A NewsLink service for Dole Chile

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Philippines to open additional
shipping routes
The Philippines government plans to open more
shipping routes between Mindanao and other
key areas (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines - East ASEAN Growth Area -
BIMP-EAGA) in the next two years, Mindanao
Development Authority (MinDA) chairperson
Luwalhati Antonino said.
The additional shipping routes will connect
major and alternate ports within the sub-regional
grouping through the Roll on/Roll off (Ro-Ro)
system, Antonino added.
BIMP-EAGA includes the entire sultanate of
Brunei Darussalam; the provinces of East and
West Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, Kalimantan,
Maluku island chain and Irian Jaya in Eastern
Indonesia; the federal states of Sabah and
Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan in
Eastern Malaysia and the islands of Mindanao
and Palawan in the Philippines.
Antonino said that talks, which involve the
private sector, specifically business chambers
and related groups, are underway for the
establishment of these shipping routes.
Among the initial results of the initiative is the
opening this week of the shipping services
covering the cities of Davao and General Santos
in Mindanao as well as Tahuna and Bitung in
North Sulawesi, Indonesia, she said.
MinDA chairperson further said that a Ro-Ro
shipping route has already been set up between
Kudat in Sabah, Malaysia and Brooke's Point in
Palawan.
"These are just the start (of our Ro-Ro
expansions). We're working on adding more
routes soon," she said at a press conference at
the sidelines of the 23rd Mindanao Business
Conference.
Antonino said the opening of the
Davao-General Santos-Tahuna-Bitung route is
mainly a private sector-led initiative, with the
business chambers of Davao City and this city
leading the efforts. (With inputs from PNA)
SAFETY STUDY
HANDS-ON TRAINING - YES - BUT DON'T
LOSE CONTROL!
A chief officer under training fails to conduct a
port turn, causing a ferry to strike the
breakwater knuckle.
NARRATIVE
A ferry was leaving port in daylight. The bridge
was manned, as normal, by the master, the
chief officer and a helmsman. However,
instead of the master handling the controls,
the chief officer, as part of his training, was
manoeuvring the vessel.
The chief officer had only recently joined the
vessel, having served a number of years as a
pilot in a different geographical location. The
ferry, which was fitted with a Becker rudder,
was required to conduct a port turn to exit the
harbour between two breakwaters. After
manoeuvring from her berth, she proceeded at
slow speed so as to keep sufficiently clear
astern of another departing ferry.
After the other ferry had cleared the
harbour, the chief officer, from his position at
the port bridge wing control position, ordered
about 40 port helm. He moved the pitch
controls of both propellers to 40% and then,
on the master's instruction, to 60% ahead.
The vessel started swinging, but her rate of
turn was slower than expected. The chief
officer then applied full bow thrust to port and,
on the master's suggestion, applied astern
pitch to the port propeller. As the vessel was
completing the turn, the chief officer applied
60% ahead pitch to both propellers with the
helm amidships.
At this point, the master walked to the
starboard bridge wing and noted that the
vessel was moving towards the breakwater on
that side, due, partly, to the tidal flow. He then
ordered hard to starboard helm and bow thrust
to starboard in an attempt to prevent contact
with the breakwater knuckle. Although the
ferry started swinging to starboard, the
manoeuvre failed to prevent her starboard
side from striking the knuckle. The master
then took control and manoeuvred the vessel
back alongside.
LESSONS
- The chief officer was following a
manoeuvring plan which, although normally
achievable, was inappropriate given the
circumstances on the day.
- The ferry's exit from the harbour was
delayed, resulting in her creeping ahead to a
position from which she was unable to
complete her normal turn safely, given the
prevailing cross-tidal flow. Source: UK MAIB
5 port projects shortlisted for
sixth ESPO Award
Out of a total of 20 submissions, applications
from five ports - Huelva, Koper, Lisbon,
Marseille and Rotterdam - have been shortlisted
for the sixth ESPO Award on Societal
Integration of Ports. 'Innovative environmental
projects' is the theme of 2014 competition.
Minimising the environmental impact of port
operations and improving local environmental
conditions around the port are key success
factors for the societal integration of ports.
Through the award, ESPO aims to promote
innovative projects of port authorities that
mainly address the port-city concerns in the
environmental field such as local air pollution,
water pollution, noise, dust and odours.
"It has been very difficult to select five
shortlisted projects. The five shortlisted ports
prove to be concerned about the way they
interact with their neighbours. These ports
clearly demonstrate they respect the people, who
live close to them and carry responsibility
towards the environment they work in," jury
chairman Dirk Sterckx said.
The winner of this award will be announced
on November 4 during the award ceremony in
Brussels.
China opens South China Sea
cruise route
A cruise route, linking the city of Sanya in the
southernmost Hainan Province with the Xisha
Islands in the South China Sea, opened on
Tuesday afternoon.
About 200 tourists are aboard the maiden
voyage on a cruise ship, which will take 12
hours to arrive in the Xisha Islands, according to
Ye Wei, Deputy General Manager of Hainan
Strait Shipping Co, the cruise operator.
Tourists will sleep on board and visit the
islands of Yinyu, Quanfu and Yagong where
they can play beach volleyball, dive, fish and
take wedding photos, said Ye.
The cruise lasts four days and three nights and
costs from 4,000 yuan (USD 650) to more than
10,000 yuan depending on accommodation.
Cruises to the islands, around 180 nautical
miles away from the nearest port, got underway
on a trial basis from Haikou, the provincial
capital, in April 2013 and almost 3,500 tourists
have made the trip. The new Sanya-Xisha route,
which supersedes Haikou-Xisha from Tuesday,
is eight hours shorter.
To the southeast of Hainan, the Xisha Islands
are a cluster of islets, sandbanks and reefs,
famous for their unusual scenery and ecosystem,
Xinhua reported.
PAGE 2 - Thursday, September 4, 2014

SHIPPING DATA
BALTIC EXCHANGE
Market snapshot: 11:00 GMT
Dry Index BDI 1149 -2
Capesize Index BCI 25! -"!
#ana$ax Index B#I 90" %15
&'pra$ax Index B&I 9!" %
(andysize Index B(&I 45 %
EXCHANGE RATES
)e* +ork ,T'e C-s.
/0n C'rren1y 2&D in /0n
in 2&D C'rren1y
Britain ,#o'nd. 13444 03040
Canada ,Do--ar. 039154 130924
China ,+'an. 0312 314!5
5'ro 13"12 0341!
India ,6'pee. 03015 03100
Indonesia ,6'piah. 030000!5 11450300
7apan ,+en. 03009512 10531"00
)or*ay ,8rone. 0311" 31991
#hi-ippines ,#eso. 030229 4"300
#o-and ,9-oty. 03"11! "32100
6'ssia ,6':-e. 03024 "43401
&in0apore ,Do--ar. 03494! 1325"5
2kraine ,(ry;nia. 03049 1"30105
Promoting tourism on the Xisha islands has
been on the Chinese government's agenda for
years. The State Council, China's cabinet,
announced late in 2009 that Hainan would be
developed as a destination for international
tourists, including the Xisha Islands.
Banned ship currently held in
New Zealand
A container ship, which was banned from
Australian ports for three months last week, is
now being held in New Zealand and will not be
allowed to leave the Port of Tauranga until all
deficiencies (related to maintenance,
seaworthiness and crew rest periods) are fixed.
After the 966TEU ship arrived at the port,
Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) inspected it for
five hours and detected 14 deficiencies, of which
11 must be rectified before the vessel can set
sail, an MNZ spokesperson said.
"It's not, strictly speaking, detained. But it
can't leave until everything is fixed. So it will be
in port somewhat longer than anticipated," the
spokesperson added.
The ship was banned from Australia for
repeatedly breaching the Maritime Labour
Convention and inadequate maintenance and
was declared unseaworthy by Australian
Maritime Safety Authority Manager Allan
Schwartz.
It has been detained three times in Australian
ports since July 2013.
INCIDENTS
Product tanker attacked by
pirates
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has
reported an attack on a petroleum products
tanker near Ivory Coast's port of Abidjan.
