Scandinavian Shipping Gazette No 12 by Henrik Bergqvist

June 16 2008, 7 € 80264 GVA Svenska Sjo?fartstidning 210x220mm_2:Layout 1

08-06-02

13.53

Sida 1

Offshore Developments 12

Baltic Pilot goes deep sea

page 12

New shipowners in the Maersk group

page 20

The Møre og Romsdal offshore cluster page 26

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SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE, JUNE 16, 2008

26 HEAD OFFICE P.O. Box 370, SE-401 25 Gothenburg, Sweden Phone +46-31-62 95 70, Fax +46-31-80 27 50 E-mail: info@shipgaz.com editorial@shipgaz.com marketing@shipgaz.com Internet: www.shipgaz.com Rolf P. Nilsson, publisher and editor-in-chief Phone: +46-31-62 95 80 Mobile: +46-708-49 95 80 E-mail: rolf@shipgaz.com Lars Adrians, marketing manager Phone: +46-31-62 95 71 Mobile: +46-702-22 92 92 E-mail: lars@shipgaz.com

BRANCH OFFICES Denmark Bent Mikkelsen, editor Smedegade 13, DK-6950 Ringkøbing, Denmark Phone: +45-9732 1333 Mobile: +45-2424 1335 E-mail: bent@shipgaz.com Madli Vitismann, editor Mobile: +372-5038 088 Phone & Fax: +372-646 13 18 E-mail: madli@shipgaz.com Finland Pär-Henrik Sjöström, editor Malmgatan 5, FI-20100 ÅBO, Finland Phone: +358-2-242 62 50, Fax: +358-2-242 62 51 Mobile: +358-400-82 71 13 E-mail: par-henrik@shipgaz.com Stig-Johan Lundström, sales manager Ruissalontie 10 as 22 FI-20200 Turku, Finland Phone: +358-45 32 44 99, Fax: +358-50 855 558 21 E-mail: stig-johan.lundstrom@marconwest.fi Norway Petter Arentz, editor Gamleveien 9, NO-3121 Nøtterøy, Norway Phone: +47-33-40 12 00 Mobile: +47-90-99 06 37 E-mail: petter@shipgaz.com Dag Bakka Jr, editor Strandgaten 223, NO-5004 Bergen, Norway Phone: +47-55-32 17 47 Mobile: +47-414 56 807 E-mail: dag@shipgaz.com Marit Eggen, marketing manager Norway Kilgata 9, NO-3217 Sandefjord, Norway Phone: +47-33-52 21 00, Fax: +47-33 52 21 01, Mobile: +47-91-31 59 01 E-mail: marit.eggen@shipgaz.com Odd-Einar Reseland, sales manager Sandakerveien 76 F, NO-0483 Oslo, Norway Phone: +47-22-09 69 10, Fax: +47-22-09 69 39 Mobile: +47-47-33 29 96 E-mail: odd.einar@shipgaz.com Poland Leszek Szymanski, correspondent Korzystno, ul. Truskawkowa 35, PL-78 132 Gryzbowo, Poland Phone: +48-94 354 04 84, Fax: +48-94 355 48 58 Mobile: +48-602 579 620 E-mail: leszek@shipgaz.com

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IN THIS ISSUE

REGULARS

12 Baltic Pilot goes deep sea 14 Machinery and men must match

4 News Review 11 Editorial 40 IT & Communications 41 Technical News

SPECIAL FEATURE

Offshore Developments 19 The rocketing oil price boosts the offshore business like never before, but generally the sector is facing the same dark clouds on the horizon as the rest of the maritime sectors: How to recruit for the future. 80264 GVA Svenska Sjo?fartstidning 210x220mm_2:Layout 1

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42 Fleet News 43 Market Reports 50 The Mylle: Six names before the end in Greece

Sida 1

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NE W S RE V IEW

frontline

a New container service starts In June, Oslo Marine’s subsidiary Vyborg Shipping Company will start up a container service from Viborg to Sassnitz, Lübeck and Rostock and calling at Trelleborg with the OMG Gatchina with a capacity of 342 TEUs. Oslo Marine is also planning to transport RoRo cargoes to Vyborg. Oslo Marine Group is also modernising Vyborg Port. The group bought the port company last year and will invest EUR 233 million, according to SeaNewws.ru.

Frontline’s VLCC Front Shanghai was built in 2006.

Big order book for Frontline Fronline has declared options in two VLCCs with Chinese Zhousan Jinhaiwan, where the company placed an order for four VLCCs in April this year. The vessels now ordered will be delivered in the first half of 2012. Frontline’s order book consists of ten VLCCs and eight suezmaxes, worth USD 1.8 billion. The first quarter generated net sales of USD 221 million and the company has decided on a USD 205 million dividend for the quarter. russian Icebreaker launched The icebreaker St. Petersburg was launched on 28 May at Baltiysky Zavod in St. Petersburg. The vessel is one of two diesel-electric icebreakers being built for Rosmorport. The St. Petersburg will be delivered before the end of the year and will assist ships to and from the Port of Primorsk. The vessel, which has a length of 114 metres, a beam of 27.5 metres and a draft of 8.5 metres, will be able to sail through 1.2 metre thick ice. The icebreaker can assist tankers up to 50 metres wide. 4

EU Court of Justice over rule Intertanko in ship pollution case s s g - g öt e b o rg . The Court of Justice of the European Communities has ruled the UK, and all other EU members, can have their own rules on penalties for ship source pollution. Intertanko, and others, brought an action before the High Court of Justice of England and Wales regarding the implementation of national penalties. The High Court turned to Court of Justice to rule on weather the national rules are compatible with UN Convention on

the Law of the Sea and the MARPOL Convention. The European Court of Justice has now ruled that since the EU is not a party of MARPOL that convention does not apply, and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea “does not establish rules intended to apply directly and immediately to individuals. It does not confer upon them rights and freedoms capable of being relied upon against States, irrespective of the attitude of the ship’s flag State”, the Court of Justice writes.

Imperial Shipping grows Göteborg/London based shipowner Imperial Shipping has aqcuired the panamax 64,931-DWT bulk carrier Maha Roos, built in Japan 1982. After the purchase, the company fleet consists of 15 wholly owned vessels (bulk carriers and ro-ro vessels) and five vessels on t/c charters. Imperial Shipping is also the owner of the liner company Swedish Orient Line.

Hassing – new Group CEO at Scandlines ssg - ringkø bing. Scandlines has appointed a new Group CEO, the Dane Michael Hassing, 49. He comes from a position as CEO of Samskips Development Department and previous to that he worked for Maersk Company in London. At Scandlines, he will be the head of the management group, which consists of three persons: Michael Hassing, John Steen-Mikkelsen as operative manager and Andreas Lübs as financial manager. “Michael Hassing is the right person to lead the company towards a public listing on the stock market”, says Jan Stenberg, Chairman of the Board, in a statement. More Scandlines, the company is in the market for two new ferries for the service between Gedser and Rostock. Scandlines’

spokesman Jens Henrik Nybo confirms to Danish newspaper Lolland-Falsters Folketidende that Scandlines are talking with several shipyards to find capacity for two newbuildings for the service. “We expect that the final signing of a contract will take place in September this year”, says Jens Henrik Nybo. It is still not decided which type of ferries that will be ordered. Scandlines use double ender’s on the Rødby-Puttgarden service and traditional ferries on the GedserRostock run. The new vessels are expected to be delivered in late 2010 or early 2011. Presently the Kronprins Frederik and the Prins Joachim sails on the Gedser Rostock service along with the chartered trailer-ferry Rostock.

Aker Yards delivered SuperSpeed 2 Color Line has taken delivery of their second fast passenger- and car ferry from Aker Yards on June 5, 2008. The SuperSpeed 2 left Rauma the following day and will be employed on the Larvik–Hirtshals route. With a service speed of 27 knots, the crossing time will be three hours 45 minutes, which is two hours faster than with conventional ferries. SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

NEWS REVIE W

s s g - r i n g kø b i n g . DFDS Seaways has taken decision to close its service between Bergen-Haugesund-Stavanger and North Shields in England. The route has generated a substantial loss and a change of vessel has not resulted in any change on the financial side. So as of September 1, 2008, the service will be closed and the current vessel on the route, the Queen of Scandinavia, will be sold or chartered out to another operator. The closure of the route will result in the loss of 340 jobs at DFDS and save DKK 60 million per year. Simultaneously with the closing of the Bergen service adjustments will be to the land-based organisation so around 70 jobs will be cut in country offices and at the main office in Copenhagen. DFDS will

DFDs

DFDS will close down Bergen-England service

Queen of Scandinavia, which sails on the Bergen route, will be sold or chartered out. The effect of this on the accounts for 2008 is not known at the present time.

help the laid-off personal to get new job elsewhere. DFDS Seaways took over the service in September 2006 from Fjord Line A/S, which also generated losses on the route.

STX wants to build 22,000-TEU behemoth s s g - g öt e b o rg . South Korean STX Shipbuilding is offering the market a new container carrier design for a 460 metre long, 60 metre wide vessel capable of carrying 22,000 TEU. As comparison, the largest carriers today,

the Maersk Line E Class, has an estimated capacity of around 13,500 TEU. According to STX the vessel can be equipped with one or two engines, giving a speed of 24–26 knots and fuel costs wold be reduced by about 40 per cent per freight unit.

s s g - g öt e b o r g . Torstein Dale Sjøtveit will step down from his position as executive vice president in Norsk Hydro ASA for a new job as president and CEO in Aker Yards ASA, the companies have announced. Dale Sjøtveit who today leads Hydro’s Aluminium business area will leave Norsk Hydro 1 September this year, at the latest. Dale Sjøtveit has worked for the Norwegian company since 1981 on several top positions. In March 2008, Aker Yards announced the start of a recruitment process for a new CEO. In the intermediate period, the chairman of the board of directors, Svein Sivertsen, has acted as CEO. Now he can step down from the position as CEO. ”We are very pleased that we get Torstein Dale Sjøtveit in as the new CEO for Aker Yards. He brings with him an understanding of hands on management combined

norsk hydro

Dale Sjøtveit new CEO at Aker

Torstein Dale Sjøtveit, will leave Hydro 1 September, at the latest.

with a strong industrial experience and a strategic approach to further developing the business and the organisation”, says Svein Sivertsen in a comment.

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Nordic Tankers with loss in Q1 Nordic Tankers has started this year with a loss. A sliding market in Q1 2008 ended with a loss of USD 968,000. The poor result is a consequence of a combination of the market and some repair jobs, which were more extensive than expected. The board of directors find the result unsatisfactory and have accordingly adjusted the anticipated full-year result to USD 3 million with revenue around USD 44.5 million. Russia supports newbuildings The Russian government has decided to support shipping companies by repaying two thirds of interest cost of credits for up to five years. The repayment will only take place if the credits were utilized to order ships at Russian yards and also if the credits are granted Russian banks or leasing companies between 2008 and 2010. Fines for crew after accident The crew of the historic tug Rudokop has been fined for its conduct when the tug rammed a small fishing vessel close to Bornholm. The Finnish captain has accepted a fine of DKK 10,000 for being intoxicated while sailing in Danish waters. His Lithuanian mate has also accepted a fine of DKK 10,000 for his behaviour at the time of the collision. He was fined for not stopping his vessel and taking care of the crew of the fishing vessel Atlantic (a one-man vessel). The fisherman was rescued by some of his collegues fishing in the same area. Svitzer charters an Italian tug Svitzer A/S has chartered a newly built Italian tug for its Scandinavian operation, while awaiting delivery of its newbuilding from China. The tug is currently under construction at Rosetti Marino S.p.A. at Ravenna (yard no. 91), and will be delivered at the beginning of July. The tug will be named the Davide Primo, but will be named the Svitzer Ran and fly the Danish flag under the bareboat charter. The tug is 32.5 metres long and 10.8 metres wide and will have a bollard pull of 82 tons from a double General Electric plant developing 4,780 kW. 5

The Doris K.

Coaster converted to dregder The German coaster Seeland is now ready for work in its new role as a dredger under the Danish flag. The vessel was sold to the Danish company Thyholm Vognmandsforretning (BF Transport ApS) earlier this year for conversion into a dredger. The conversion was carried out alongside in Thyborøn under the supervision of BJ Maritime. The dredger, which has now been named Doris K, will operate in Limfjord as well as in some special areas in the North Sea. The Doris K was built in 1982 at Kötter Werft in Haren/Ems and has a capacity of 600 cubic metres and 1,000 DWT. Remøy orders two new PSVs Remøy Shipping has ordered two PX105 X-bow design PSVs (Platform Supply Vessels) from Ulstein. The design type has a length of 88.8 metres and a beam of 19 metres. The vessels are classified for standby rescue of 250 persons and have accommodation for a crew of 24. The vessels are already signed to long-term contracts with StatoilHydro upon completion. The vessels will be delivered in February and May 2011. Remøy Shipping has a fleet of six vessels for coast guard, seismic and offshore service. OK for oil storage in Göteborg The region of Västra Götaland has now given the green light for the Port of Göteborg to store Russian crude oil in a subterranean rock shelter. This will make it possible to reload crude oil onto larger tankers, as Russia can only transport crude oil via the Baltic Sea in smaller tankers. The Port of Göteborg now hopes to be an important port for reloading of Russian crude oil. The permit is for three years and eight million tonnes annually. 6

Odense Steel Shipyard forced to lay off 250 persons s s g - r i n g kø b i n g . Odense Steel Shipyard has decided to lay off another 250 persons from the staff. It is a step in constant struggle to cut costs and reduce the deficit of several hundred millions. The company has had talks with representatives of the employees without finding any solution to

the staff reduction. The reduction is part of the fact that the yard in the coming year are going to build less complicated ships, like bulk carriers and RoRo vessels. This reduction of the staff is the second within the last two years as expenses were going sky high for the shipyard.

Explosion at shipyard – several killed ssg - tallinn. On 5 June a serious explosion occurred at the Russian flagged container vessel Enisey (built 1988) when it was docked at the shipyard in Baltiysk – three persons were killed, three persons were injured and six persons are still missing on 9 June. According to the news agency BNS, which refers to sources inside the Russian

Navy, nine persons may have died in the accident. According to the Russian Transport Department the explosion was caused by gas welding in a tank, placed at the vessels stern. After seven hours fire fighters could stop the fire caused by the explosion. The Governor of Kaliningrad has started an investigation.

Paisleys last mission – opening of new Stena Line terminal Dr Ian Paisley opened Stena Lines new ferry terminal at the Port of Belfast in his final official engagement as Northern Ireland First Minister, reports Lloyd’s List. Dr Paisley resigned 5 June after having been the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) between 1971 and 2008.

Luke-warm interest in car industry for environmentally adjusted sea transports s s g - g öt e b o r g . A speed reduction of two knots would increase sailing time for a car carrier on the Asia to Europe route, while at the same time reducing bunker consumption by 17 per cent and CO2 emissions by 21 per cent per transported car, according to Arild B Iversen, CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, at the roro exhibition in Göteborg last week. Iversen, however, painted a picture of a carmaking industry with a luke-warm interest in environment adjustment initiatives. In February, WWL introduced a slower transport concept, but no customer has shown any interest. Only ten per cent of the customers, among them Landrover and Jaguar, ask for environment criteria when purchasing sea transport.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen logistics

bent mikkelsen

NE W S RE V IEW

The Talisman in WWLs fleet.

WWL is a forerunner on the environmen tal side and spent around USD 30 million extra last year for low-sulphur bunker oil. SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

NEWS REVIE W

Hapag-Lloyd

Coaster hi-jacked off Somalia A Danish-chartered coaster, the Dutchowned Amiya Scan, was hijacked by Somalia pirates off the coast of Somalia in the end of May, while on a voyage from Mombasa to Constantza in Romania. Scan Shipping in Næstved, which has the time charter, has been in contact with the crew. The Amiya Scan is owned by Reider Shipping, which is part of the Buss Group at Leer. Scan Trans and Buss Group have had a close commercial relationship for several years, where Buss Group provides the tonnage and Scan Trans is the commercial manager. The 3,940 DWT Amiya Scan was built in 2004.

Berlin Express on the River Elbe.

Hamburg wants Hapag-Lloyd to stay in Germany s s g - g öt e b o rg . The state of Hamburg is entering the fight over the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd to prevent a foreign buy-out and a possible transfer of the company abroad. The state is a part-owner in a company set up to raise enough money for a takeover

bid. According to German media reports, around EUR 5 billion is needed, and the company is said to be optimistic. The liner company is being sold by its parent TUI after pressure from one of its main owners, the shipping billionare John Fredriksen.

Subsea 7 buys construction vessel Subsea 7 has acquired the pipelaying and construction vessel Skandi Navica, which has been chartered to Subsea 7 for eight years, for USD 62 million. The vessel will be renamed the Seven Navica and continue to operate in the Subsea 7 fleet. The vessel has a length of 108 metres and a beam of 22 m. It is capable of operating in water depths of up to 2,000 metres.

Keel laid for estonian ferry The keel of Saaremaa Shipping Company’s first ferry in a series of three units has now been laid in Klaipeda. The joint venture company Fiskerstrand BLRT will complete the first ferry by February, next year, and the vessel will sail between Hiiumaa (Dagö) and the mainland. The 97-metres long and 18-metre wide ferries will have a draft of four metres. The ferries will be able to carry 600 passengers and 160 cars. The order is worth EUR 95 million. Rohde Nielsen rebuild barges Rohde Nielsen A/S is in the process of rebuilding two self propellered barges to dredgers at the own shipyard in Grenaa. The two units are the Trud R and Magn R, which have been fitted with new, more spacious, accommodation houses. Trud R and Magn R will be ready for operation within the next five to six weeks.

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SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

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Tor Hafnia to dfds on charter DFDS Tor Line has chartered the new ro/ro vessel Tor Hafnia. The vessel is the second of the four Chinese built ro/ros, which are on time charter from Norbulk Shipping in Glasgow (set up with capital from Scandinavia). The Tor Hafnia, which is the latin name for Copenhagen, will be deployed on the Anglo South service by DFDS Tor Line. This is the service running from Göteborg to Tilbury on the River Thames. The Tor Hafnia is hull no. 0403 from Jinling Shipyard in Nanjing, China. The 11,322 DWT vessel has a capacity of 3,455 lane metres, which is equivalent to 230 trailers. Tor Hafnia flies the British flag. Sevan gets drilling contract Sevan Marine ASA will sign a letter of intent with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in India for a deepwater drilling rig with a fixed term of three years worth up to USD 569 million. Sevan Marine will provide a newbuild drilling rig with a capacity to drill in water depths down to 10,000 feet. The rig will be deployed in offshore operations in India. Scandlines agency in Ventspils Scandlines has decided to set up its own agency in Ventspils, Latvia. On June 1, Scandlines formed its own organisation in Ventspils to take care of sales, bookings and marketing in Latvia. Until now, the agency work has been done by Muller Baltic. The service from Rostock to Ventspils is such a great success that Scandlines has now started its own agency. It will be headed by Brian Lindberg, who has already been the company’s representative in Latvia for three years, along with Gert Meilby Pedersen. Siem to build passenger vessels Siem Consub SA, a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Siem Offshore, has signed an agreement with the Brazilian oil & gas company Petrobas to build two fast passenger vessels for 8 plus 8 years time charter contracts. The agreement is worth USD 35 million. The vessels will be delivered to Petrobas in the second quarter of 2010. The vessels will have the capacity to transport 60 passengers at a speed of 20 knots. 8

Jesper Kjædegaard leaves Maersk Line

s s g - r i n g kø b i n g . Maersk Line stands to lose another of its executive leaders in the aftermath of the reorganisation of the company. Jesper Kjædegaard, who until now has been the CEO of Maersk Line in England, has announced that he will leave his position in order to try something new. “I have always thought that if I was going

to have another job it should be before I turn 50”, Jesper Kjædegaard explained to several media. Jesper Kjædegaard has worked in Maersk Line for 29 years in several top positions, including his currentt position as CEO of Maersk Line in the UK. Only last month, he was appointed Vice President of the British Chamber of Shipping.

