A NewsLink service for Dole Chile

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

SAFETY
LYNCEUS NEARS COMPLETION
The EU-funded LYNCEUS project, which
ends in early 2015, is aimed at improving the
safe evacuation of passenger ships with the
help of low-power wireless technologies, while
revolutionising the current emergency
management and ship evacuation practice.
The research project will demonstrate how the
innovative wireless tags, which can be
embedded into life jackets, can help localise
and track people onboard ships and improve
overboard search and rescue. The technology
can also be used to monitor the health of
patients requesting to wear special bracelets,
or help parents keep track of the location of
their children on large cruise ships.
The researchers of the project have also
developed a radar device able to detect the
exact location of a passenger who has fallen
overboard.
The LYNCEUS project, supported with
EUR2.5 million in EU funding, involves 15
participants from Cyprus, Germany, Greece,
Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. This
research also supports the provisions of the
recently amended Marine Equipment
Directive, which foresees the possible
introduction of electronic tagging on EU
flagged ships.
The previous EU project, GOALDS created
new designs for large cruise vessels to
increase their safety in the case of a collision
or grounding and the results have been
submitted to the International Maritime
Organisation to improve safety standards and
calculations for cruise vessels.
Source: European Commission

Sunken vessel is World War

II-era USS Houston
Navy divers from the U.S. and Indonesia
confirmed that a sunken vessel in the Java Sea is
the World War II wreck of the USS Houston, a
cruiser sunk by the Japanese that serves as the
final resting place for about 700 sailors and
Marines, officials announced Monday.
The Japanese sank the Houston during the
Battle of Sunda Strait on Feb. 28, 1942. The
ship carried 1,068 crewmen, but only 291 sailors
and Marines survived both the attack and being
prisoners of war. The Houston's commanding
officer, Capt. Albert H. Rooks, posthumously
received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary
heroism.
US Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Harry
Harris said Monday that divers have
documented evidence the watery gravesite has
been disturbed, The Associated Press reported.

Piracy-related crime dips

in July: ReCAAP report
There has been a slight decline in the number of
piracy-related crimes that occurred in July this
year compared to the previous month.
According to the ReCAAP Information
Sharing Centre, there were only 14 incidents of
maritime crime last month compared to 21 in
June.
It noted that nearly half of the reported cases
involved petty theft but there were also three
serious incidents, including two hijacking
attempts by sea pirates.
The
Malaysian
Maritime
Authorities
succeeded in thwarting one of the hijacking tries
as one of its patrol boats happened to be near the

area where the crime occurred.

Two cargo vessels were subsequently hijacked
on July 4 and July 16. They succeeded in
stealing valuable items from the ships and were
able to elude arrest. Oil cargo theft is becoming
a major issue in Southeast Asia this year, with
nine reported cases so far.
Most of the cases are somewhat similar to the
tactic used by Somali pirates as tankers are first
hijacked before smaller vessels come to siphon
off the cargo. Somali pirates' mode of tactic
involves taking over the ship and rounding up
its crew who they will use as collateral in
demanding ransom.

Husein to lead 30 speakers in

Dubai Maritime Week

Improving dry bulk market

boosts capesize rates

International broadcaster and journalist Mishal

Husain is just one of over 30 maritime officials
who are expected to grace the Seatrade Middle
East Maritime (SMEM) exhibition and
conference held during the Dubai Maritime
Week in October.
Husain, a fixture in radio and television in the
United Kingdom, was chosen as the keynote
session moderator and master of ceremonies for
the Seatrade Maritime Awards set from October
28-30.
He is also tasked to introduce to the SMEM
conference Drydocks World and Maritime
World chairman and group chief executive
officer Khamis Juma Buanim and Tasneef
Emirates Classification Society CEO Col
Rashed Al Hebsi, who will tackle prospects for
the region's shipping companies, among others.
"The Middle East is a gateway to the emerging
markets of Africa and Asia's maritime hubs, and
our 2014 line-up of speakers are collectively
shaping the future of the sector in the region,"
SMEM chairman Chris Hayman said.
"The confirmation of Mishal Husain as event
anchor adds further gravitas to what is the
largest gathering of influential industry heads,"
he added.
Meanwhile, Sharaf Shipping Agency director
Capt Farhad Patel will moderate the session
addressing bunkering issues in the region during
the conference.

