COS Weekly News - 29 October 2010

Monday, 01 November 2010 00:00

COS News – Week ending 29 October 2010
Issue No. 130

  

CANPOTEX ANNOUNCES NEW LONG-TERM SUPPLY AGREEMENT

Saskatoon-based Canpotex Limited announced the signing of a new five-year agreement to supply Coromandel International Limited (CIL), a key customer in India, with up to three million metric tons of Saskatchewan potash. The inaugural multi-year agreement between Canpotex and CIL covers the period April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2016. Canpotex will supply a minimum of 500,000 metric tons annually.

ASIAN GYPSY MOTH FOUND IN NEW ORLEANS

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a news release stating that an Asian gypsy moth egg mass were found in a container loaded with ceramic sand used in the oil drilling industry arriving in the Port of New Orleans from Russia. The infested wood pallet where the mass was found was treated.  The entire shipment, consisting of 39 containers, is set for re-exportation

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s revised directive D-95-03: Asian Gypsy Moth (Lymantria Dispar L.) – Plant Protection Policy for Marine Vessels has been published with a new effective date of October 16, 2010. 

 

Government News

PACIFIC GATEWAY MISSION TO BOOST ASIAN TRADE WITH BC

Growing business at BC ports and expanding Asia Pacific trade means now is the time to promote the Pacific Gateway through a trade mission to Asia, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Shirley Bond said at the Vancouver Board of Trade today.

Senior executives from Pacific Gateway partners Port Metro Vancouver, Port of Prince Rupert, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Vancouver International Airport will leave Nov. 1, 2010 for a 10-day trade mission to Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and China with Bond. Together they bring an unprecedented combination of public and private sector experience to strengthen relationships and secure the Pacific Gateway’s position as the preferred supply chain for trade between Asia and North America.

For more information about the Pacific Gateway, visit: www.th.gov.bc.ca/pacificgateway

To follow the Pacific Gateway Alliance’s progress on the mission, visit: http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/pacificgateway-Asia2010

 

REMINDER THAT NEW CONTAMINATED SOIL POLICY STARTS FEBRUARY 2011

Canada Border Services Agency has issued a notice to remind the importing of the new policy on contaminated soil on goods, including containers. 

Beginning February 1, 2011, non-compliant goods, i.e. goods contaminated with soil, arriving at the Canadian border will be restricted to a CBSA-controlled area and may be cleaned on-site by a mobile wash facility approved by the CFIA, provided certain conditions can be met, e.g. there is no risk of soil dislodgement during transport, operational capacity exists, availability of a CFIA-approved mobile wash facility. If a CFIA-approved mobile wash facility is not available, or if other conditions listed above are not met, the contaminated goods will be refused entry into Canada under the authority of the Plant Protection Act and the Health of Animals Act. Note: Plants and/or plant products are not eligible for remedial action.

The costs associated with cleaning or removal from Canada will be paid for by the importer.

 

CBSA SIGNS ARRANGEMENT WITH FRONTEX

Canada Border Services Agency has signed a working arrangement with Frontex, the European Union's border management coordination agency. The arrangement will promote cooperation between the two agencies on border security and management with a view to working towards a sustainable partnership.

For more information, visit: http://www.frontex.europa.eu/newsroom/news_releases/art78.html.

 

Other News

PIRATE ATTACKS RELENTLESS

Despite understandable skepticism, the citadel approach saved another vessel from pirates last weekend. The crew of the project cargo vessel Beluga Fortune shut down their main engine and locked themselves into a pre-determined safe area until help could arrive in the form of HMS Montrose. The vessel was 1200 miles off the coast of east Africa at the time. An almost repeat event then occurred on Tuesday this week when the French flag LPG carrier Maido was attacked off Dar Es Salaam with favourable outcome.

In an earlier attack, pirates successfully took control of the small Greek LPG carrier York off Mombasa. Other recent incidents include unsuccessful attacks on the container vessel MSC Sudan, Gearbulk’s Merlin Arrow, the VLCC Starlight Venture, the product tanker Hellespont Protector and the containership Maersk Karachi. Just today, armed guard were successful in fending off an attack on MSC Ayala only 12 miles from Mombassa.

The list of vessels currently detailed by Somali pirates is as follows:

 

§    SOCOTRA 1: Seized on December 25 2009. The Yemeni-owned ship was captured in the Gulf of Aden after it left the port of Alshahr in Yemen with six Yemeni crew.

§    AL NISR AL SAUDI: Seized on March 01 2010. The Saudi-owned 5 136-dwt tanker was on its way from Japan to Jeddah with one Greek and 13 Sri Lankan crew members.

§    ICEBERG 1: Seized on March 29, Roll-on roll-off vessel taken 10 miles from the port of Aden. 24 crew.

§    AL-BARARI: Seized on March 31. The small Indian trade boat was captured after it left Mogadishu. 11 crew.

§    SAMHO DREAM: Seized on April 04. The 319 000-dwt Samho Dream was en route to the United States from Iraq when it was hijacked 970 miles east of Somalia. The Marshall Islands-registered ship is South Korean-owned, had a crew of five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos and carried 2 million barrels of crude oil. On April 21, Somali pirates threatened to blow up the supertanker unless a $20m ransom was paid.