Birka Line share delisted from Helsinki Stock Exchange Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö has taken over all the shares in Birka Line Abp. As a result, Birka Line’s shares are no longer listed on OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki Oy.

The Port of Algeciras

APM Terminals in dispute with Algeciras s s g - r i n g kø b i n g . APM Terminals and Port of Algeciras on the southern tip of Spain are beginning to move away from each other after a long dispute over efficiency from the dockworkers and a serious land issue. The dispute is now in a stage, when APM terminals threatens to move away from the Spanish port. APM Terminals has for some time been looking for more land storage for the thousands of containers, which every week (around 85,000 TEUs per week) goes in and out of Algeciras. A new terminal outside the breakwaters has been under construction for some

time, but the parties have for almost the same time been in a disagreement over price and terms. Port of Algeciras wants APM Terminals to pay for the new terminal, while the old (inside the break water) terminal is handed over for free to the Port of Algeciras to become a new ferry terminal for the ferries crossing to Morocco. The dock workers in Algeciras is paid eight times more than those in Tangier only 15 nautical miles away and the efficiency is much lower at the Spanish port, which has been an highly important hub on the Maersk Line world map since 1985. SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

NEWS REVIE W

bent mikkelsen

drunk passengers delayed ship A group of 29 polish passengers on the Faroese ferry Norrøna were offloaded in Bergen on a voyage from Torshavn to Hanstholm. The Polish passengers were so drunk and noisy that the captain decided to divert the ferry and call at Bergen. The Norrøna subsequently sailed to Hanstholm some 15 hours delayed as a result of the extra call in Bergen.

The Olina.

OW Bunker moves tankers to DIS ssg-ringkøbing. Danish bunker supplier OW Bunker & Trading A/S has taken five chartered tankers into the Danish register over the last couple of weeks. This means that OW Bunker will fly the Danish flag on their tankers for the first time since the start in the late 1980s. The re-flagging of the chartered tankers comes as several of the older units have been sold off. The Tinka, the veteran in the fleet from back in 1992, has been sold to Greece, while the Breeze has been sold to Estonia. As replacement OW Bunker has bareboat chartered two units from Clipper Group and re-flagged them to the DIS flag. The 2005-built Clipper Barolo has become the OW Copenhagen, while the sister vessel Clipper Barbera has become the OW Aal-

borg. Furthermore, three other chartered tankers have been moved into the Danish bareboat register. They are the sister vessels Olina and Octavia, which were built by the German Intersea Group against a long-term charter to OW Bunker. After a couple of years flying the Cyprus flag they have now moved to the Danish flag and the names the OW Scandinavia and the OW Baltic respectively. Finally, the Iceland-owned tanker the Keilir, which lately has been sailing under the Faroese flag, has been moved to the Danish flag and renamed the OW Atlantic, which indicates that the vessel is used for North Atlantic bunkers under the name the OW Icebunker. The tanker delivers bunkers to trawlers working in the area from Iceland to Svalbard and Bear Island.

Wärtsilä to streamline the handling of spare parts s s g - å b o. Wärtsilä has launched a EUR 70 million investment to centralise its warehousing and logistics of spare parts. A new distribution centre will be built in the Netherlands near the company’s current service unit. The intention is to outsource logistics and warehousing operations. According to Tage Blomberg, Group Vice President, Services, consolidating logistics and warehousing with a speciali-

sed partner will improve customer service by allowing parts deliveries 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “The new central warehouse will shorten transportation distances, reduce the traffic of spare parts between warehouses, and improve management of the entire supply chain,” Tage Blomberg says. Today, each of Wärtsilä’s seven product companies is responsible for the global logistics of their own product groups.

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SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

How to man the ships on order “The biggest challenge of all to the shipping industry is how to man the 9,000 newbuildings presently on order”. The words came at a speech in Hamburg held by Dr. Martin Stopford, Clarksons Research Studies, a company that keep close track of all contracts signed on a World Wide basis. Dr. Martin Stopford explains that current recruitment problems will become even worse in the next four to five years when all these newbuildings are going to be delivered. There is a degree of uncertainty concerning a percentage of the newbuildings, as Clarkson expects that around 10 to 15 per cent of the contracts have been signed with shipyards that hardly exists. UN allows warships to somalia The UN Security Council has approved a resolution allowing member countries to send warships to fight piracy off Somalia, according to the news agency TT. The resolution, however, assumes that there is a agreement between participating countries and the Somalian interim government. It is quite common that vessels are attacked by pirates off Somalia. Several times this year, vessels have been seized by pirates demanding ransoms. Terrorist agreed long sentence The American citizen Christopher Paul has pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to use a weapon of mass destruction, as explosive devices, against targets in Europe and the US. He pleaded guilty in a court of Southern District of Ohio. Christopher Paul has agreed to a sentence of 20 years in prison. US and European ports and other freight handling facilities are thought to have been among the targets, according to Fairplay. 9

EDI TO RI AL

How do you man 9,000 newbuildings? T he offshore sector is facing the same dark clouds on the horizon as the rest of the maritime sectors: How to recruit enough personnel for the coming years. Like most of the maritime sector there is a sufficient flow of money, in fact better than ever in offshore with an oil price – at the time of writing around USD 124 per barrel – that has never been higher. A lot of new fields and exploration plans have been drawn up in almost every part of the world. Also the offshore segment has its fair share of the world’s order books, which at present is around 9,000 units according to Clarkson Research Services in London.

Dr Martin Stopford reckons that manning those 9,000 ships on order is the biggest challenge in shipping today. The head of Clarkson Research, Dr Martin Stopford, told part of the world maritime press gathered in Hamburg at the end of May, that he reckons that manning those 9,000 ships on order is the biggest challenge in shipping today, much bigger than if markets go down, or if China decides to pull one billion tons of cargo out of the market again, or the growing age of the existing fleet. Naturally, a number of ships will be sent to recycling during the next five years, when the 9,000 ships are to be delivered, but certainly not at the same rate at which the new ships keep coming to a growing merchant navy. But still the question is where to find the crews. Or maybe the question is how to ‘sell’ sea-

faring as an attractive choice of occupation for young people. It should not be so difficult to explain that a mariner is a highly educated person with a substantial salary and with six months off per year. The nature of seafaring can still put a strain on a ‘normal’ family life, but with Skype telephone, V-Sat and e-mail on board the ships, it is possible for a seafarer to be in frequent contact with his or her home. There is a dark horse in the Clarkson

Research forecast for newbuildings. Around 10 to 15 per cent of the contracts have been signed with unknown shipyards, according to Dr Martin Stopford, or at least shipyards unknown to the Clarkson Intelligence units. It could be because the owner has signed with shipyards to be built or groups of industrialists that want to set up a shipyard. It is still uncertain if these ships will be delivered, as it might be so that some of the yard-wannabes have not signed up with suppliers of equipment and therefore are unable to deliver any ships. Coming back to the offshore sector,

the huge amount of money gained from the sky-high oil price, which gives us consumers extra expenses (petrol for our cars and heating of our homes), has led to more business on existing fields and opening of new fields. The market for drilling rigs is hot and Maersk Contractors has already signed up for the five units that will be delivered in the coming years. The same goes for Maersk Supply Service’s series of new anchor handlers, which will be delivered from Norwegian Aker Group as from the middle of June. The first goes to a Brazilian job – an area where Maersk Supply Service has been working since the early 1980s along with Brazilian and Norwegian ships. The next goes to the British sector and negotiations are ongoing for the next in the series of ten ships.

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

bent mikkelsen

Editor, Denmark Phone: +45 24 24 13 35, E-mail: bent@shipgaz.com

Furthermore, the high oil price, which might get even higher (up to USD 200 per barrel has been mentioned), will generate even more business and it might move exploration to the arctic areas, where exploration and drilling is much more expensive than in the ‘easy’ areas in West Africa, where the water is deep, but the sea is mostly calm. For the third time within the Offshore theme we take a look at the rebuilding of the former train ferry Karl Carstens. It is now at the final stage of becoming a floating production unit in the Mexican Gulf. This USD 150 million project would never have seen daylight if the price of oil had not gone up, neither would the Norwegian Subsea 7’s signing of a third contract for another USD 180 million pipe layer from a Dutch shipyard. So, the high oil price means a lot of

money and a high level of activity in most maritime sectors. Irrespective of how the oil price affects your shipping activities, we wish you all a nice summer – on duty or off duty.

Joachim Sjöström

Deep sea pilotage of tankers will increase in the Baltic Sea.

Baltic Pilot goes deep sea The Finnish pilotage company Baltic Pilot expects that the rapidly increasing oil shipments from Russia will generate a dramatic rise in the demand for deep sea pilotage in the Baltic Sea area in the near future.

The IMO recommends that ships using deep sea pilots in the Baltic Sea should only take deep sea pilots licensed by a pilotage authority of a Baltic coastal state. Such licensed deep sea pilots are in possession of a red identity card.

Deep sea pilotage has been mentioned on several occasions as one of the most efficient ways to prevent disastrous oil spills in the Baltic Sea area. Baltic Pilotage Authorities Commission, which is a governmental organization for pilotage authorities in the countries adjacent to the Baltic Sea, recommends deep sea pilotage for tankers but also for other ships, which are constrained by their draught or registered in other than the Baltic states and infrequently sail in the Baltic Sea.

Tanker traffic increasing

The number of large tankers has increased dramatically in the Baltic Sea due to the oil export from Russia. Many vessels trade under exotic flags with officers who totally lack experience of the conditions in the Baltic Sea. When it comes to safety, large tankers are of course the type of vessels that the inhabitants around the Baltic Sea are most concerned about. So far it is not compulsory to use a pilot on a large tanker but it is likely

that also the general opinion will work for a change in this matter in the future – hopefully before a serious accident occurs. Managing Director Joakim Håkans from the Finnish privately owned pilotage company Baltic Pilot Ltd thinks that it is surprising that so far only a few vessels use deep sea pilots in the Baltic Sea. He says that for example in the North Sea the situation is totally different with two British and a French pilotage company already active in this field. “Deep sea pilotage today is a widely spread commercial safety service in the North Sea and the English Channel. Vessels coming from and continuing to the Baltic Sea are also interested in buying corresponding services in the Baltic Sea”, Joakim Håkans thinks. SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Pär-Henrik Sjöström

Joakim Håkans, Managing Director of Baltic Pilot.

