Yantian is one of South China's most advanced container terminals. Image courtesy Maersk Line

COPENHAGEN (Dow Jones)–Danish shipping and oil company A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S (MAERSK-B.KO) has ramped up its intra-Asia shipping operations significantly to benefit from strong growth in the region, reports Danish daily Berlingske Friday.

MCC Transport, the Singapore-based subsidiary of Maersk’s container shipping arm Maersk Line, now has 450 employees spread over 14 Asian countries, and operates 60 vessels internally in Asia.

“The intra-Asia market is one of the fastest growing markets for container shipping. Our customers asked if we wanted to be a player in this market, and it goes without saying that we want to be a significant player in the traffic between Asian countries,” the paper cites MCC Transport Chief Commercial Officer Rupesh Jain as saying.

MCC Transport‘s historical roots lie in shipping company Bakke Sime Derby, which was acquired by Danish East Asiatic Company in 1988 and sold on to Maersk in 1993. It operates the intra-Asia routes exclusively.

Newspaper website: http://www.berlingske.com

-By Flemming Emil Hansen, Dow Jones Newswires

Image (c) BP p.l.c.

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)–Asia’s crude tanker market may begin to recover due to declining availability of vessels in early August, while increased gasoline demand during summer is also supporting ships carrying clean petroleum products.

The rate for a 260,000-metric-ton Very Large Crude Carrier from the Middle East to Japan was last assessed Monday at Worldscale 49.85, or $3,441 a day, recovering from a two-month low of W49.03 reached last week, according to Baltic Exchange data.

Data from Meiwa International showed 124 cargoes were fixed to be lifted from the Middle East, versus 108 shipments a year ago. Though the gains mostly came from West-bound fixtures, the general supply situation has tightened nonetheless, brokers said.

“I think the rate could start an uptrend…it will be difficult to fix cargoes below W50,” said a Japanese broker.

However, with low Chinese imports, the rate for a VLCC from West Africa to China was little changed on week at W47.67 Monday, around its year-to-date low.

The 80,000-ton Aframax rate from Southeast Asia to the east coast of Australia slipped to W97.33 from W97.39.

Freight rates for clean products such as naphtha, gasoil and gasoline have been well supported, as gasoline demand picked up in South Asia and West-bound fixtures of middle distillates from the Middle East increased, brokers said.

The rate for a 75,000-ton LR-2 cargo from the Middle East to Japan rose to W119.88 from W118.67, as a 55,000-ton LR-1 cargo for the same route improved to a high for the month of W124.81 compared with W121.31 a week earlier.

However, the rate for a 30,000-ton tanker from Singapore to Japan eased to W146.86 from W147.36.

-By Max Lin, Dow Jones Newswires

“Asia is not only a hub of global shipbuilding industry but also a centre for ship recycling with actually over 90% of ex-service vessels worldwide dismantled in such countries as India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan. That is why we will build up our service capability by assigning two technical experts to manage GL’s IHM and ship recycling projects in this region,” said Mr. Gerhard Aulbert, GL Global Practice Ship Recycling.

The Hong Kong Convention, as assumed to take effect in 2015, will impact upon all new and existing vessels above 500 GT worldwide by a certified “Inventory of Hazardous Materials” (IHM) onboard.  “It is very likely for the Chinese shipbuilding community to adopt the Hong Kong Convention as a standard much earlier given that China is one of the most reputable, competitive and experienced shipbuilding nations and many European ship owners are keen to order new vessels from shipyards in line with the latest international standards,” said Mr. Aulbert.

In terms of ship scrapping, the Hong Kong Convention also creates a new obligation for ship owners to sell their redundant ships only to recycling facilities that meet relevant standards and have been authorized by the national “competent authorities”. In Asia, the Ship Recycling Committee has recently encouraged major ship recycling countries to ratify the Hong Kong Convention.

GL has been participating in the development process of the Hong Kong Convention and relevant guidelines by offering its high standard solutions and reliable expertise, which has won GL a front runner status in driving the IHM and ship recycling issues.

Additionally, GL offers a comprehensive approach to help the maritime community address this regulatory challenge. It encompasses certification of IHM for newbuilding and fleet in service, support of its clients in their activities related to IHM and ship recycling, tailored consultancy and training to ship owners, ship yards and authorities involved in this business. These two ship recycling experts will be responsible for delivering quite some of these services to GL’s clients in Asia.

Via Germanischer Lloyd

Photo via Maisha Group

Yesterday, the Tokyo MOU released its Annual Report on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region for 2009, summarizing the results of inspections carried out by member Authorities.  For this years report , the Tokyo MOU carried out a concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) focusing on whether lifeboats and associated launching arrangements are well maintained and whether the crew are aware of the maintenance requirements and of possible dangers in launching and recovering lifeboats.

Of the a total 23,116 PSC inspections conducted in 2009, involving 13,298 individual ships registered under 102 flags, it was found that lifeboats (lifesaving appliances) was the most frequent detainable deficiency for the year with 174 total detentions.  

The report overview summarized the CIC findings:

During the 3-month (September – November) campaign period, the Tokyo MOU member Authorities carried out 4,834 CIC inspections.  Based on the preliminary analysis, 18.2% of inspections revealed CIC-related deficiencies.  A total of 1,764 CIC-related deficiencies were recorded.  The campaign revealed almost 12% of the drills, when conducted, were not performed satisfactorily, which often proved a result of inadequate training.  Furthermore, the procedures or instructions and identification of hazards associated with launching and recovery of lifeboats were found unsatisfactory on 14.8% of vessels inspected.  These are related to the safety management system on board the ship.  Of a total number of 332 ships detained during the CIC period, 123 or 37% were due to serious deficiencies on the lifeboat launching appliances and arrangements.  This represents a detention rate for the CIC of 2.54%, while the overall detention rate during the same period is 5.35%. 

In addition to faulty lifeboats, maintenance of the ship and equipment, fire-dampers, emergency fire pump and oil filtering equipment deficiencies also topped the detention list. 

For a full copy of the 2009 annual report, CLICK HERE or visit http://www.tokyo-mou.org/

Yesterday, Lloyd’s List held their annual Lloyd’s List Asia Awards in Singapore, awarding the best of the best in various sectors of the maritime industry.  You can read a detailed list of the winners HERE, but here is a quick run down of the winner in each category.

The Shipbuilding Award: Hyundai Heavy Industries

The Shiprepair Yard Award: Keppel Shipyard

Container Terminal Operator of the Year: PSA International

The Classification Society Award: Lloyd’s Register

The Ship Manager of the Year: Thome Ship Management

The Training and Crewing Award: Singapore Maritime Authority

The Logistics Award: Agility Logistics

Award for Achievement in Safety or Environmental Protection: Wallenius Wilhemsen

Financier of the Year: HSBC

Asian Container Shipping Line of the Year: APL

Dry Bulk Owner/Operator: Noble Chartering

Innovation Award: Hyundai Heavy Industries

Maritime Services Award: Chemoil

Newsmaker of the Year: Ron Widdows, President and CEO of NOL

The Lifetime Achievement Award: Tan Beng Tee, head of International Maritime Centre Division, Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore