SHIPPING

Norwegian owned BOS Angler drydocking repairs completed

The sophisticated offshore research vessel BOS Angler called in for drydocking related repairs in March 2012. The Managers FJORD Shipping, Norway placed confidence in Colombo for her repairs to be carried out in Colombo.

The highly sophisticated vessel capable of 3D survey capabilities had been in operation in the Indian coast prior to arriving in Colombo for her repairs.

During this call the owners decided to carryout extensive repairs to her machinery, the main engines and generators were overhauled. The vessel’s shafting line was also inspected and necessary spare parts were replaced. The routine drydocking related repairs were carried out during this major layup repair call.

The vessel was accommodated in dock No. 01 and subsequently re-docked to complete her shafting work in Dock no. 04. The Colombo shipyard was the best option for the owners/managers given the strategic location soon after her deployment in the Indian coastal waters.

The Managers interests were looked after by Dmitry Nyukhin - Technical Superintendent and Magne Aavik – Fleet Manager. The yard team was headed by Ship Manager Priyanka Cooray – who was well supported by all production departments to re-deliver the vessel ahead of schedule.

The owners were happy with the excellent facilities at their disposal coupled with the quality workmanship, professional approach to meet the owners requirements were highly appreciated. The shipyard’s ability to flexibly meet the owners/managers technical requirements to deliver the project successfully highlighted. The repairs were carried out meeting the Class DNV society requirements. McLarens Shipping Limited handled the local husbanding work smoothly.

Emergence of Colombo as a major player for vessels operating in the offshore industry is a definite plus for the owners/operators operating in the region. Colombo’s shipbuilding capabilities also come in handy, with the wealth of experience in delivering sophisticated DP 2 enabled offshore support vessels to the international market. The owners have a proven repair facility capable of handling the sophisticated vessels comfortably in Colombo.

Angola receives first LNG tanker

Angola's first liquefied natural gas tanker arrived Friday, as the country prepares to start shipping methane, the international consortium behind the scheme said.

“The ship will undergo preliminary tests to dock and connect to the LNG plant,” said Angola LNG, which includes state-owned giant Sonangol as well as Chevron, BP, Total and ENI.

Angola, Africa's second-largest oil producer after Nigeria, is expected to begin producing LNG in late June.

Angola hopes to produce 5.2 million tonnes of LNG annually over the next 25 to 30 years, exporting to Europe, Japan and the United States.

The project began in 2007 and is the result of a $10 billion investment to build the LNG plant in the northern town of Soyo and to buy seven tankers from South Korea.

Chevron holds a 36.4 percent stake in the project, with Sonangol holding 22.8 percent. BP, Total and ENI each hold 13.6 percent.

AFP

Cruise industry highlights the China phenomenon

The ‘unprecedented speed of the demographic change in China’ provides a ‘huge opportunity’ for cruise companies in that country, according to the latest Seatrade Research Report, Cruising through the Perfect Storm, authored by industry analyst Tony Peisley.

China's outbound tourism market has more than doubled to 70m in just six years and is on track to become the world's largest outbound market.

The Chinese have also increased their per-person spending on outbound travel by two-thirds over the same period and now the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA) has identified 300m Chinese as potential cruise passengers - the equivalent of the entire population of either North America or Western Europe.

Although current figures are still modest in global terms with 750,000 cruise visitors to Chinese ports in 2011, the key statistic is that the number of homeporting calls overtook transit calls for the first time last year.

Chinese passenger numbers are now approaching 300,000 and cruise lines believe there is longterm potential to turn China into a year-round market with regional cooperation and investment from the ASEAN countries.

The report, which contains an entire chapter on the China phenomenon, also predicts that Chinese shipbuilders will not only build ships for the Chinese market but will ultimately be building for international brands operating outside Asia.

At the same time, those international brands already cruising out of China have not ruled out eventually operating Chinese-built ships specifically designed for the China market.

New chapters on China and river cruising, Cruising Through the Perfect Storm will analyse the potential impact of IMO fuel emission regulations and addresses the question on many port and cruise line executives minds. “will the new regulations change the cruise business model, post-2015”.

South Africa hopes to boost shipping with tax reform

South Africa has some of the busiest ports on the continent but no commercial ships, but officials hope a new tax regime may give it an entry into the multi-billion-dollar industry.

The flight of merchant ships from the national register started in the early 1980s, with companies citing uncompetitive tax regulations.

But it was not until 2005 that government tabled the tonnage tax bill -- ataxation regime used by the majority of maritime nations, and preferred by ship owners.

“The research and consultation process has been finalised. The tonnage tax regime will kick in in 2013. We hope this will attract merchant vessels back into the country,” SA Maritime Safety Authority chief executive Tsietsi Mokhele told AFP.

“Talks on the tonnage tax were introduced when it was already late, when we already had no ships registered under the South African flag,” said Mokhele.

The tonnage tax model allows vessel owners to pay a fixed tax rate, based on the size of the ship and working days. The current system taxes profits at 28 percent, with a further 10 percent secondary tax based on dividends.

“The shipping industry is an international industry where managing costs and extracting globally competitive service from a register is of paramount importance,” said Fred Jacobs, spokesman for Safmarine South Africa.

The Copenhagen-headquartered cargo carrier is one of the companies with strong local ties, like Grindrod and Ocean Africa Container Lines, that have opted for foreign registers. Safmarine had expressed concern at the delay in the implementation of reforms, saying “it was not economically viable to register ships under the South African flag”.

“We have also made a commitment to revisit the flagging of our vessels once the South African government has addressed issues such as the tonnage tax,” said Jacobs.

Safmarine vessels are flagged in Belgium, Britain, Hong Kong and Singapore. South Africa makes up about 40 percent of the company's activities in Africa.

AFP