Terror on high seas, now a major worry for ship owners
Plummeting freight rates and shrinking cargo as a result of the global financial meltdown are not the only issues presently gnawing at shipping companies. The recent flare-up of terror on high seas, off the coast of Somalia, has become a sharper concern for ship owners.
Even after the Indian seafarers aboard Stolt Valor, which was hijacked [...]
Piracy scourge affecting India’s merchandise trade
piracy
Twenty seven-year-old Jasmeet Singh, third officer with a Norwegian merchant vessel cruising along the Horn of Africa en route to the Mediterranean sea, is a worried man. Satellite phone usage on-board is limited to senior officers like the captain and chief engineer.
But these are exceptional times. Besides his family, Singh has repeatedly called four of [...]
Once upon a time… there were new buildings
shipbuilding2
Long gone are the days when Greek ship owners were placing up to 10 new building orders for vessels every week, bringing the total orderbook of the leading maritime nation to over 1,100 ships. According to the latest reports the last couple of months (October and November) no new orders have been placed. The Baltic [...]
Somali pirates hijack 1 ship, free another
somalia_map
Somali pirates seized control of a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Friday and a NATO helicopter gunship, too late to prevent the hijacking, picked up three security guards who jumped into the sea. Both France and Germany, which have ships in the area as part of an international anti-piracy coalition, sent the [...]
BIMCO urgent piracy advisory
bimco
While there have been clear statements made by the shipping industry lobby to the international community and the volume of reporting on events and various recent statements made by shipping stakeholders - BIMCO would suggest that there are two urgent matters that need to be addressed by the industry and the international community respectively. BIMCO’s [...]
Shipping insurance costs may double due to rise in piracy
insurance-premiums-for-ships
The escalation of piracy activities off the coast of Somalia is threatening to greatly increase insurance costs for ships sailing along the Gulf of Aden, said insurance and maritime experts.
The more than 10-fold increase in insurance premiums witnessed on the same route this year is likely to increase by another 60 per cent in December, [...]
Shipbreaking set for healthy turnaround amidst gloom
cargo
Amidst the all pervading recessionary trends, at least one segment of maritime industry is jubilant. Shipbreaking industry, Indian or global, is
up and going and is expected to post a remarkable turnaround this fiscal. The turnaround is more pronounced in the case of India, where it had been in doldrums during the last couple of years. [...]
Crew shortage — a distress signal for shipping
crew-shortage
Reports have it that Gateway Terminals India Pvt Ltd (GTI), the APM Terminals-Concor joint venture that owns and operates a modern container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru port, recently announced the launching of its Talent Development Centre on its campus.
Equipped with state-of-the-art training facility, the training centre, the reports suggest, is to provide hands-on experience of [...]
Protests against piracy, detention of seamen
Lack of response from government authorities towards increasing incidents of piracy attacks and criminalization of Indian seamen have found expressions last week when concerned individuals and unions went to the streets at multiple locations across the country.
Chennai witnessed a flag march on Sunday, (October 5), protesting against detention of two mariners in [...]
Security level at ISPS compliant Indian Ports
All Indian major/ non major ports and shipyards have been maintaining Security level 2 since 29th November 2006. Since it is not feasible to maintain security level 2 for such prolonged periods, the Directorate had advised all ports to hold a port [...]
