India: Dry bulk cargo shipowners lay up vessels, sell older ships
capesize-bulk-carrier
Bangalore: Indian shipping firms engaged in carrying dry bulk cargo such as coal or steel have started laying up vessels and even selling older ones as freight rates plunge to record lows amid the global economic downturn and credit crunch. A lay-up happens when a ship is withdrawn from trading operations.
“The market for dry bulk [...]
Tanker outlook: Owners unlikely to walk away from newbuild contracts
on-the-bridge-small
New York: Most of the tankers currently on order will be built and delivered, according to New York broker Poten & Partners. This is in marked contrast to the dry bulk market where analysts believe large numbers of bulk carriers will be seriously delayed or cancelled. However, tanker owners and investors are anxiously awaiting a [...]
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 [...]
The latest must-have for commercial shipowners: a piracy insurance policy
cargo
A risk consultancy with close ties to the Lloyd’s insurance market is offering the world’s first insurance policy for shipowners covering potential ransom payouts on crew members who have been kidnapped.
Kidnap and ransom insurance is well-established but has traditionally been offered only in respect of individual executives working in commercially sensitive [...]
ITF: New piracy high risk area agreed
itf
Maritime unions and shipowners have reached an agreement to extend the piracy high risk area to cover the entire Gulf of Aden. The designated high risk area previously only covered part of the Gulf of Aden. Members of the International Bargaining Forum (IBF), reached the agreement following a full meeting of the negotiating body in [...]
New inspection regime to start on 1 January 2009
dnv
Norway is enforcing International Labour Organisation Convention No. 178 - the Labour Inspection (Seafarers) Convention. DNV will conduct these inspections in accordance with requirements set by the Norwegian flag authority.
The Norwegian flag authority, represented by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate (NMD), has directed all its recognised organisations to start inspecting ships as from the beginning of [...]
Steaming under the constellation of Piracy
sarris
Piracy has occurred through the ages together with the presence of the first Ships. People along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea have been trying to gain control of the trade routes and attacking the competition that was en route by sea. Thus it was common practice for the people engaged in commerce to be [...]
Shipping industry urges EU governments to take up arms against Somali pirates
pirates
Abdul Hassan, chief of the pirate group called the ‘Central Regional Coastguard’, carries a rocket-propelled grenade on to a boat with some of his crew. Photograph: Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images
European shipowners are urging their governments to wage war on Somali pirates and seize vessels by force, the Guardian has learned, amid growing fear that shippers [...]
Exxon Valdez Put to Rest
valdez
The most anticipated maritime law decision in recent years has been the decision in June 2008 by the U.S. Supreme Court that reduced the award of punitive damages against Exxon from $2.5 billion to $500 million. After nearly 20 years of litigation against Exxon and the captain of its vessel, the case is finally at [...]