Baltic Pilot Ltd

The presence of a deep sea pilot on board strengthens the vessel’s navigational team and improves the ability to carry out emergency measures in case of incidents.

… is a privately owned Finnish pilotage company. • The company was founded in 2007. • The pilots employed are Finnish Master Mariners. • The majority of the pilots have worked as coastal pilots in Finland for more than ten years. • Baltic Pilot carried out its first deep sea pilotages in May 2008.

“The presence of a deep sea pilot on board strengthens the vessel’s navigational team and improves the ability to carry out emergency measures in case of incidents.” New activity

Baltic Pilot has recently expanded its activities to include deep sea pilotage.

This has been a part of the business idea of the company from the beginning, but originally the idea was to introduce coastal pilotage to Finnish ports first. However, the activities had to be closed down temporarily after just a few months of service as the authorities did not accept private pilotage in Finland. Now the future arrangements of pilotage in Finland are

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

discussed in a work group, which should come to a conclusion by the end of the year. The pilots of Baltic Pilot are Finnish Master Mariners with extensive experience as captains on different type of ships worldwide. The majority of them have worked as coastal pilots in Finland for more than ten years. “Our pilots have the latest information of traffic separation schemes and reporting procedures in the Baltic Sea. All our pilots carry their portable electronic charts and GPS receivers with them during pilotage”, Joakim Håkans explains. First missions

The company carried out its first deep sea pilotages in May and the results are encouraging. The first two vessels were both car carriers, and they were guided from the port of Hanko to Bornholm. Off Bornholm the Finnish pilot left the vessel 13

Joachim Sjöström

and a Danish pilot continued westwards. Markku Soini, senior pilot at Baltic Pilot, thinks that there is a huge potential in deep sea pilotage in the Baltic Sea. “It is obvious that the shipments from the Russian oil terminals in the Eastern part of the Gulf of Finland will be our main area of interest.” Wide network

During last winter the company carried through all preparations, establishing a

wide network of contacts. The intention is to cooperate with the British company Deep Sea and Coastal Pilots, which operates in the North Sea and the English Channel. Together the companies can offer a complete pilotage from the Gulf of Finland to the English Channel. “Deep Sea and Coastal Pilots has some 40 pilots, who work between 170 and 180 days a year. We are talking about a large activity in the North Sea”, Kimmo Lehto, licensed deep sea pilot at Baltic Pilot, confirms.

Licensed deep sea pilots in the Baltic Sea must be Master Mariners, and in addition to that they must have worked as a master, a chief officer or a pilot. Before receiving the license and the ‘red card’ the person must pass a test arranged by the local maritime administration. “A total of 219 persons has so far received the Baltic deep sea pilot license”, informs Managing Director Håkans. But according to him only a few of them are active. “The most important quality is good knowledge of the local waters and conditions as well as knowledge of where it is most likely to face problems”, Kimmo Lehto adds. All deep sea pilots have until now been private persons, lacking a coordinating network. Joakim Håkans thinks that this may change when Baltic Pilot enters the market. “So far there have been difficulties in marketing the services despite the fact that there has been an actual demand for deep sea pilotage. We have the right contacts and we can offer a complete service package in a completely new way.” pär-henri k sjöström

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SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

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Machinery and men must match Vytautas Vismantas, Chairman of the Board of the Lithuanian Shipping Company (LJL), believes that the scarcity of seafarers is partly caused by machinery that no longer seems to be made for people.

Here is one simple example, albeit not directly related to maritime safety. Ship cranes used to have steel handles which operators could not break even if they wanted to. Now there are tiny buttons, like on a child’s toy.”

The lack of qualified seafarers is causing increasing concern. Would you agree? “I can do nothing but confirm this. Seafarers’ qualifications have severely deteriorated over the last decade. The older generation, with extensive practical maritime experience, is now retiring. Young people nowadays enjoy rapid career rises but cannot boast sufficient practical experience. The worst is the position for mechanical specialists – engineers. While navigation officers can probably acquire the necessary experience at a quicker pace, it is becoming more difficult to catch up as new machinery is being introduced – electronic and automated equipment which is often not very reliable. I am surprised that this matter has not attracted wider attention. All we hear is talk of shipowners’ responsibilities. How can you ensure navigation safety with unreliable equipment? It is evident that this issue requires the urgent adoption of some kind of international agreement.

Irresponsible behaviour

is certified as reliable. You can modify a clothes rack, but it’s not as easy with a reliable system. Nevertheless, something can be done differently every year with a ship engine of a particular type manufactured by a particular company. Your electronic control system can function in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, but it may not function in the tropics. High temperature and humidity and others tropical climate peculiarities can affect the functioning of the circuit board and distort signals. So you must replace the circuit board, which costs EUR 5,000. It would make sense if it had to be done every five or ten years, but you must do it immediately – and you will have to do it again soon.”

“This all opens for irresponsible behaviour. We worked with two ships in Central America for a while and met very different people. Some workers would break equipment on purpose because we had to pay wages even for the down-time wasted on such stoppages. You may not detect anything wrong from the outside, but something is broken inside. Machinery should be more robustly built to withstand rough or careless handling by dockers; so for instance the cranes should have steel 12handles.” Doctor and Captain Margareta Lützhöft at the Chalmers University of Technology is supervising a study of how people and machines relate. Have you ever witnessed the need for men to adjust to the machinery used, and not vice versa? “This is true to a large extent. I have been told this about the aviation industry: you cannot really change anything once it

Young people in a virtual world

Madli Vitismann

“Thus the costs of keeping the equipment operational and purchasing spare parts are extremely high, and yet this practice has a detrimental effect on the environment and this is another reason why it should be changed. You replace it with another one. And another one. Then you learn that it has been discontinued and only a new version is available. I only know what the employees that

Things are bad. Young people nowadays are students in a virtual world that always looks pretty. To strip down a ship engine in that world, all you have to do is click with your computer mouse on a screw and it will be unscrewed.

Vytautas Vismantas, Chairman of the Board of the Lithuanian Shipping Company. 16

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Regina Sernauskaite / LJL

do tell me. Things are bad. Young people nowadays are students in a virtual world that always looks pretty. To strip down a ship engine in that world, all you have to do is click with your computer mouse on a screw and it will be unscrewed. Then you just click again and drag it off. It’s like a game.” The real world

“When you come across a main or auxiliary ship engine in real life, you will discover that it is dirty and oily, the screw will be stuck and the wrench will be weak, so you will have to apply a sledge-hammer. You are expected to do everything at once, quickly and properly, but you cannot because you do not have the necessary experience. Something will have to be altered in the education process. The situation in the maritime business and transportation sphere should undergo some conceptual change to reduce the number of ship types to the amount of aeroplane types, and once a seafarer learns to operate a certain vessel type, this experience will ensured. This will allow efficient crew replacements on lengthy voyages, and seafarers’ work will no longer be like forced labour, from six to nine months at sea and far away from home and family. Normal working conditions would serve as an additional incentive. At the moment we do not have anything to attract potential seafarers. During the Soviet era the attraction was in the exotic foreign lands you could not otherwise travel to.” Owner and seafarer on the same side

“How the cargo handling process in ports has changed! We used to wait for a long time, and that time was largely wasted. Now there is a separate organisation for each action, coupled with the port state control at the same time. Everything and everybody is being taken care of, except for the person on the ship who must operate unreliable machinery and put up with poor service. As a matter of fact, the shipowner and the seafarer are on the same side of the barricade. Employees complain that the ship is not being kept in good working order, that equipment may be inadequate and no spare parts available. The shipowner has arguments with the captain and the chief engineer. Yet the causes of the problem lie much deeper. Until we make the situation more employee-friendly, we SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

cannot expect lots of young people to become seafarers. If I was to be completely honest with a second-year student at a maritime college and share my shipping company worries concerning vessel maintenance and spare parts, that young person would reply: no, thanks very much, but that is not the kind of life I want for myself.” Lithuania has strong third sector organisations, associations of shipowners and shipbuilders, with representation in Brussels and IMO. Could these issues be shared with a wider audience through these organisations? “We get various things from Brussels, on safety and trade, but they cannot face the people who work on ships. These paper pushers, who for example solve safety system problems, participate in competition between different transport sectors and sometimes issue incomprehensible instructions or new regulations. It would be sound to follow up the implementation of such documents with analysis, for instance to determine which corrections which actually help reduce the number of accidents. Feedback is needed

as to how useful the changes have been. Here we are also dealing with massive bureaucracy which creates, modifies and monitors all sorts of regulations, and it is impossible to reverse the process once it has begun. Who can vouch for the integrity in the way regulations are introduced, that the process is not influenced by manufacturers or other interested parties? Maybe someone makes money from it?” Smartest move to skip heavy fuel

“Last year I read about malfunction frequencies in two- and four-stroke ship engines in an insurance company bulletin. It was very obvious that two-stroke engines are much less prone to malfunctions than their four-stroke counterparts, and the consequences may also be considerably cheaper to correct. So the information is out there, but no one wants to view the wider context, as many would be likely to suffer losses as a result. Annex 6 to the MARPOL Convention (air pollution at sea) indicates that reducing the sulphur content of fuel will probably not yield better results. Actually, all ships in the world should stop using heavy fuel.