A solid output from the dry bulk market helped

pushed capesize rates up, ending months of
slump for the shipping segment.
Commodore Research and Consultancy said in
its latest report that capesize rates was pegged at
USD15,561 per day last week, marking an
on-week rise of 66%. It noted that the figure is
likely to soar further on the back of an increased
demand for dry bulk vessels.
"Capesize rates have been able to rise by such
a large amount so quickly, as vessel availability
in both the Atlantic basin and Pacific basin have
become tighter," the US-based firm noted.
Iron ore production from Australia and Brazil
is also forecast to go up while coal shipment
volume is projected to increase further as the
year ends, meaning more dry bulk ships will be
used for transport purposes.
According to Commodore, the positive
development will also be supported by surging
demand for coal in China and India, as well as
in Europe, giving the capesize, panamax and
handymax markets a further shot in the arm.
Last week's capesize rates surge can also be
attributed to a hike in demand for ships for
Brazilian iron ore cargoes. Analysts predict that
capesize rates will increase further over the
coming months as Brazil continues to expand its
iron ore shipments.
Oversupply of tonnage, coupled with low
demolition rates, had caused the segment to
remain at a low since the second half 2013.

PAGE 2 - Tuesday, August 19, 2014

SHIPPING DATA

BALTIC EXCHANGE
Market snapshot: (August 18)
Dry Index
BDI
1042
Capesize Index
BCI
2254
Panamax Index
BPI
836
Supramax Index
BSI
889
Handysize Index
BHSI 387

+27
+103
+33
+12
+5

EXCHANGE RATES
New York (Mon Cls)
Fgn Currency
in USD
Britain (Pound)
1.6728
Canada (Dollar)
0.9184
China (Yuan)
0.1628
Euro
1.3360
India (Rupee)
0.0164
Indonesia (Rupiah) 0.000086
Japan (Yen)
0.009749
Norway (Krone)
0.1624
Philippines (Peso)
0.0229
Poland (Zloty)
0.3193
Russia (Ruble)
0.0277
Singapore (Dollar)
0.8035
Ukraine (Hryvnia)
0.0765

USD in Fgn
Currency
0.5978
1.0888
6.1430
0.7485
60.8050
11688.00
102.5800
6.1579
43.6800
3.1300
36.0606
1.2446
13.0783

Ranking Panamanian maritime

officials visit MARINA office
In recognition of the valuable role being played
by Filipino seafarers in the international
shipping industry, ranking officials of the
Panama Maritime Authority (also known as the
Autoridad Maritime De Panama) paid a courtesy
call at the Maritime Industry Authority
(MARINA) headquarters in Kalaw, Manila early
this month, PNA reported.
The Panamanian delegation was headed by
Ambassador Roberto Carlos Vallarino, Embassy
of Panama in the Philippines, together with
AMP administrator Jorge Barakat and Jorge
Luis Aizpurua, Panama's Director of Seafarers.
This was the first time ranking Panamanian
maritime officials visited the MARINA
headquarters, MARINA administratorMaximo
Mejia, Jr., pointed out.

SHIPPING

Shipping lines urged to raise

freight rates
Container shipping companies were urged to
increase freight rates from Asia to the United
States due to high vessel utilisation levels and
strong cargo demand the past few months.
Container shipping organisation Transpacific
Stabilisation Agreement (TSA) stressed that
rates should be raised by at least USD600 per
40-foot container (FEU) to complete a raise of
14.2% from current levels starting on September
1, with the assumption that forward bookings
are likely to continue through next month.
TSA executive administrator Brian Conrad
defended the move, saying that raising freight
rates must be done to address the overcapacity
issue by most vessels.
"Lines have made modest revenue gains to
date this year, but they continue to struggle in
terms of returning to profitability," Conrad said.