§    RAK AFRIKANA: Seized on April 11. The St Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged 7,561-dwt cargo ship was hijacked about 280 miles west of the Seychelles. Owned by Seychelles' Rak Afrikana Shipping Ltd.

§    Three Thai fishing vessels - PRANTALAY 11, 12 and 14 - were hijacked on April 17-18 with a total of 77 crew.

§    AL-DHAFIR: Seized on May 7. Yemeni fishing boat seized off Yemen. 7 crew.

§    MARIDA MARGUERITE: Seized on May 08. The chemical tanker en route from Kandla in Gujarat to Antwerp in Belgium was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden with crew of 22 - 19 Indians, two Bangladeshis and one Ukrainian.

§    ELENI P: Seized on May 12. The Liberia-flagged and Greek-owned ship, carrying iron and sailing from Ukraine to China via Singapore was seized in the Gulf of Aden. Crew of 2 Greeks and 22 Filipinos.

§    GOLDEN BLESSING: Seized on June 28. The 14,445-dwt Singapore-registered chemical tanker was seized off East Africa on its way from Saudi Arabia to India. 19 Chinese crew.

§    MOTIVATOR: Seized on July 4. A 13,065-dwt tanker, hijacked in the Red Sea, with 18 Filipino crew and carrying lubricating oil. It is Marshall Islands-flagged.

§    SUEZ: Seized on August 02. The Panama-flagged cargo ship was hijacked in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden. The ship was carrying cement bags and had a crew of 23 from Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India.

§    OLIB G: Seized on September 08: Maltese-flagged merchant vessel seized in the IRTC. 18 crew - 15 Georgians and 3 Turks.

§    LUGELA: Seized on Sept. 25/26: The Greek-operated 4 281-dwt cargo ship had a crew of 12 Ukrainians. It was sailing to Mauritius with a cargo of steel bars and wires.

§    ASPHALT VENTURE: Seized on September 29: The 3,884-dwt bitumen carrier was heading to Durban from Mombasa. 15 Indian crew. Managed by Mumbai-based Omci Ship Management Pvt and owned by Bitumen Invest AS of United Arab Emirates.

§    FENG-GUO 168: Seized on October 07: Fishing vessel, believed to be Taiwanese, seized 200 miles north of Mauritius. 14 crew.

§    GOLDEN WAVE: Seized on October 09. The South-Korean fishing vessel Golden Wave - formerly known as Keummi 305 - had a crew of 39 Kenyans, two Koreans and two Chinese.

§    IZUMI: Seized on October 10: The Izumi, operated by NYK-Hinode Line Ltd, The Panama-flagged ship was en route to Mombasa with a cargo of steel. 20 Filipino crew.

§    YORK: Seized on October 23: The Singapore-flagged, Greek managed, LPG tanker was seized 50 miles from Mombasa. The European naval force, EU Navfor, said the vessel had a crew of 17 - a German master, two Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos. The 5 076-dwt York was sailing empty after discharging her LPG cargo at the Shimanzi oil terminal in Mombasa.

 

SHIP BROKERS GRANTED OPERATING LICENCES IN SHANGHAI

The London based shipbrokers Braemar Shipping Services, Clarksons and Simpson Spence & Young  have been granted licenses to register as shipbroking companies in Shanghai, thereby allowing them to formally trade within local markets using Chinese currency. As with early days for the financial sector in China, opening the window to ship brokers has initially been quite restrictive hence this move is seen to signal a change in outlook. Many international brokers already have “representative offices” in China.

 

CASH CRISIS AT WORLD MARITIME UNIVERSITY

A financial crisis at the World Maritime University (WMU) based in Malmo, Sweden, has forced it to seek funding from the private sector. Earlier this year the WMU received support from the IMO to provide breathing space whilst the organization’s finances are stabilised. It seems likely that a correspondence group established by the IMO will seek support for extension of its mandate to develop a fully costed proposal for consideration by the next IMO Council in 2011. In this, the group’s  efforts are being assisted by a decision by the City of Malmo to move the WMU into a newer and bigger building, currently part of Malmo University. Earlier this year, Singapore made a pitch to move the WMU to the island state.

 

BCIT STUDENTS AT INTERNATIONAL MARITIME WEEK

 

Photo, L-R: Engine Cadet (EC) Stuart Gillespie, Deck Cadet (DC) Bryan Stapleton, DC Amy Barnes, DC Andrew Turner, Capt John Clarkson, Admiral Greenwood, EC Kevin Epp, EC Tobias Moretto, EC Aaron Rossi, EC Drew Mehain.

On Friday, September 24, BCIT Marine Campus Associate Dean Captain John Clarkson and eight Nautical Sciences and Marine Engineering students attended the World Maritime Day gala dinner and dance. The fundraising event celebrated the Year of the Seafarer with all proceeds benefiting the Mission to Seafarers. The dinner was held at HMCS Discovery, Vancouver’s Naval Reserve Division. The venue was fitting as 2010 also marks the Canadian Navy’s Centenary. 