I used to be a ship engineer and I subscribe to the view that this would be the smartest move, but it would have a negative effect on a lot of vested interests. How much simpler all ship systems would become! Heavy fuel must be heated prior to use, it must be pumped around, the boiler must be more powerful, it emits more fumes into the atmosphere, the heat reaches 130 degrees, cooling systems are needed accordingly, and so it gets really complicated. The more complicated, the more room for mistakes! There are plenty of similar examples.” The panoramic view

“I have worked in this industry all my life, so I have enough experience. People must be universal enough to be able to get a panoramic view of the situation. Narrow specialisation interferes with what we do, a lot, because you cannot coordinate everything with everyone. There is an alternative that would solve this and other issues, too. You should delve into things and really examine them before speaking out!” madli vi ti smann

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Bent mikkelsen

Offshore Developments

Editor: Bent Mikkelsen

New shipowning company in the Maersk Group �� 20 Three Maersk offshore legs �� 21 The Island Wellserver: Cruise comfort on the North Sea �� 24 Offshore in Møre: Strength at home is strength away �� 26 Odim in the deep �� 30 Russian Arctic ambitions �� 32 The Mærsk Frontier: Portrait of a workhorse �� 36 Rigs file up in Esbjerg �� 38 The Helix Producer I: Soon ready for action in the Mexican Gulf �� 39 SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Bent Mikkelsen

OF F S HO R E DE V EL OP M ENTS

The Mærsk Feeder, a platform supply vessel, working very close to the Maersk Endeavour in the Danish sector.

New shipowning company in the Maersk Group On April 29, 2008, A. P. Møller-Mærsk added another shipowning company to the cluster of the largest privately owned shipping company in the world. The company is named Maersk Supply Service A/S, now the registered owner of a fleet of offshore vessels ranging from platform supply vessels to the largest anchor handling vessels with a bollard pull above 250 tons. 20

Despite the fact that Maersk Supply Service has been working in the market since 1967, when the very first supply vessel was built for the Mærsk fleet, they have all been owned in a variety of combinations amongst the five shipowning companies within the A. P. Møller-Mærsk Group. During the years Maersk Supply Service has been the commercial office for the owners. “This has now changed and things have

become more normal, so to speak”, explains Carsten Plougmann, head of Maersk Supply Service with the title of Senior Vice President. “It will not change our way of doing business, but it has been done to make this part of the company more transparent and more like any other company in shipping”, he says. Not only Maersk Supply Service A/S in Copenhagen has become a shipowner. The SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

OFFSH ORE D EVELO PMENTS

A. P. Møller-Mærsk stands on three legs in the offshore segment: One is supply service in the company Maersk Supply Service, another is drilling and other services in Maersk Contractors and the third is exploration and oil trading in Maersk Oil and Gas.

Maersk Oil and Gas was in fact the first offshore segment within the A. P. Møller Group. It started its business as field operator shortly after July 1962, when A. P. Møller was awarded the license to drill for oil in the Danish sector of the North Sea. The task was too big even for A. P. Møller, so other companies were invited as partners. Today the Danish field in the North Sea is licensed to Dansk Undergrunds Consortium (DUC), which is a company partnered by A. P. Møller-Mærsk, Shell and Chevron. From the very first day, Maersk Oil and Gas has been the operator on all the fields under DUC. The know-how gained from the Danish operation has been used in other areas of the world. Maersk Oil and Gas today operates in several countries like Algeria, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Angola, Turkmenistan, Oman and Colombia and in the British sector of the North Sea as field operators and as owner or part owner of oil fields. Drilling and service

It has been done to make this part of the company more transparent and more like any other company. company has four subsidiaries spread over the map of operation. One is a company in Canada, one is in the UK and two are in Brazil. Each of these Maersk subsidiaries has previously been the owner of offshore vessels, which have now been sold to new subsidiaries set up by Maersk Supply Service. “These are companies with their own boards of directors and they are responsible for the ships from the signing of a conSCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Maersk Contractors provides the hardware service at sea. It can be a drilling rig from the large rig fleet or a floating production unit (FPSO). Maersk Contractors started with the very first drilling rig in the early 1970s in the Danish sector. Since then the company has had a steady development of bigger and bigger drilling rigs, mainly jack-up rigs for operation in harsh environment areas like the North Sea and the Norwegian offshore sector. At present Maersk Contractors is the owner of the world’s largest jack-up rigs, the Mærsk Innovator and the Mærsk Inspirer, which are both fitted with legs of 205 metres, making them capable of working in a 150 metre water depth. For years Maersk Contractors has had a large fleet of so-called drill barges oper-

Bent Mikkelsen

Three Maersk offshore legs

The Dan-F, operated by Maersk Oil & Gas, in the Danish sector of the North Sea.

ating exclusively in Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. At present ten specially built barges are in operation in Lake Mara caibo. The rigs are around 63 metres long and 30 metres in width, drilling oil wells. One of the most spectacular operations is the semi-submersible drilling rig the Maersk Explorer, which was built in 2003 in Singapore. After completion the rig was dismantled into pieces that could be shipped to the Caspian Sea in Russia. There the 94.8 metres by 64.5 metres were built up again for a long-term charter for Esso in the closed Caspian Sea. Large investments

Maersk Contractors also has three floating production units (FPSO = Floating Production Storage Offloading). It started in the 1990s with the Maersk Curlew and the North Sea Producer, which were built for operations on two fields in the British sector. The latest addition is the Maersk Ngujim Yin, which has been delivered to the Vincent field, Australia for the coming seven years. Maersk Contractors is in the middle of a large investment programme containing two jack-up rigs for work in 375 feet of water depth. The first has been named the Maersk Completer. Furthermore, four jack-ups for working in 350 feet of water depth are under construction. The first has been named the Mærsk Resilient. Finally three deepwater semi-submersible rigs are under construction for delivery within the next couple of years. The last will be delivered in 2010. Several of the new rigs are already fixed on long-term charter. bent mikkelsen

Bent Mikkelsen

OF F S HO R E DE V EL OP M ENTS

The Mærsk Attender has more than 260 tons bollard pull and an A-frame capable of lifting more than 250 tons.

tract with a shipyard to delivery and earning money from them to order new ships later on”, says Carsten Plougmann. In 2007, Maersk Supply Service provided a net revenue of USD 633 million and made a net profit of USD 284 million after tax of USD 58 million. The fleet

The fleet of Maersk Supply Service and its subsidiaries totals 54 units. Furthermore, 18 units are under construction for delivery within the next few years. There are ten anchor handling vessels from the Norwegian Aker Group, two platform supply vessels from Asana in Chile and six

A-class units from Volkswerft Stralsund. The fleet ranges from the heavy duty craned offshore vessels like the Mærsk Attender, which is fitted with a 250-ton crane capable of working in 2,000 metres of water depth to combined supply vessels like the Husky type, which was constructed originally for the Canadian flag. They still operate under the Canadian flag and mainly service the Hibernia field in the harsh environment off Newfoundland. The start

Maersk Supply Service started its business in 1967 with the delivery of the two sisters the Mærsk Feeder and the Mærsk

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Supplier from Rolandwerft in Bremen. They remained in the fleet until 1976. During those years the fleet was enlarged with a series of S-types from the shipyard in Århus from 1971. After that boom of new ships it has become common within the Mærsk Group that a new series of supply vessels is built every third/fourth year. Such vessels normally last longer than the rest of the fleet in the Mærsk Group. As of today, the oldest vessel in the Maersk Supply Service fleet is the Maersk Retriever, which was delivered in 1979. The vessel is at present working for Brazilian Petrobras. b ent mi kkelsen

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Blue

OF F S HO R E DEV E L OP M E N T S

The Island Wellserver, built to DNV Comfort Class 1.

Cruise comfort on the North Sea The Island Wellserver is the first offshore vessel to be built to the highest level of DNV’s Comfort Class notation, meaning that the people on board can expect to live and work in an environment designed and built normally only met by demanding passengers on luxury cruise vessels.

The Island Wellserver is a well intervention vessel built to Rolls-Royce UT 767 CD design by Aker Yards Langsten. The vessel was delivered in April and will sail into a charter for Statoil. Built for light well intervention services, the vessel will work in open waters, running wire line through a subsea lubricator system. Tasks include production logging, plugging and gauging operations, re-perforations and downhole 24

mechanical work. The vessel also has two ROVs. During a light well intervention operation, accommodation is needed for 55–60 people and the Island Wellserver has accommodation for a total of 95 persons in single cabins. Three levels of comfort

DNV has worked with noise and vibration problems since 1960 and today 400 vessels are built to the voluntary DNV class notation Comfort Class. The notation has three levels, 1–3. Comfort Class was developed for the cruise industry, but others are following suite. In a time when crew shortage has almost become an every workday problem for shipowners and managers in general, conditions on board a ship has become an item on the

rise on many ”to do” lists. Offering a good living and working environment has become an increasingly important issue when recruiting and – not least – retaining seafarers.

Accidents are down after implementation of Comfort Class. “Today, we have gas tankers and a VLCC that is built to Comfort Class 1,” says Einar Brubakk of DNV. Crew comfort is also not only a recruitment factor. The offshore industry has always been well ahead of most other shipping sectors in terms of Health, Safety and SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Blue

OFFSH ORE D E VELO PMENTS

Island Wellserver

Blue

Engines are installed on rubber mats.

Length �� 116 m Breadth �� 25 m Draft �� 8.7 m GT �� 12,100 tons Speed �� 14 knots

Environment (HSE). A minimum of noise and vibrations and a healthy indoor climate also improves safety. “Accidents are down after implementation of Comfort Class”, says Brubakk. Mandatory requirement

Today, the lowest Comfort Class notation has also become a mandatory requirement by customers in the offshore market. With the Island Wellserver, a further step has been taken in the development of a good and sound environment for people on board. Crew comfort also continues to be high on the agenda in ship design. “We are talking noise and vibrations with DNV on a weekly basis”, says Roy Reite, at Aker Yard’s Offshore & Specialized vessels. ro l f p nil sso n

‘Floating’ accommodation. Floors, cabin walls and ceilings are isolated from the steel structure by elastic mountings.

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Rolf P Nilsson

OFFS HO R E DEV E LO P M E N T S

Ålesund in the county of Møre og Romsdal in Western Norway gathers several offshore companies.