Denmark's Maersk Line, a unit of A.P.

Moller-Maersk,
privately
owned
Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping
Company (MSC), French privately held CMA
CGM, China's COSCO Shipping, Korea's
Hanjin Shipping are just some of the members
of TSA, which disclosed that freight rates
dropped to unprofitable levels for most carriers
last year due to the market's overcapacity
problems.

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REGULATIONS

South Korean political parties

agree on Sewol Ferry Act
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main
opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy
finally agreed on Tuesday to form a special
committee that will investigate the causes of
Sewol ferry sinking and will prosecute people
responsible for the April 16 tragedy.
The rival parties decided to give the special
committee prosecutorial powers after they failed
to pass the controversial Sewol bill on
Wednesday.
The Sewol Ferry Act was one of the draft laws
and issues supposed to be discussed at a plenary
session of the National Assembly last week.
However, both parties refused to open the
session, the Korea Herald reported. Saenuri and
the NPAD have been heavily criticized for
proposing the bill, which previously called for
the establishment of an investigative team with
no powers to prosecute perpetrators.
The decision failed to win public's support and
only angered the families of the victims, who
vowed to organize sit-in protests, candlelight
vigils and rallies to prevent the bill from
reaching the Parliament. To address the issue,
the ruling party gathered lawmakers last week to
discuss the bill. The NPAD, on the other hand,
asked for a renegotiation.

CO-OPERATION

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei sea
resource integration gets boost
Beijing's neighbours Tianjin Municipality and
Hebei Province on Monday established a port
corporation to integrate sea transport resources
and optimise distribution of related industries, a
move to boost coordinated development of the
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Xinhua reported.
The Bohai Sea Tianjin-Hebei Port Investment
and Development Co., Ltd, with a registered
capital of USD325 million, will be engaged in
investment and development of ports in Tianjin
and Hebei on the Bohai Sea, said Li Zengjun,
chairman of the company.
Total cargo transport volume in Bohai sea
ports totalled three billion tonnes last year. Of
the world's top 15 ports in cargo transport
volume, eight are located in the area. Some ports
have made redundant expansions and lowered
standards, leading to vicious competition.

MARITIME INSTITUTION
AUSTRALIAN SHIPOWNERS
ASSOCIATION
The Australian Shipowners Association
(ASA) represent Australian companies who
own or operate international and/or
domestic trading ships, cruise ships,
domestic towage and salvage tugs,
dredges, scientific research vessels and
offshore oil and gas support vessels.
The Association also represents
employers of the Australian and
international maritime labour.
Its mission is to promote the role of
Australian shipping providing sustainable
shipping and internationally competitive
sea transport services for the benefit of
Australia.
Since 1986, the ASA has been the peak
national body representing the collective
interests of ship owners and operators.
ASA is uniquely positioned as the
authoritative peak body in Australia, which
is representative of domestic and global
shipping operated and controlled by
Australian entities.
The diversity of ASA's membership is the
key to ASA's ongoing success as the voice
of the shipping industry in Australia. ASA
maintains its reputation as a provider of
reliable, factual, original and practical
advice.
The Association seeks to increase
community and government understanding
of the shipping industry by publishing
quality, original information promoting its
activities and the economic and
environmental importance to the Nation of
this fundamental transport mode.
The industry represented by ASA is a
critical part of Australia's international and
domestic transport system.
Reliable, competitive, efficient and clean
sea transport services are essential to
Australia's economic and social wellbeing.
ASA as an industry and employer
association provides a wide variety of
services. With few exceptions, the benefits
ASA members receive from their
membership is a direct function of how
much they use the Association and how
much they contribute to the knowledge
bank and work of the Association.