MarEx Newsletter | Cruise Ship Collides with Cargo Ship, BP to Sell Venezuela and Vietnam Business

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October 19th, 2010 Vol. 8, No. 78

Cruise Ship Collides with Cargo Ship Costa Cruises has cancelled the Costa Classica’s next voyage after it collided with a cargo ship around 4:45 a.m. Monday. The 52,926-ton cruise ship was travelling through the deep-water channel of the Yangtze River when it collided with the 86,848-ton Belgian-flagged bulk carrier LOWLANDS LONGEVITY. The cruise ship suffered scratches and a gash, reportedly 20 meters long on its starboard side. Ten passengers onboard suffered minor injuries and were treated at a nearby Shanghai medical facility. The cruise ship docked in Shanghai around 10 a.m. Shortly thereafter the Italian cruise line cancelled the remainder of the cruise which was set to depart from Shanghai Monday ... Read More>>>Back to Top Bulk Carrier Released After Nearly Six Months EU NAVFOR and the Department of Foreign Affairs report that the Panamanian-flagged MV VOC DAISY and her crew of 21 Filipinos were released Sunday, October 17, after being held captive for nearly six months. The bulk carrier was travelling 190 nautical miles south east of Salalah, Oman when it was hijacked on April 21, 2010. The crew is reportedly in good health. The vessel is owned by Middleburg Properties Ltd. and operated by J.P. Samartzis Maritime Enterprises Co. S.A. Back in April four Somali pirates armed with AK-47’s boarded the MV Voc Daisy and cut her communication lines. It is unknown if a ransom was ... Read More>>>Back to Top Recent OP ED's In case you missed them, here are the most recent OP ED's from MarEx's Editor-in-chief Tony Munoz. A Brave New World- New Rules for Drilling in the OCS October 14, 2010 The Obama Administration says the US drilling moratorium is over, but implementation of “New Rules” might delay operations until mid-2011. While Interior Secretary Salazar was announcing the government was removing the ban on OCS drilling, Michael Bromwich of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said his agency will not be granting permits until the end of the year or whenever it deems appropriate safeguards are in place. Unquestionably, Americans have ... Read More>>>Back to Top BP to Sell Venezuela & Vietnam Businesses to Meet Oil Spill Obligations BP announced Monday, that it has reached agreement to sell its upstream businesses and associated interests in Venezuela and Vietnam to TNK-BP for a total of $1.8 billion. TNK-BP, Russia's third largest oil company, is owned equally by BP and the AAR Consortium (comprising Alfa Group, Access Industries and Renova). The agreement includes BP's interests in the Petroperijá, Boquerón and PetroMonagas joint ventures in Venezuela and, in Vietnam, BP's 35 per cent operating interest in the Lan Tay and Lan Do gas fields and associated pipeline and power generation interests. The sales are part of BP's plan, announced in July 2010, to make divestments of up to $30 ... Read More>>>Back to Top President Obama Signs Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 On Friday, President Obama signed into law the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010. The signing of this bill gives the Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Bob Papp, authorities to make changes and operate the Coast Guard to better serve the public. “The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 provides us with authority to enhance the safety of U.S. ports and waterways, acquisition assistance to acquire state-of-the-art ships and aircraft to patrol America’s waters, and tools to promote individual readiness, including improvements to our family housing and child development centers,” said Adm. Papp in an ALCOAST on the subject adding, “I am particularly pleased with the modernization authority—it will allow ... Read More>>>Back to Top Cargo Ship That Sank Was Carrying Supplies for Haiti On Wednesday, October 7 the Coast Guard responded to a mayday call from the MYSTIC a 206 ft. cargo ship. The ship was carrying medical supplies from Miami to Haiti when she struck a submerged object. Crew onboard reports that the vessel began taking on water and their efforts to pump the water out were not enough to keep up with the flow. The Coast Guard cutter, Nantucket, arrived on scene but harsh conditions prevented the Coast Guard from nearing the ship. After more than two hours the Mystic was able to weigh anchor and shift to the western side of the cay, where seas were calmer. The ... Read More>>>Back to Top One Million and Counting: Panama Canal Authority Commemorates History Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Operations Executive Vice President Manuel Benítez awarded the vessel Fortune Plum with a plaque yesterday, commemorating the ship as the one-millionth transit through the Panama Canal since its inauguration in 1914. The ceremony, held at the Miraflores Locks, included all Canal staff that worked September 4, the day of the historic transit, and also