The Møre offshore cluster:

Strength at home is strength away The people of Western Norway knows what it means to design, build, man and operate vessels for activities in the toughest conditions. They do it in fishing and since the 1970s they are also doing it in offshore. 26

In the district of Møre, a strong cluster of companies working in all aspects of offshore services has emerged and today it consists of 14 design companies, 14 shipowners, 12 shipyards and 139 equipment suppliers with around 18,000 employees

and a turnover that passed NOK 31 billion in 2006. Ambitions are high, and this cluster aims at becoming even stronger in the coming ten years. When the Norwegian government decided to single out industrial clusSCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Rolf P Nilsson

OFFSH ORE D E VELOPMENTS

The maritime students at the University College of Ålesund does not only have a fantastic view from campus, they also face bright prospects for the future in the offshore industry.

world leading and most innovative cluster and to increase its turnover to more than NOK 100 billion in 2016. The challenge

This will be an attractive industrial cluster for the best and brightest as long as we innovate faster. ters with high development potential, the offshore industry in Møre became one of now nine selected clusters and was awarded the status as Norwegian Centre of Expertise Maritime. The vision is to be recognised as the

Facilitated by Kunskapsparken Ålesund at the Ålesund University College, an organisation funded by the government and the industry has been set up to lead the common development. Per Erik Dalen heads this, and when talking to him, there is no doubt that attracting new people to the industry at all levels is high on the agenda for the entire cluster. ”We think that education and research in the middle of the industry will be a competitive factor for attracting new students”, says Per Erik Dalen. A new four-year trainee programme has been established in which participants work part time in a company and simultaneously studies for an advanced Master of Science degree. The county of Møre and Romsdal has about 250,000 inhabitants with 41,000 living in the largest city Ålesund. This is a too small recruitment base and the cluster must attract people from other parts of Norway and internationally. ”We are trying to sell this industry as high-tech and global to attract young people and this will be an attractive industrial cluster for the best and brightest as long as we innovate faster”, says Dalen. But it is not only a question of recruiting people to the industry, when you got them; you want to keep them in. One initiative

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

is YoungShip Møre, a meeting place and a platform for the new generation working in the industry to interact, socialise and meet ‘in real life’. Maritime education and training and R&D are core issues for the future development of the cluster and today there are around 400 students in educational programmes and courses at the department of Nautical and Technical sciences. Located in the same buildings as the college and the Kunskapsparken, is the Offshore Simulator Centre, OSE. This is a company set up and owned by Rolls-Royce, Farstad Shipping, Marintek and the Ålesund University College by a quarter each. The company offers advanced training courses in self-developed simulators and also sells simulator systems and solutions. Simulator centre in Perth

OSE will also develop a new NOK 30 million simulator centre to Perth in Australia. The customer is Farstad Shipping, a member of the Møre cluster but also the largest player in offshore services in Australia. With only about 30 per cent of its business activities in the North Sea, Farstad is a globally active company with a fleet of 50 vessels and eight in order. This does not reduce the importance of the cluster development. ”Today’s main challenge for us is human resources”, says Karl Johan Bakken, CEO of Farstad. Also Bourbon Offshore has invested heavily in simulators. A new centre has 27

lars_grepstad

OFFS HO R E DEV E LO P M E N T S

The people of western Norway have always been striving to find new and better solutions to live and work in the toughest conditions, and Bourbon Mistral is an example of this.

been set up and is managed by OSE in Marseille and a new is coming in Singa pore. Bourbon Offshore Norway was established in 2003 when French Bourbon acquired Havila Supply. Today the Norwegian entity runs the group’s large, complex vessels globally, while the rest is managed by local or regional subsidiaries. According to managing director Trond Myklebust, this shows that the French owner is acknowledging the competence that has developed in the Møre cluster. Cooperation drives development

One of the company’s newest vessels is the innovative Bourbon Orca, and this is also an example of how cooperation within the cluster drives development. ”We saw a sketch at a meeting with the yard that was interesting. We started discussions, negotiations and the result was the 28

Orca, the first vessel with the X-bow”, says Trond Myklebust. Add to this the Safe Anchor Handling System, SAHS, that Odim, another company in the cluster, developed for the Bourbon Orca’s aft deck. Ulstein, designer and builder of the Bourbon Orca, also recognises its dependence of the cluster’s ability to innovate and enhance competence. ”Norway is an expensive country and we must focus on business activities that can sustain a high cost level”, says Tore Ulstein, vice president of the Ulstein Group. The company has made a strategic repositioning and will not expand its own shipbuilding capacity. This does not mean that the importance of the Ulstein yard has decreased. ”The Ulstein yard will function as a laboratory for our development”, says Tore Ulstein.

Another builder sharing this view is Havyard: “We feel it would be difficult to retain knowledge as a ship designer if we did not have our own yard”, says Gunnar Larsen, president of Havyard International. Competition when needed

Although the Møre offshore cluster is world leading, it is a small and tight community, where almost everyone knows everyone and where people move between companies, sometimes just across the street. So, how do you handle competition issues and how do you keep those ideas you want to keep for yourself? ”We are competitors when we need to be”, says Njål Sævik, CEO of Havila Shipping. According to Sævik, competition is a driving force for development, not only for the own company but also for the entire cluster. SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

OFFSH ORE D E VELOPMENTS

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;=;31 2==@ 0:/23A â&#x20AC;&#x153;You want to improve what your neighbour has doneâ&#x20AC;?, says SĂŚvik. But cooperation is as important. â&#x20AC;?We develop together, we share experiences, we share people and a strong cluster at home means strength internationallyâ&#x20AC;?, says SĂŚvik. In the MĂ¸re offshore cluster, the general view seems to be that cooperation beats secrecy and patents as a success factor for the individual companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continued fruitful development, and that, as Per Erik Dalen said, the key is to innovate faster. Although declining to comment when asked for details on a patent pending LNG solution at a press presentation, Roy Reite, president of Aker Yards Offshore & Specialized Vessels division, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;the patent is not my biggest concern, this solution is now history and now we will find new solutions for the next shipâ&#x20AC;?. ro l f p nil sso n SCANDINAVIANâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;SHIPPINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;GAZETTE â&#x20AC;˘ JUNEâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;16, 2008

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ODIM

OF F S HO R E DEV E L OP M E N T S

Down to the bottom at greater depths with the CTCU system.

Odim in the deep Odim has in just a few years time experienced an exceptional growth and developed from being a world leading supplier of cable-handling solutions in the seismic market, to a provider of automated handling systems for the offshore market and for military use.

In 2004, Odim posted a NOK 3.5 million profit on NOK 162.1 million in sales. Just four years later, the listed company could report a NOK 200,5 million profit when sales reached NOK 1,416.8 million in 2007. By the end of last year, the company backlog reached record-high NOK 2,070 million. Acquisitions and organic growth in an expanding market are of course significant factors behind the success, but the base is continuous technology development and to take advantage of knowledge and experiences gained in fields where Odim has a strong position and transfer it to find new solutions in related fields. Today, Odim also wants to be seen as a complete supplier of aft deck solutions. 30

New systems have been developed to make the aft deck a safer place to work in and with less damage to equipment. Anchor Handling Frame

One example is the AHF (Anchor Handling Frame) system. The first vessel to be equipped with AHF was the Normand Ferking, delivered by Flekkefjord Slip og Maskinfabrikk last year. The AHF is an A-frame that, when not in use, is stowed in the deck. According to Odim, during an anchor handling operation the AHF reduces the maximum load by more than 50 per cent. An example under development is the Odim RAHS (Remote Anchor Handling System). This is a project that has run for more than three years and with A. P. Møller, Innovation Norway, Statoil and Odim as cooperation partners. The RAHS includes a traverse crane with two mounted manipulator arms. These can handle around 300 kilos each and are remotely operated from the bridge. The movement of the manipulator arm follows the movement of the operator’s arm.

The latest niche to be explored is, however, the deepwater market, where Odim has introduced its CTCU (Cable Traction Control Unit) technology. This system is designed for heavy installations on deepwater seabeds. As a reference, Odim tells that Subsea 7 recently has used the system on over 300 occasions in water depths varying between 1,400 and 2,750 meters in the Mexican Gulf and off Nigeria. Fibre rope

The advantage of the CTCU is that it has been developed to handle fibre rope instead of wire. At a depth of 3,000 metres, the weight of a submerged steel wire represents around 60 per cent of the maximum payload for the winch. With fibre rope, the weight is less than two per cent of the capacity, meaning that almost all capacity is available for the payload. With the CTCU follows a rope management system that continuously monitors the integrity of the rope. A worn out or damaged rope section can then be cut out and a new spliced in by the crew. rolf p ni lsson SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

80264 GVA Svenska Sjo?fartstidning 210x275mm:Layout 1

08-05-30

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Sevmash

OF F S H O R E DEVE L OP MEN T S

Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform, currently under construction to be delivered in 2009. It will then be stationed in the Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Pechora Sea.

Russian Arctic ambitions According to the latest estimates, the energy resources of the Russian continental shelf amount to 103 billion tons of hydrocarbons. It is believed that the shelf is the main deposit of the Russian oil and gas reserves and other mineral deposits. Today the oil and gas production already provides approximately 20 per cent of the Russian Federation’s GDP and about 22 per cent of total Russian exports. Yet so far only fields in the Eastern and Southern parts of the shelf have seen any ‘action’.

As determined by geological surveys, the majority – 87.5 per cent – of Russian shelf oil and gas reserves are situated in the Arc32

tic, with only 11.5 per cent in the East and slightly over 1 per cent in the South (the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas). The Barents and Kara sea shelves in the Western Arctic have been comprehensively examined. The estimated reserves of hydrocarbons in this region comprise 8.2 billion tons in equivalent fuel, while the resources constitute approximately 56 billion tons. 22 hydrocarbon fields have been discovered in the Russian Arctic shelf, mostly offshore in the Kara, Pechora and Barents Seas. Among them are the unique Shtokman gas-condensate field (approximately 4 trillion cubic metres) and seven other large fields, including the oil fields of Prirazlomnoye (oil reserves of more than 83 million

tons) and Varandey. All of these were discovered in the late 1980s, but due to the demanding conditions none were developed until very recently. In accordance with the long-term forecasts prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation, the country’s economic development up to the year 2020 and beyond requires that oil and gas production levels continue to increase. For gas, the corresponding increase rate must be about 1 per cent annually. To implement the ambitious plans, Russia will inevitably have to develop new fields, on the Northern sea shelf among other places. This course of action is favoured by the international situation: analysts are of the opinion that oil field development investSCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

OFFSHORE D EVELO PME NTS

ments will pay off when the price of oil is above USD 100 per barrel. In late May 2008 the price of oil on the global markets exceeded USD 130 per barrel, which makes investment in oil production in the Arctic quite a profitable business.

