Cyprus keen on further boosting shipping sector Cyprus is planning to boost its shipping registry in a bid to maintain the nation's status as a "global shipping power." At a forum organised by the Cyprus Union of Shipowners last Friday, President Nicos Anastasiades said the government is committed to assisting further development in the shipping sector, noting that a number of key measures are underway. Among the initiatives planned are offering incentives for maritime industry investors and raising awareness on the benefits of the Cypriot flag for vessels and management companies. Anastasiades said that bolstering the shipping sector remains a priority as it is one of Cyprus's economic pillars. The president likewise stressed that shipping companies are set to benefit from the recent discovery of natural gas in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone, noting that oil production will likely transform the country into a major energy hub. Anastasiades also reiterated that his government is exhausting all means to encourage Turkey to lift its restrictive measures against Nicosia, saying that such embargoes hinder free competition in the country's maritime trade with the European Union. Lastly, the president hailed improving ties between Cyprus and Greece, noting that the two nations are committed to jointly develop their shipping sectors. SAFETY STUDY GROUNDS FOR CONCERN? A 70-metre product tanker ran aground while navigating near some small islands amid less-than-ideal conditions. NARRATIVE A 70-metre product tanker was steaming south in ballast, having discharged her cargo of gas oil the previous day. It was a miserable night, with squally showers and south-westerly winds of force seven to eight, although the visibility was fairly good. The passage plan had been produced to take a more sheltered route in the lee of various islands due to the forecast high winds. But the tanker had to pass restricted waters, including some narrow straits notorious for high tidal streams. A reduced speed was adopted to ensure they reached the straits at slack water. The vessel entered restricted waters about three and a half miles before the entrance to the straits, making good at a speed of about seven knots. The mate was on the helm, with an AB on lookout and the master acting as OOW. After about a mile, the vessel passed a buoy, and the master moved aft to the chart room to record their position - estimated visually and using the GPS cross-track function. While in the chart room, the master ordered a course change in accordance with the plan to safely pass some small islands on the port side, which the mate duly carried out. The master also switched off the echo sounder and heard the windnoticeably pick up. As he returned to the main control area a couple of minutes later, the AB shouted "rocks." Despite the engines being put full astern immediately, the vessel ran aground seconds later on one of the small islands. Fortunately there was no pollution and no injuries, but significant damage was sustained in way of several tanks, including water ingress into No1 DB. The vessel was towed the next morning after an initial attempt failed. LESSONS - It is arguable that if the AB had been on the helm, and the mate had been acting as OOW, the master would have been far better placed to have monitored the vessel's overall position and take appropriate action. This highlights the need for efficient management of the available bridge resources. - Although complying with the regulatory requirements, the equipment available to the bridge team was quite basic. Not only did the radars lack mapping facilities, but also only a single parallel index could be plotted at any one time. Source: UK MAIB Anti-piracy operation finds illegal drugs cargo off Somalia New Zealand and Australian forces have discovered a major cargo of illegal drugs during anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, the New Zealand Defence Force said in a statement on Monday. The cargo of hashish, valued at AUD280 million (USD245.76 million), was found aboard a dhow that a New Zealand air force P-3K2 Orion and Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba had trailed from the Arabian Sea to the Horn of Africa, Xinhua reported. After four days of bad weather, the crew of the Toowoomba were able to board the dhow and, after an exhaustive search, the boarding team discovered 5,588 kg of hashish in hessian bags, said the statement. The forces were operating under the command of the Pakistan- navy led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150), the Combined Maritime Forces task group charged with conducting maritime security operations to deny terrorists the use of the seas as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other illicit material. "This was a great result for the combined New Zealand and Australian force and our Pakistan Navy colleagues at CTF-150 who led the operation," New Zealand Air Commodore Kevin McEvoy said in the statement. Shipowners' confidence on Suezmax tanker market up Renewed confidence among shipowners has prompted the Suezmax tanker market to rebound in 2014 following its dismal performance over the past three years. In its latest report, Gibson said that newbuilding ordering activity for the segment had declined since reaching a new peak in 2010, when 52 Suezmax Newbuildings orders were placed in the first half alone. The figure slid by more than 50% in 2011 and it went down further in the next two years. One of the reasons behind the drop, according to the shipbroker, was the drop in demand for West African crude in the US, triggering a dramatic change in trading patterns of Suezmax tankers from the region. But according to the shipbroker, gradual hikes in the spot market coupled with an increase in spot fixtures in the latter parts of 2013 somewhat boosted shipowners' confidence in the sector anew this year, resulting in newbuilding orders to reach 24 as of this month. Meanwhile, Gibson noted that the VLCC market also received a much-needed boost in the past week on the back of charterers' move in clearing their more immediate lines in anticipation of holidays in the Middle East, as well as East Asian nations such as China and South Korea. It was, however, a different story for Aframaxes in the North Sea as tonnage lists were not able to sustain the week's growth rate. PAGE 2 - Thursday, October 9, 2014
SHIPPING DATA BALTIC EXCHANGE Market snapshot: (October 3) Dry Index BDI 1037 -4 Capes!e Index BCI 17"# -30 $ana%ax Index B$I ##7 &' ()pra%ax Index B(I 10*# -" +andys!e Index B+(I "30 -1 EXCHANGE RATES ,e- .ork (/r C0s) /1n C)rrency 2(D n /1n n 2(D C)rrency Brtan ($o)nd) 13"'47 034*43 Canada (Do00ar) 03###4 131*"4 Chna (.)an) 0314*' 4313'0 5)ro 13*"11 037''3 Inda (6)pee) 03014* 413"400 Indonesa (6)pah) 030000#* 1***"300 7apan (.en) 0300'104 10'3#400 ,or-ay (8rone) 031"31 43"30* $h0ppnes ($eso) 030**3 443'100 $o0and (90oty) 03*'#" 333"00 6)ssa (6)b0e) 030*"1 3'3'1"1 (n1apore (Do00ar) 037#00 13*#*0 2krane (+ry:na) 03077* 1*3'4"0 INCIDENTS Heavy rain hampers search for missing Malaysian navy vessel A Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) combat vessel with seven onboard lost contact with an escort vessel during a voyage in the South China Sea, according to state news agency Bernama. The Malaysian Air Force had sent a Beechcraft aircraft to search for the missing navy vessel but heavy rain was hampering the search operation, local media reported on Monday. Bernama quoted Chief of Navy Abdul Aziz Jaafar as saying that the CB90 type of combat vessel lost communication with the escort vessel KD Paus during a voyage in the South China Sea. He said in a statement that the vessel left the RMN base in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, at 5am on Sunday and lost contact with the escort vessel at 11:15am, adding that the incident occurred during bad weather in the region. Abdul Aziz said a search operation had been carried out by RMN assets, the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). He said that the crew of the seven people on the missing vessel was headed by Lt Azri Bakar, Xinhua reported. The MMEA had assigned two vessels and a plane to assist the search and rescue operation, according to The Star, a local English-language newspaper. Boat capsizes in Thailand Two Indian tourists drowned Sunday near a popular resort area in southern Thailand after their boat capsized in bad weather, police said, the latest blow to the country's tourism industry. The pair were not wearing life jackets when the small boat they were travelling in overturned during a heavy downpour about 100 metres from Nopparatara beach in Krabi province, local police officer Rittichai Wangsud said. The tourists were returning from a visit to nearby Railay Beach, which is well known for the towering limestone crags that line its shores. Rittichai said the boat's Thai pilot survived and was in custody. He said the man was being charged in the deaths and could face up to ten years in jail, The Jakarta Post reported. DEVELOPMENT China launches plan to revitalise transport sector The Chinese government has unveiled a plan that aims to ease the flow of goods at ports, roads and railways by 2020. The scheme will try to address excessive road tolls and poor connectivity that affect development in the world's No2 economy. "Infrastructure is comparatively backward and cannot satisfy the demands of the development of modern logistics," the government said. The government will likewise urge logistics firms to form larger entities through merger. The initiative aims to resolve "chokeholds" in the transport sector and improve railway and port integration as well as launch more facilities to boost the transport of goods. Furthermore, the state will ask companies to construct oil and LNG tankers and ports that can handle mineral imports. The plan comes as the administration aims to address the slowing economy by introducing new reforms that will avoid massive spending. In 2013, logistics costs cover 18% of the country's gross domestic product, which is about two times more than the logistics spending of developed countries. PORTS Detroit Port Authority head sets sights on maritime operations New Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority executive director John Lofus has pledged that his agency will put further focus on addressing maritime issues instead of looking for extra powers to enhance economic development along the Detroit River. The official pointed out that the port body will have a lot of work to do in resolving issues related to maritime operations. "As I look at the challenges and opportunities that exist in Detroit, my focus is really going to be the maritime operations. We have plenty to do. We do not have a lot of recourses," Loftus said. Loftus, who replaced John Jamian in August, said that he will soon release priority measures that the authority should tackle, including the launching of a ferry service to Canada. The executive director believed that the market is in Canada, but stressed that the agency needs to initially figure out the essential moves to successfully launch port expansion and operations in the neighbouring country. KVH Media Group Ltd produces the market- leading KVH SatNews service, incorporating NEWSlink which provides 75+ titles for seafarers. Address: 15 Nafpliou St., 1st Floor, P.O. Box 3627, 3317 Limassol, Cyprus. Tel: +357 25340360 Email: info@newslink.kvh.com Copyright 2014 KVH Media Group Ltd is a KVH company. All rights reserved. PORT OF THE WEEK PORT OF NAGOYA The Port of Nagoya, Japan, is situated at the innermost part of Ise Bay, which is located at the centre of the Japanese Archipelago on the east coast facing the Pacific Ocean. The Port has steadily grown since it opened for international trade on November 10, 1907. The complex is an integrated international port, handling all types of cargo (general, container, bulk, liquid). Its is the largest port in Japan in terms of total cargo throughput, which reached 208 million tons in 2013. The terminal takes pride as the leading commercial port in Japan in terms of trade value (total export/import value), which amounted to JPY16.3 trillion in 2013. This total transaction is approximately 11% of the nation's total trade value of about JPY151 trillion. The Port's interior is also home to Japan's automobile industry. The Nagoya terminal is the No1 automobile exporting port in Japan, shipping approximately 1.5 million complete vehicles annually. The Port also plays a major role as a point of entry to Japan, through its connections with approximately 160 countries around the world. The complex is administered by the Nagoya Port Authority, an independent local government body created by law. In 2013, there were 32,619 ship arrivals in Nagoya Port. Its main trading export items are automobiles, automobile parts, steel materials, industrial machineries and chemical products It also serves as a major import port for LNG, iron ore, crude oil, coal and wearable items. Various specialised terminals are located within the Port. Major industrial complexes such as oil refineries, an LNG base, steel mills and automobile export bases, each of which is equipped with cargo handling facilities, are in operation in the waterfront areas.