UAE tanker released with half of the crew, details unclear

What serious analysts predicted since long in the Somali piracy circus are cases where the amateur negotiators and deliverers, who are often friends of friends in the insurance industry, create more difficulties than they solve with ill-conceived ransom drops and not at all planned, insecure release operations.
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Source: SeaNews

Singapore vessel arrivals in March surge to record high

Vessel arrivals by tonnage to Singapore's port rose nearly 14 percent to a record monthly high of 181.78 million tonnes in March, helping to spur a rebound in marine fuel sales in the city-state last month, official data showed.
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Source: Reuters, Manila Bulletin

LNG bunkering needs government support

A shift to using LNG for bunkering commercial vessels would require government support or intervention and is unlikely to be a realistic global phenomenon before 2025 at the earliest, shipping industry representatives said this week.
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Source: platts

NSCSA Receives New Chemical Tanker NCC HUDA

The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia announces that its 80% owned subsidiary company The National Chemical Carriers Ltd. Co. (NCC) received on Friday, 15th April 2011 in Korea a new chemical tanker named “NCC HUDA” with DWT of 45,000 tons from SLS Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. of South Korea, as part of two vessels previously purchased by NCC from SLS on 21/12/2010 for a total price of approximately (SAR 322 Millions) for the two tankers. The vessel started her operation from 15/4/2011 and the financial impact of the delivered tanker on the company’s revenue will appear starting second quarter of the current financial year.

NCC has additional nine vessels under construction at SLS in South Korea costing (SAR 1,721 Millions) with deliveries expected during 2011/12, in addition to one large chemical tanker of 75,000 DWT, to be constructed at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) of South Korea at the price of (SAR 247 Millions) for delivery during 2013.
Source: NSCSA

Indian merchant navy officers to grab 9% global share by 2015

Aiming to increase the global share of Indian merchant navy officers to 9% by 2015 in the wake of shortage of personnel, the government plans to acquire four training ships at a cost of Rs 500 crore.

India is the fifth largest supplier of officers globally at present having a share of 6.3% out of 5,50,000 officers.

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Source: Business Standard

ONR demonstrates laser weapon that could disable pirate skiffs

The Office of Naval Research has successfully demonstrated a weapon that could one day prove an effective means of disabling pirate attack skiffs.

On April 6, the Office of Naval Research and its industry partner, Northrop Grumman, successfully tested a solid-state, high-energy laser (HEL) from a surface ship, which disabled a small target vessel. The at-sea testing of the Maritime Laser Demonstrator (MLD) validated the potential to provide advanced self-defense for surface ships and personnel by keeping small boat threats at a safe distance.
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Source: Marine Log

SCI signed contracts for acquisition of two resale Supramax bulk carriers

The  Shipping  Corporation  of  India  Ltd.  (SCI) has signed contracts for acquisition of two resale Supramax bulk carriers with M/s Grand Yard. Investments Ltd., China on 15th April, 2011.  These vessels have been acquired through a competitive global tendering process and SCI has selected the vessels of M/s Grand Yard Investments based on the technical suitability and commercial competitiveness.

These  vessels  are  presently  under  construction  at M/s Guoyu Shipyard, China which is under the same group of M/s Grand Yard Investments Ltd. The vessels are at an  advanced stage of construction and would be delivered to SCI within 4 months and 5 months of contract effectiveness respectively.

SCI  presently  has  17  bulk  carriers in its fleet out of which some of the Handymax bulk carriers would be due for phasing out shortly. The vessels contracted  now would enable SCI to partly replace some of these Handymax bulk carriers which have completed their economic life. SCI also has another 6 Handymax bulk carriers on order with STX Shipyard, China which will join the SCI fleet during the year 2011-12.

The  major  economies  of  the  world  are  on a revival path after the global slowdown. The fundamentals of Asian economies continue to be strong and outlook for dry bulk trade remains positive. SCI would be able to cater to this growing trade with the new vessels upon delivery. SCI also has further plans to augment its bulk carrier fleet by acquiring Panamax and Capesize bulk carriers in the near future.

SCI  has  embarked upon a major fleet acquisition plan and presently has 31 vessels of 20.22 million DWT on order. This includes all types of vessels, i.e.  crude oil carriers (VLCCs), dry bulk carriers, cellular container vessels and offshore supply vessels. Total investment for these projects would be over US $ 1.39 billion (about Rs. 6,200 Crores).
Source: SCI

Piracy spurs India coal buyers to diversify

Indian coal buyers struggling with Somali pirate attacks on ships from South Africa find taking longer routes of limited use and are turning to Australia and Russia for fuel to avoid the Indian Ocean completely.
Somali pirates, whose hijacking of oil tankers, bulk cargo ships and fishing vessels costs world trade billions of dollars a year are growing bolder.
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Source: Business Standard

Oversupply of vessels to rule the market for at least three more years says analyst

Dry cargo demand fundamentals are falling back in terms of offering proper comfort to ship owners and alleviate oversupply issues, as Chinese iron fixtures are on a downward trend with port stockpiles of iron ore, coal and steel being at elevated levels.
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Source: Hellenic Shipping News

Elizabeth Hurley visits Maasmechelen Village

Elizabeth Hurley has chosen Maasmechelen Village as the exclusive destination in Benelux for the Elizabeth Hurley Beach Hut “pop-up” boutique, her first stand-alone retail venture in  Benelux. This is in an initiative that marks her collaboration with the Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages for the third consecutive year.

To mark the launch of the new boutique in Belgium, Elizabeth Hurley will make a personal appearance at Maasmechelen Village on April 18th 2011.

Elizabeth will officially launch the Elizabeth Hurley Beach Boutique at Maasmechelen Village, at 11am, after which she will be on hand to personally serve customers and offer her tips and advice on this season’s essential beach chic. 

“I am a huge fan of the Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages,” said Elizabeth, speaking recently about the imminent opening of her Beach Huts at the exclusive shopping destinations. “I love shopping in Europe and have many happy memories of my visits to Belgium. I can’t wait to open my first boutique at Maasmechelen Village and I am really looking forward to the launch day to help customers choose their perfect beachwear as well as raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation,” the designer explained.

On the day of the launch, April 18th, customers will be encouraged to purchase the Elizabeth Hurley Beach rose-scented pink candle (€35) as 25% of proceeds from purchases of these divine candles made on the day will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.