Novaya Zemlya

Shtokman

The main players

Leningradskoye Kara Sea

NORWAY

Pechora Sea

Murmanskoye

Kolguyev

Prirazlomnoye

Murmansk

FINLAND

hi te

RUSSIA

Gazprom is the largest Arctic mineral developer, as it owns licences to process the richest of the locally discovered deposits, Shtokman and Prirazlomnoye. Gazprom considers exploration and production on the continental shelf in the North-West of Russia to be the basis of its new resource base. On the Barents Sea shelf Gazprom designated the Shtokman gas-condensate field, which is unique for its reserves, as its production base. The planned annual gas extraction level for this field is approximately 70 billion cubic metres. This means that Russia can expect to extract, from this field alone, as much gas per year as Norway – one of the largest exporters of natural gas to Europe – does in total. As stipulated in the agreement concluded in February 2008, the Shtokman gas field will be developed by a joint enterprise of Gazprom, the Norwegian StatoilHydro and the French Total. The Russian Federation will own 51 per cent of the joint enterprise’s shares, France 25 per cent and Norway 24 per cent. By 2020 the annual gas production for the Shtokman field will reach 71 billion cubic metres. The first phase of the project will commence in 2013–2014, designed to reach an annual output of 23.7 billion cubic metres, the second phase in 2016 (47 billion cubic metres) and the third phase in 2020 (71 billion cubic metres). It is possible that these three phases of the Shtokman field development will be followed up by a fourth one, to further raise the annual gas extraction level to 95 billion cubic metres. Gazprom plans to use its subsidiary in the USA – Gazprom Marketing & Trading USA, Inc. – to participate in the construction project of the Rabaska LNG-terminal in Canada with oil and gas supplies from the Shtokman field. Gazprom’s plans regarding the Priraz lomnoye field are constantly shifting. In spring 2008 Gazprom once again postponed the commencement date of development, this time until 2010. Nevertheless, the corporation intends to develop it independently.

Rusanovskoye

Barents Sea

Arkhangelsk

The closed JSC Sevmorneftegaz, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Gazprom, is to develop the field. It will become the first Russian operator responsible for preparing and running oil and gas fields on the continental shelf of the Arctic Ocean and the adjacent mainland regions. The goal is to achieve an annual output of 6.5 million tons of oil. To ensure oil transportation from the Prirazlomnoye field, Sovcomflot and Sevmorneftegaz have concluded a 25-year contract. In addition, Gazprom intends to conduct supplementary exploration of the Shtokman and Prirazlomnoye fields over the next few years as well as prospect drilling at the deposits of Ludlovskoye and Ledovoye (Shtokmanovsky district), Dolginskoye (Prirazlomnoye district) and several promising structures. Lukoil also intends to expand its exports of oil and oil products in Kola Bay using its own facilities. For instance, in June oil shipments will begin at the new Varandey terminal: by the end of 2008 its annual output could reach 3 million tons, and in the longer term 12 million tons. Sovcomflot will operate the shipping terminal, as it won the tender to do so last year. No specialised fleet

Implementation of the wide-ranging plans of transfer of gas and oil extraction to the Arctic shelf is seriously hindered by the lack of a fleet capable of extracting and transporting such raw materials in the demanding ice conditions.

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Nevertheless, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin believes that Russia should not purchase but independently develop maritime equipment for shelf exploration and subsequent transportation of oil and gas. “This is one of the priorities – creation of a complete maritime equipment line for extraction and transportation of hydrocarbon raw materials from the shelf, to include offshore platforms, ice-class tankers and gas carriers, and ice-breakers,” he stated in May at a cabinet meeting on development of the shipbuilding industry in St Petersburg. It was also announced that the portfolio of orders to be placed with Russian shipbuilding companies would be concluded by the end of the year. That statement was made by Viktor Khristenko, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. According to Khristenko, the program will be conducted jointly with the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and in view of the interests of both the country’s shipowners and shipbuilding enterprises. This portfolio will most likely be dominated by fleet orders for the gas and oil producing industry, i.e. vessels to work on the shelf and transport energy resources. Several projects implemented

To transport oil from the Prirazlomnoye and Varandey fields, Sovcomflot is build33

OF F S H O R E DEVE L OP MEN T S

ing five Arctic tankers with a deadweight of 70,000 each at the Admiralty Shipyards (St Petersburg) and in South Korea, with the first ships already handed over to the customer. In April, Sovcomflot placed an order for two more tankers with an even greater deadweight of 114,000 each with shipbuilders in South Korea. The contract stipulates that the series can be extended to 4 such vessels. All the ships will have the highest ice class. The first two tankers will be delivered in the second half of 2010. Gazprom has also placed several large orders with shipbuilding enterprises in the North-West. The corporation is having two drilling platforms built at the Vyborg Shipyard and another one at Zvezdochka (Severodvinsk). As part of the Arctic shelf development programme up to the year 2030, Gazprom intends to place orders for approximately 40 sea drilling platforms, all of them in Russia. The Severnaya Verf in St Petersburg is to build eight methane carriers capable of transporting up to 115,000 cubic metres of

liquefied gas. The first specialised gas carrier is set to be completed by 2012. In accordance with the project of the federal target programme “On transport development in the Russian Federation up to 2015”, approved by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on May 21, construction of four universal nuclear ice-breakers will be completed between 2015 and 2018. Science geared towards expansion

Russian polar explorers and international law experts believe that Russia can gain substantial new territories in the Arctic. The country must prove that 1,200,000 square kilometres of the ocean floor constitute a continuation of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation. Then Russia will be able to incorporate the floor section into its exclusive economic zone with new oil and gas deposits. But the Russian Federation must be entitled to this section under international law. Back in 2001 Russia submitted a corresponding application to the United Nations Maritime Law Committee, but the experts of the international organisa-

tion decided that the material received was insufficient. Then Russian scientists decided to carry out further studies of the Arctic Ocean floor. In August 2007 a record-breaking dive took place at the North Pole with two manned Mir bathyscaphes diving to a depth of over four kilometres and placing a Russian flag on the ocean floor. In April this year a regular meeting of the Marine Collegium of the Government of the Russian Federation was held in Moscow to discuss various problems connected with Arctic development. It became evident that much more time is needed to prepare a new and substantiated Russian claim for additional Arctic territories, and ocean floor exploration work must continue. Russia will probably submit its new claim on the ocean floor between the Novosibirsk Islands and the North Pole as part of the country’s continental shelf to the UN committee in 2012 or later. Until that time we will see a continuation of Arctic scientific exploration work. For this purpose four universal ice-class towing vessels are to be built by 2010. artur gussei nov

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SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

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Bent Mikkelsen

OF F S HO R E DE V EL OP M EN T S

The Mærsk Frontier is now being upgraded at Fredericia shipyard.

Portrait of a workhorse The platform supply vessels (PSV) are well known as the workhorses in the offshore business, being the supportive lifeline to shore. Danish giant Maersk Supply Service has a number of PSVs in their fleet of ships, serving a variety of operators world wide. One of them, the Mærsk Frontier, is very special.

So if things go as planned, the Mærsk Frontier will celebrate 20 years of sailing for only one operator in only one sector of the North Sea. During the 16 years since delivery, the Mærsk Frontier has done 1,475 voyages to the Danish oil fields. Most of them from Esbjerg, but during some industrial disputes with dockworkers at Esbjerg, the ship was called the Den Helder instead.

The Mærsk Frontier was the first in a series of F-class vessels delivered by Ulstein Verft in Ulsteinvik in 1992. Ever since delivery, the vessel has been working for Maersk Oil and Gas serving the platforms in the Danish sector of the North Sea. The charter has been running for 16 years until now and an extension for another two years has been signed with options for further 1+1 years.

The only Danish one

At present the Mærsk Frontier is the only Danish flagged PSV serving the Danish sector. The running mate in the supply chain to the 41 platforms in the sector is a Norwegian owned vessel on charter. Once two of the F-class vessels were serving the Danish sector, but it has mostly been Norwegian units on charter, for many years for

political reasons, as the Norwegian sector was rather protective of Norwegian owned/ flagged tonnage. A. P. Møller tried for years to get a foothold in the Norwegian sector and used the fact that most of the supply service to the Maersk Oil & Gas operated fields were served by Norwegian flagged tonnage. Furthermore, the massive ordering of new ships from Norwegian shipyards gave a sort of open door to the market in the Norwegian sector. Later this year another vessel of the F-class has been chartered to take up some of the summer season workload, so this summer two F-sisters will be running from the base in Esbjerg. The Mærsk Frontier is captained by Anders Hansen as one of two captains sharing the position on the vessel. SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

“I am not really a veteran in this particular service. I was appointed in December 2006, when my captain at the time had to leave because of sickness. He was a real veteran with around 12 years of service on Mærsk Frontier in the Danish sector”, says Anders Hansen.

Bent Mikkelsen

OFFSH ORE D EVELO PMENTS

Summer days like now are like sailing on a cruise, but winter days it is often hard to get an idea of what is up and what is down.

From paper clips to drill pipes

The cargo for the North Sea platforms is a variety of almost anything that is going to be used on a platform, ranging from paperclips for the office to special tools, pipes and drill pipes. A lot of the cargo goes in

Captain Anders Hansen was commanding the Mærsk Frontier on its 1,475th voyage from Esbjerg to the oil fields. Bent Mikkelsen

“I find the short turns on the Mærsk Frontier attractive for my family life. We are usually 14 days on and 14 days off, and I find that my children don’t forget my face in this short period. The alternative is five weeks on and five weeks off, like my colleagues on the ships working in Brazilian and African waters”, says Anders Hansen. A normal roundtrip for the Mærsk Frontier takes four days from leaving the base in Esbjerg until the ship is back. “This is weather dependent”, Anders Hansen explains with a big smile. “Summer days like now are like sailing on a cruise, but winter days it is often hard to get an idea of what is up and what is down. Sometimes during winter the trip can take longer for a ton of reasons. There can be too much swell and therefore it is too dangerous to lie under a platform, but there can also be too much wind for the crane operation to perform in a safe way of lifting the heavy items from the ship deck”, says Anders Hansen. “Right now our ship is being upgraded with a new cargo railing giving a maximum of protection for my deck crew and also the ship is being upgraded to DP2 (Dynamic Positioning mark 2).” “They have done an excellent job at Fredericia Skibsværft, fitting some 85 tons of extra steel to the ship”, says Anders Hansen.