recognized the ship’s operator STX Pan Ocean. “We are extremely honored to commemorate the one-millionth transit through the Panama Canal,” said Mr. Benítez. “For more than 96 years, this vital waterway has served world trade, and we will continue this tradition of safe, reliable and efficient service. Today, we also ... Read More>>>Back to Top Tidewater Signs $100M Construction Contract with Drydocks World Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) recently announced that it has entered into a contract with Drydocks World for the construction of four 265-foot deepwater platform supply vessels at its shipyard in Batam, Indonesia. The delivery of these high-performance, high-capacity, 3,200 metric ton deadweight platform supply vessels is estimated to begin in April 2012 and conclude in late 2012. The contract price of the four vessels totals approximately $100 million, exclusive of some owner-furnished equipment. The agreement with Drydocks World also provides options, at Tidewater's discretion, for the construction of up to four additional vessels of similar specifications and at similar pricing. Jeff Platt, Chief Operations Officer of Tidewater Inc., commented, "We are ... Read More>>>Back to Top Teekay Announces Signing of New FPSO Contract With Petrobras Teekay Corporation (Teekay or the Company) (NYSE: TK) today announced that it has signed a new fixed-rate contract with Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) to provide a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for the Tiro and Sidon fields located in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil. The contract with Petrobras will be serviced by a new converted FPSO unit, to be named the Petrojarl Cidade de Itajai, which is currently under conversion from an existing Aframax tanker at the Sembcorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard in Singapore. The vessel, which was partially converted prior to the Company’s project bid, is expected to be completed for an estimated total cost of approximately $370 million. ... Read More>>>Back to Top Chemoil Secures Financing to Complete Its Largest Storage Facility Fujairah terminal is one of the largest terminals to be built in the Middle East GPSChemoil has announced that the financing of the construction of phase four of its storage terminal at Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, has been successfully arranged. GPSChemoil is a joint venture company between Gulf Petrol Supplies LLC, a subsidiary of the Fujairah National Group, and Chemoil, one of the world’s leading suppliers of Marine Fuel. GPSChemoil finalized the financing of US$90 million loan from a consortium of banks in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Singapore. The multi-currency loan was structured through a combination of Islamic and conventional loan tranches, with HSBC Bank Middle East Limited ... Read More>>>Back to Top Ridge Global Names Amit Yoran to Board of Advisors Ridge Global, an international provider of security and risk management services, announced the appointment of Amit Yoran, CEO of Netwitness Corporation, to the company's board of advisors. “Amit Yoran brings exceptional skills, insights and experience to the areas of cybersecurity, risk management and national security," said Tom Ridge, president and CEO of Ridge Global. "As cyber threats continue to deepen, sharpen and multiply throughout the world, Amit's capabilities will help us further address our clients' growing cybersecurity needs." Amit Yoran serves as the Chief Executive Officer of NetWitness Corporation, a leading provider of network security analytic products. He is a Commissioner of the CSIS Commission on Cyber Security ... Read More>>>Back to Top Brinker Achieves Industry Accolade UK-based oil and gas technology company Brinker Technology has won the accolade for best well intervention solution at the prestigious 9th annual World Oil awards. The awards recognise leading industry players and innovations that represent the best technological achievements or contributions over the last year. The finalists were announced last night (14 October 2010) at a ceremony held in Houston. Brinker won the prestigious accolade for its patented Platelet Barrier Technology™, which is changing the face of the rigless-thru wellhead workover market. Platelet Barrier Technology™ deploys free-floating discreet particles called ‘Platelets®’ into a flowing system. The Platelets® are specifically engineered for the size of the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Highlights from the AMS Annual Membership Conference The October 7th Annual Membership Conference for members of American Maritime Safety, Inc., was not officially billed as a 23nd anniversary event. Nevertheless, the story of AMS, an organization established by a group of U.S. based vessel owners and operators, is worthy of special mention. Indeed, this New York based Maritime Consortium has rapidly expanded in scope since its founding in 1988. From humble beginnings in New York, AMS has grown to over 400 vessel