comes after months of extensive negotiations.
Under the terms of the $2.3 billion … Read More…
Stratos Global Corporation has begun field testing of Iridium’s OpenPort marine satellite system with Fugro onboard a vessel operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
During the initial phase of the communications field testing onboard the Betty Cheramie, Fugro is using Iridium OpenPort to provide post-Hurricane Ike damage assessments of oil and gas platforms operated by a major independent oil & gas company.
Fugro is conducting these assessments to determine the … Read More…
It appears it is all doom and gloom at the Singapore Maritime Week with brokers claiming there is no sale and purchase market currently operating and bankers warning of a complete drying up of finance for new or second hand ships.
One broker questioned by SMI, said that those cash rich owners capable of taking up available tonnage, were waiting in the wings in anticipation of vessel values … Read More…
International Registries, Inc. (IRI), the Marshall Islands Maritime and Corporate Administrator, is seeing a dramatic increase in the number of vessels from Japan and Korea following the decentralisation of the Registry and the development of local offices in the two countries.
During the next three years Japanese owners have indicated that they will register more than 100 vessels of some 3 million tonnes and Korean owners have committed … Read More…
The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has formally adopted the changes to Marpol Annex VI, in a move labelled ‘historic’ by IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos. The stricter emissions standards hope to see heavy fuel oils eventually phased out completely in the commitment to creating a ‘greener’ shipping industry.
“I am confident that, once adopted as amendments to Marpol Annex VI in the coming October, the new measures … Read More…
Pirates preying on the world’s busiest shipping route in the Gulf of Aden have provoked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) to deploy a permanent patrol off the coast of Somalia, writes Thomas Land from Budapest.
The decision announced at a Nato ministerial conference in Budapest follows an action call by the United Nations Security Council. Other countries are to cooperate. The number of recorded pirate attacks in … Read More…
The US has become the 53rd state to ratify Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), with the deposition today of an instrument of ratification with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Annex VI, which was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in May 2005, regulates the discharge of atmospheric pollutants from ships. Among other things, it set, for the first time, … Read More…
V.Ships has raised concerns that the Master and Chief Officer of the Hebei Spirit “may not get a fair trial” when their appeal takes place later in the year.
In a further comment, the company claimed that the criminalisation of seafarers was having a detrimental effect on the industry at a time when there was a chronic crew shortage.
V.Ships President Roberto Giorgi recently visited Korea in a … Read More…
The continuing turmoil in world financial markets is hitting the shipping industry in many ways, including a deterioration in onshore labour relations.
The worst financial climate seen in some 80 years, since 1929, is encouraging labour unrest in an increasing number of countries as workers strike in attempts to obtain better pay and conditions, according to The Strike Club, the mutual one-stop shop for delay cover.
The summer … Read More…
Leading accountant and consultant Moore Stephens says the latest guidance from the Financial Services Authority on the Solvency II regime contains some new and challenging tasks for the UK insurance industry and it warns that the governance arrangements in some sectors of the business may not be capable of reacting to external events such as the current credit crunch, and may therefore not comply with Solvency II requirements.
India has slammed South Korea for victimising innocent seafarers and called on the Seoul government to allow the Captain and Chief Officer of the Hebei Spirit to return home pending the appeal process.
India told the 58th session of the IMO MEPC meeting in London, that it “will not and cannot support the criminalisation of seafarers nor the unjust, unreasonable or unfair treatment that is contrary to the principles … Read More…
Posidonia could be winging its way back to Piraeus after the port authority signed a €90 million agreement with a consortium of local investors and real estate developers and construction companies to build a new Expo Centre in the Palataki area of the port zone of Piraeus.
Under the terms of the agreement, the consortium, named AEAS, will build and operate the new Expo Centre. The projects will … Read More…
