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Shipping
SLPA’s aging cranes to be replaced
Hiran H.Senewiratne
The Colombo Port will start taking delivery of the first batch of new
cargo handling equipment to replace aging cranes from May this year, Sri
Lanka Ports Authority sources said.
Two pier-side gantry cranes to load and unload container ships and
four transfer cranes to move containers within the port’s terminals will
be delivered by its manufacturers, Zhenhua Port Machinery Company (ZPMC)
of China. The company is one of the largest port crane manufacturers in
the world.
Therefore delivery is part of a big order for new cargo handling
equipment. The SLPA has ordered six ship-to-shore gantry cranes, four
mobile harbour cranes, 30 transfer cranes, and 50 yard tractors.
According to SLPA sources the total cost of the order is around 80
million dollars. The new equipment is required urgently because the
cranes in the SLPA container terminals are old and subject to constant
breakdowns.
The breakdowns in turn caused delays in loading and unloading vessels
at the port. Port customers have been complaining about the delays,
saying it raises the costs of calling at Colombo, despite the port’s
position near the main trade route.
Diploma course in Marine Engineering launched
The ceremonial inauguration of the Diploma course in Marine
Engineering for Engineering Cadets was held at the Mahapola Training
Institute of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) recently under the
patronage of Minister of Ports, Aviation, Irrigation and Water
Management, Chamal Rajapaksa.
Minister Chamal Rajapaksa said that this was a basic step of
establishing a Marine Training Institute under the Mahinda Chinthana to
enable local students to obtain a locally and internationally recognized
certificate in the sector. He said that the course also opens avenues
for local students to acquire higher and professional education in the
international marine sector in Sri Lanka.
The Minister also said that the course had offered opportunities to
more rural students to obtain international employment opportunities
following the study course in the maritime sector for higher wages.
This Diploma Course in Marine Engineering for Engineering Cadets has
been launched by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and Ceylon
Shipping Corporation (CSC) as a collaborative professional and higher
educational course.
“It is conducted as a three-year study course directing students in
both theoretical and practical training given in international vessels
at times, under the supervision of CSC,” he said. The University of
Moratuwa also offers more facilities for the students enrolled in this
course.
Parallel to the other Marine Courses of the same strength, the new
Diploma Course in Marine Engineering for Engineering Cadets has offered
a more concessionary course fee enabling students to pay the total
course fees even under easy payment schemes.
Minister Rajapaksa said that it was a pleasure to see that the SLPA
has kept growing in productivity and thanked the Management of the SLPA
for their contribution. Registration letters were also issued for
students selected and enrolled for the course.
SLPA Chairman Dr. Priyath Bandu Wickrama said that besides current
services rendered by SLPA, it also expects to extend its port services
through the professional training of human resources in various Marine
Engineering sectors via such programs making the SLPA a focal point in
supplying able and skilled professional mariners to the local and
international maritime industry.
He added that such steps would also strengthen their challenges in
the international maritime sector.
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The Nakheel
harbour tower in Dubai |
The Middle East region’s shipping industry volumes suffered a drop in
growth in 2008, but forecasts say a quick rebound is expected next year,
according to Gulf News.
Container traffic from Asia to North America saw a decline of 5.7 per
cent in 2008. This year, a lesser impact of the crisis is expected with
a decline of 3.2 per cent. A sharp rise to a growth of 7.3 per cent will
follow in 2010, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants.
It forecasts a seven per cent growth in container port volumes in the
region for the next two years, with possibilities of less optimistic
numbers.
Director of ports at Drewry Shipping Consultants Neil Davidson said,
“There is a danger of getting pre-occupied by the short-term,” adding
that as ports are a long-term, the prospects “look good”.
As part of a cyclical swing, the UAE GDP in 2009 will see a zero to
6.7 per cent growth, while Saudi Arabia will be between 0.9 per cent and
4.9 per cent.
Pirate attacks in Indian Ocean increase
Twenty-two African and Middle East states opened talks in Djibouti to
formulate agreements allowing their courts to try pirates captured by
foreign navies.
The meeting aims at “concluding agreements on maritime security,
piracy and armed robbery against ships for states from the western
Indian ocean, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea areas,” a statement said.
A draft agreement obtained by AFP calls on the states to “take
appropriate steps under their national law to facilitate the
apprehension and prosecution of those who are alleged to have committed
acts of piracy.” Pirate attacks in waters east of Somalia — the Gulf of
Aden and the Indian Ocean — increased by nearly 200 percent last year,
according to the International Maritime Bureau.
It also saw the biggest seizure ever by pirates when they captured a
330-metre long Saudi-owned super tanker with two million barrels of
crude oil, which was later released.
Prosecuting pirates remains a legal complication given the number of
states potentially involved.
For example, a case of Somali hijackers captured by the US navy on a
Panama-flagged, China-owned vessel and handed over to Kenyan authorities
involves no fewer than five countries.
The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation,
which organised the meeting, said pirates’ changing tactics were also
worrying.
AFP
UASC launches IMR
UASC launched a new service IMR (ISC - Middle East - Red Sea Service)
covering Pakistan and India to Arabian Gulf and Red Sea destinations. It
connects Arabian Gulf to Red Sea Destinations.
The new IMR service deploys a total of 6 x 2,000 Teu vessels. Port
rotation on the IMR Service is as follows: Karachi, Port Qasim, Pipapav,
Nhava Sheva, Ras Al Khaimah, Jebel Ali, Djibouti, Jeddah, Yanbu, Aqaba,
Sohkna, Jeddah, Port Sudan, Hodeidah, Ras Al Khaimah, Jebel Ali,
Karachi. |