owners and operators and is now recognized as the leading industry association on regulatory compliance in the U.S. Highlights from the Conference included an informative presentation from Louis Meltz, a lawyer by training and the president ... Read More>>>Back to Top The Psychology of Marine Engineering The risk of human error is an ever present danger in the maritime environment effecting sectors such as commercial shipping, the cruise line industry, offshore oil and gas as well as maritime defence and protection services (Navy and Coast Guard). More than 90% of collisions, over 80% of tanker accidents, 79% of towing vessel groundings and 75% of fires and explosions have been attributed to human error. All of these events can have a monumental impact on a maritime organisation’s operational capability and ability to conduct the required missions. Not least is the personal injury, disability or the tragic loss of life that can be caused by human error-related accidents, along with the costs ... Read More>>>Back to Top Global Diving & Salvage, Inc. Welcomes New Construction Estimator Seattle-based Global Diving and Salvage has hired Renee Gowdy as Lead Estimator. In this position, Ms. Gowdy will be responsible for developing estimates and proposal production within Global’s Marine Construction Division for Federal, State, Local and civil customers as well as other key markets. Gowdy joins the department with an extensive educational and professional background in the estimating and preconstruction development process. She brings to Global significant expertise in preparing submittals for projects in commercial, municipal and government markets and data base management. She was previously employed by General Construction and Kiewit Bridge and Marine. "Renee’s addition to the Marine Construction Division not only strengthens our abilities to estimate work within ... Read More>>>Back to Top MITAGS-PMI Management, Communication & Leadership Course Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies - Pacific Maritime Institute Success in today’s marine environment takes more than just technical competence. Leadership, interpersonal conduct and communication skill sets are crucial. This 4-day course is designed to address those essential elements missing from the maritime industry’s extensive professional training requirements. Course topics include: ■■ Leadership versus Management ■■ Workforce Generational Differences ■■ Communications – Verbal, Written, Electronic ■■ Conducting Effective Meetings ■■ Interpersonal Conduct ■■ Safety Management Culture and Risk Management ■■ Human Resources, Investigations, Disciplinary Methods, and Reports ■■ Time Management Pre-Requisite: None. This course is recommended for: Mariners ...   Read More>>>Back to Top Putting a Price Tag on Piracy The Actuarial Profession released the following report on Monday: True cost of maritime piracy is still uncertain Despite attacks by Somali pirates on international shipping in the Gulf of Aden making headlines across the world, the true cost of these attacks to the maritime insurance industry are still uncertain, according to a new report published by the Actuarial Profession. The report, which will be unveiled at the Profession’s General Insurance Research Organisation (GIRO) conference in October, will argue that the scarcity of statistics on maritime piracy make the estimation of risk difficult. Neil Hilary, a staff actuary with the Profession and one ... Read More>>>Back to Top PMI Introduces the Continual Improvement Workshop Series Successful Safety Management - A Practical Primer This 2 Day workshop is an overview of important Safety Management topics. This course combines in-depth knowledge with a practical approach to provide a better understanding of the safety management system process. Successful Safety Management – A Practical Primer Has your safety management system grown into a monster that is difficult to manage and understand? Have we lost the meaning and intent by overcomplicating with special interest and bureaucracy? Can we reduce the paper and be safer? Together, let’s explore the benefits of getting back to basics to ensure successful safety management. Objectives ■ Learn and ...   Read More>>>Back to Top Coast Guard Foundation Director Receives U.S. Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Award Clay Maitland Honored at 30th Annual Coast Guard Foundation Salute in New York City The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that board member, Guy Edison Clay Maitland, was the recipient of the Coast Guard’s Distinguished Public Service Award. Presented by Coast Guard Commandant ADM Robert Papp, the honor for “personal and direct contributions” was bestowed following remarks at the Foundation’s 30th Annual Salute to the United States Coast Guard, which took place on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 in New York City. Highlighting his fifteen years on the Foundation’s National Board of ... Read More>>>Back to Top

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