In its report released today, IMB said armed
pirates boarded the tanker on August 27 at
9:15pm and took the ship and crew's cash,
jewelry and other items.
"Twelve armed pirates with guns boarded a
drifting product tanker," IMB said. The attackers
held the crew members hostage while they took
the valuable items before escaping.
No one was injured in the incident.
The attack has been confirmed by a private
security advisor, indicating increased pirate
attacks in the area.
18 injured in Batam shipyard
explosion
At least three workers died and 18 others were
injured when a ship, which was being repaired at
PT Bandar Abadi shipyard in Tanjung Uncang,
Batu Aji, Batam, Riau Islands, exploded late last
week.
According to Batu Aji Police chief Comr.
Zainal Arifin, the blast occurred when the
workers were using sandblasts to clean the ship
and wielding a pipe in a basement cabin.
"The wielding caused heat in the cabin, which
was believed to have triggered the explosion of
a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) canister. A
forensics team has been called to the scene to
investigate," Zainal said.
The injured workers are being treated at
Charis Medika Hospital in Batam.
One worker, who is also a blaster painter, is
still missing after the blast.
PORT NEWS
Khalifa Port 5th most
productive: ADT
Khalifa Port has been ranked fifth in Journal of
Commerce's 2013 Europe Middle East and
Africa Port Productivity list, according to Abu
Dhabi Terminals (ADT).
The Journal of Commerce, an independent
research firm that focuses on global trade topics,
measured the number of container moves
per-vessel, per-hour at the world's ports and
marine terminals in 2013.
As mega-container ships replace smaller
vessels, port productivity, turnaround times and
throughput time for containers are important
metrics for carriers and trade customers in order
to realise significant cost savings.
"We are very proud to rank fifth in the EMEA
Port Productivity list in our first year of
operations. Khalifa Port Container Terminal has
been constructed to achieve high productivity
levels; this not only increases turnaround time
for ships, but also benefits the supply chain and
local trade as cargo moves faster through the
port," Martijn van de Linde, Chief Executive
Officer, ADT, said in a press release.
Considerable productivity progress has also
been made on the landside, as truck turnaround
time currently stands at 12 minutes which makes
Khalifa Port Container Terminal the most
efficient in the region.
The port's congestion free access and a robust
network of road and future rail connectors add
additional value to the trade and its service
providers.
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KVH company. All rights reserved.
HI-TECH
STRUCTURAL CALCULATION
SOFTWARE FOR IACS CSR UPDATED
The Structural Calculation Software for the
IACS Common Structural Rules (CSR) has
been revised and released as Ver. 8.0.0,
according to the ClassNK.
With the help of this software, ship
designers can quickly calculate the
requirements for structural members in line
with the IACS CSR and help to make ship
design work easier.
In response to requests received from
users, the software has been updated to
make the system more convenient and
user-friendly.
The new versions for IACS CSR are as
follows: PrimeShip-HULL(Rules)/CSR Bulk
Carrier "Rule calculation software for CSR
Bulk Carriers" Ver. 8.0.0;
PrimeShip-HULL(Rules)/CSR Tanker "Rule
calculation software for CSR Tankers" Ver.
8.0.0; PrimeShip-HULL(DSA)/CSR "Direct
calculation software for CSR" Ver. 8.0.0.
MES TO MODIFY ENGINES OF LARGE
CONTAINER VESSELS
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES)
and 100% owned subsidiary MES
Technoservice have received an order
from Taiwan ship owner for fuel-efficiency
modifications to the main engine
(Mitsui-MAN B&W 12K98MC/M6) of three
large type container vessels.
In recent years, the rising costs of fuel oil
together with the need to reduce the
environmental impact of shipping vessels
have sharply increased the practice of slow
steaming especially for large container
vessels whose annual fuel oil costs can run
into the billions of Yen.
The modifications to be carried out,
referred to as "Derating", involves reducing
the MCO output by modifying the main
engine and turbocharger. The modification
will increase the cylinder P.max as well as
the mean effective pressure thereby
increasing combustion efficiency. This
results in a significant reduction in fuel
consumption, even greater than the
method of turbo-charger cut out which has
been applied to several large type
container vessels in recent years, MES
said in a press release.