The guest of honour was the new Commander Joint Task Force Pacific and Commander Maritime Forces Pacific, Rear Admiral Greenwood. Students had the opportunity to rub shoulders with one of Canada’s highest ranking sailors as they themselves start their seagoing careers in the marine industry. They also networked with many representatives from shipping companies and organizations from the marine industry in Vancouver. The Deck Cadets that attended all recently returned from their first of two Cooperative Education sea phases.  Amy Barnes served with Secunda Marine in the offshore supply industry off the East Coast of Canada, Andrew Turner served with Princess Cruises around the world, and Bryan Stapleton served with Canada Steamship Lines on the Great Lakes. The Marine Engineering Cadets just recently started the program and look forward to going to sea next year. (article courtesy of BCIT Marine Campus)

 

SOME REAL HALLOWEEN SPIRIT – DOROTHY DELIVERS FOR UNITED WAY

 If you know this person, feel free to drop him/her a line and contribute to the United Way.

 

   

Market Update

An overall steady week for the market with the Baltic Dry Index closing modestly higher on Thursday at 2784 compared to 2720 points last week and 2762 points the week before.

 

                                          Cape Size       Panamax       Supramax

Index                                    4461                2461               1774
Last week                             4356                2179               1805
Spot time charter             $46,300/day    $19,800/day     $18,500/day
Last week                       $45,500/day    $17,500/day     $18,900/day

On the tanker front VLCC rates have been provided with a modest lifeline this week when more than 60 vessels were fixed out of the Arabian Gulf this week for November loading. These include a high percentage of cargoes to China and Japan.

 

 

Upcoming Meetings and Events

PLIMSOLL CLUB FALL BANQUET

November 5^th - This year the Plimsoll Club’s Fall Banquet will return to downtown Vancouver after four years at the River Rock Hotel and Casino in Richmond.   The banquet will take place at the Sutton Place Hotel located at 845 Burrard Street and will include live entertainment and several prizes.  The proceeds from the evening will go directly to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Tickets are priced at $120 each.  To reserve your tickets contact Andrew Yeo at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

CHALLENGES FOR INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING IN THE YEAR OF THE SEAFARER

November 17-18^th - The North American Marine Environment Protection Association is hosting a 2010 World Maritime Day Observance Conference focused on the “Year of the Seafarer.”  The Conference will be held at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel.  Registration is free, but limited.  Download Program and Registration Form.

 

CANADA PACIFIC GATEWAY – ROUTES TO THE NEXT ECONOMY CONFERENCE

November 17-19^th - The 2^nd International Conference on Gateway and Corridors will be held at the Sutton Place Hotel.  Program agenda and registration can be found at www.gateway-corridor.com.

 

UNDERSTANDING INCOTERMS 2010 & NAFTA AUDIT WORKSHOPS

November 18^th – The Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters will host a two workshops in Vancouver to cover Incoterms 2010 – new and existing terms that will replace Incoterms 2000 – and NAFTA audits.  Brochure and registration.

 

Nov 1-4             National Canadian Marine Advisory Committee Meetings in Ottawa
Nov 5                Plimsoll Club Fall Banquet
Nov 7                Daylight Saving Time – Clocks turn back one hour
Nov 9                COS Ship & Port Operations Committee Meeting @ 12:00
Nov 9                VMAA/IMCA Meeting @ 12:00
Nov 10              COS Liner Committee Meeting @ 10:00
Nov 10              COS Board of Directors Meeting @ 11:30
Nov 11              Remembrance Day - Statutory Holiday - Office Closed
Nov 16              ISSC Board of Directors Meeting @ 12:00
Nov 17-18          NAMEPA Year of the Seafarer Conference
Nov 19              COS Board of Directors Strategic Planning Session

 

 

Ship of the Week 

   

                                 QUEEN ELIZABETH
              arriving Southampton for her naming ceremony

 

The new Cunard cruise liner was named last week in Southampton by Her Majesty the Queen. The vessel subsequently departed on October 25 for a 14 day maiden voyage calling Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Livorno, Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples and Gibraltar. The vessel’s first world cruise begins on January 5 2011, a 103-day trip that includes stops at 38 ports in 23 countries, including calls at Los Angeles, Sydney and Hong Kong.

 

Built by Finacantieri Yard in Italy
LOA 294m
Beam 32.3m
GRT 91,400
2092 guests
Speed 24 knots

     a tour of the bridge – of course

See the link for videos http://www.smoat.com/queen-elizabeth-ship/

After a distinguished wartime and peacetime career the original Queen Elizabeth built in 1939 was sold in 1968. Having been re-named Seawise University, she sank following the simultaneous outbreak of several fires whilst anchored in Hong Kong in 1972. The Queen Elizabeth 2 which served Cunard from 1968 to 200

 

                               original Queen Elizabeth

The replacement vessel named Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) served Cunard from 1968 to 2008 before being sold to Dubai. She is now laid up in Port Rashid with it seems an uncertain future on account of the financial difficulties of her purchasers.

 

            QE2 in formation with Concord 
            and Red Arrows aerobatic team

 

 

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