The Mærsk Frontier discharging cargo to Maersk Exerter at the Gorm Foxtrot field in the North Sea.

small containers, but drill pipes lie on the deck of the supply ship during the sea voyage from Esbjerg. Another important cargo is the ‘dust’, which is transported in some 20 tanks under deck. The nickname dust is usually cement, baryte and bentonite. The variety of cargo in tanks also includes brine, fuel, freshwater, oil based mud and methanol. All told the ship can carry 2,750 tons of cargo per voyage.

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

“On a normal voyage we usually carry about 1,900 tons”, says Anders Hansen. “Normally we start either on the northernmost field and sail our way down to the most southern field before we change course back to Esbjerg”, says Anders Hansen. A part of the supply vessel’s work is to supply the stand-by vessels with fresh water and fuel oil. b ent mi kkelsen 37

OF F S HO R E DEV E L OP M E N T S

Bent Mikkelsen

Rigs file up in Esbjerg at Port Vila, Vanuatu. The rig was built in 1999 at Keppel Fels, Singapore. Sub-contractors

Semco Maritime coordinates the use of sub-contractors. A large number of local suppliers are used to carry out the job. It includes nearly every type of craftsmanship from naval architects and engineers to carpenters, welders, floor fitters, heavylift crane workers, divers, painters, shore transport personnel, tugs, barges and dock workers ashore to handle spare parts and similar goods. Furthermore there is accommodation for the working staff from out of town and some catering as well to serve the onboard workforce during the conversion. It is all in all a huge task to make the process work smoothly and make sure that the rig is back in business as soon as possible. “I think that both Semco and our subcontractors have worked it out to the best for the customers over the years. We started with Maersk Contractors, but have since developed the business and attracted other customers from all over the world, but mainly those working in the North Sea area. I do believe in the future and what we can achieve on the market and as most of the jack-up rigs are getting older every day, there is a growing need for upgrading”, Hans Peter Jørgensen explains. It looks like slight chaos on the quayside, but it is all organised when a rig like the Mærsk Giant is being upgraded alongside in Esbjerg.

Semco Maritime A/S at Esbjerg has already started the huge rebuild of the American owned jack-up rig GSF Galaxy III, which arrived at Esbjerg early in July. It will be the third jack-rig this year to call the unofficial ‘shipyard’ in Esbjerg, where Semco Maritime is the main contractor on the job.

“We are rather satisfied that we have managed to get three rigs this year already”, explains Hans Peter Jørgensen at Semco Maritime. “We have worked hard at getting the know-how that makes the rig owner choose us instead of other ‘shipyards’ in the world”, says Hans Peter Jørgensen. 38

The refit of the GSF Galaxy III will be a large refit that is expected to be carried out in 5–6 weeks, with a workforce of up to 130–140 persons working around the clock and the owning company spending around DKK 60 million in Esbjerg. The rig is going through an upgrading and is having some extra accommodation quarters built on. The accommodation is to a large extent prefabricated ashore, awaiting the rig’s arrival in Esbjerg. “This is one of the ways to save time in the refitting process, as rigs are extremely expensive in the current market”, says Hans Peter Jørgensen. The GSF Galaxy is owned by Transocean Worldwide Inc, Houston, and registered

The Exerter

In these days the jack-up Energy Exerter (ex Maersk Exerter) is ‘standing’ alongside in Esbjerg for a minor refit. The rig has been in Esbjerg for nearly two months and is due back in service on June 12. “It has been a minor job compared with the other rigs we have been working on. One of the ways of measuring this is the fact that most of the work has been done in normal working hours instead of around the clock, which we often do”, says Hans Peter Jørgensen. The Energy Exerter called Esbjerg after another former Mærsk rig had a large refit. That was the Energy Endeavour, which was in port in December last year and January this year. b ent mi kkelsen SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Hays Maritime

OFFSH ORE D EVELO PMENTS

The Helix Producer I (ex Karl) begins to look like a new ship at Rijeka, Croatia.

Soon ready for action in the Mexican Gulf The former train ferry Karl, which has been the issue of articles in the previous two offshore theme issues, is still under construction at the Victor Lenac Shipyard in Rijeka, Croatia. The vessel is expected to be ready in July and will then be transferred to Houston, Texas, for further installation before being operative in the Mexican Gulf as from the beginning of 2009.

The ship has already changed names to the Helix Producer I and the flag has been changed to Marshall Islands. Helix Energy Solutions, the charterer and part owner in the project – called Kommandor LCC – is going to use the rebuilt vessel as a floating production vessel on the Phoenix field, which is situated in Green Bay Canyon’s block 237. The vessel will be connected

with several oil wells on a turret mounted on the side of the ship. The Helix Producer I will be stationed on the field, which has a water depth of 640 metres. It will keep station by using its dynamic position equipment with six thrusters in a diesel electric power plant. 45,000 barrels per day capacity

When the Helix Producer I leaves Rijeka it will be prepared for installation of the oil handling plant, but the actual installation will take place in Houston. The conversion at Rijeka has changed the ship from a ferry with train tracks on the main deck to a much wider vessel able to load large quantities of crude oil taken up from the oil wells. The Helix Producer I will be capable of handling some 45,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The purpose-rebuilt vessel will be one of

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

the first producing plants in the Mexican Gulf, which will be hurricane safe in the sense that if there are forecasts that a hurricane is sweeping across the area, where the Helix Producer I is moored, it can be disconnected quickly and sailed to a safe area until the hurricane has passed. The idea of using a floating production vessel (self-propelled) came in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, which destroyed a large number of fixed platforms in the Mexican Gulf, leaving the oil industry with a long production stop and with a lot of derelicts on the seabed. The Katrina swept over the area in late 2005 and ever since, several offshore vessels have been working in the gigantic cleaning operation. SSG will have a closer description of the Helix Producer I at a later stage this year. b ent mi kkelsen 39

it & communications Editor: Robert Hermansson ~ Phone +46 40 15 61 44 ~ E-mail robert@shipgaz.com

Mobilarm saves more lives at sea The Australian innovator Mobilarm has recently launched The Mobilarm V100 VPIRB (VHF Position Indicating Radio Beacon), designed to provide commercial mariners with a faster and more efficient man over board (MOB) rescue system than traditional EPIRBs. The Mobilarm V100 is a fully automated, position indicating radio beacon that transmits a MOB distress call via VHF DSC and VHF voice

to all VHF radio equipped vessels and land based receivers within range, including – of course – the distressed mariner’s vessel. The pocket-size VPIRB is attached to clothing or life jackets and will automatically activate if the wearer goes overboard and send out a distress call and real time GPS coordinates. Repeated distress calls

The Mobilarm V100 VPIRB automatically sends out the initial “Mayday, Man Overboard” alarm via DSC data using VHF DSC channel 70. As soon as a GPS lock is obtained via the integrated 24 channel GPS receiver, it usually takes less than 30 seconds before the device will transmit the distress call again, complete with position coordinates and also in a synthesized voice on VHF channel 16. The message will be repeated at regular intervals to update the rescuers on the position. This continues until the device is deactivated. The battery

will last for at least 18 hours under normal conditions. By sending an emergency signal to nearby vessels instead of to locations ashore, other crew members, who are closer and in a much better position, will be alerted and able to conduct a rescue. Still another benefit to the Mobilarm V100 is that as long as a VHF radio is on board no other equipment is needed. Unlike 121.5 MHz direction finding beacons and satellite locating systems that need dedicated receiving base stations, direction finding equipment or satellite time rental, the Mobilarm V100 VPIRB uses only existing standard VHF marine radio networks. For more information, please contact: Lorraine Hammacott, Tel: +61 (0)8 9315 3511 lorraineh@mobilarm.com www.mobilarm.com or Clive Bartlett, Tel: +44 (0)1202 669 244 clive.bartlett@saltwatercoms.com www.saltwaterpr.com

The first speaking engine room simulator The UK based PC Maritime has introduced v4.5 of the PC-based full mission simulator Virtual Engine Room (VER). It is the first “speaking” engine room simulator ever. A synthesised speech has been added to the VER. Checklist introductions and communications with the bridge are all spoken and integrated into the scenarios provided by the simulator. “Ask Chief ” is an artificial intelligence expert system that tells the user what should be done in engine room preparation or when there is a malfunction in the equipment. Faults can be added

VER 4.5 is type approved and compliant with the STCW and ISM Codes and is used for ships’ engine room training. The system is based on a slow speed diesel engine and is equipped with all controls and alarms that can be found in a real engine room. Faults can be injected into the simulator and student competence is measured accurately with built-in standardised assessment tests. The VER 4.5 is available in three dif40

The full-size engine room console version of the Virtual Engine Room system.

ferent formats to suit training budgets. It can be supplied as software only, to run a single PC with twin-screen support or on a network. If greater realism is wanted; it can be supplied as part of a desktop con-

sole or as a full-size engine room console. For more information, please contact: Anne Edmonds, Tel: +44 (0) 1752 25 42 05 aedmonds@pcmaritime.co.uk www.pcmaritime.co.uk/comm

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

technical news Editor: Robert Hermansson ~ Phone: +46 40 15 61 44 ~ E-mail: robert@shipgaz.com

Dual-nozzle tank cleaning technology Alfa Laval has recently unveiled its new Gunclean Toftejorg i65 D, a dual-nozzle machine built on the same platform as the single-nozzle i65 S model. The i65 tank cleaning platform is developed from the original Gunclean and Toftejorg tank cleaning technologies. The singlenozzle i65 S model was launched in 2006 and features a number of design advances such as the hysterisis clutch. The clutch eliminates a shaft penetration between the turbine and gearbox as well as allowing speed adjustment during operation. It also prevents slippage and false starts.

When using magnetic clutches that have one strong magnet on the turbine side and one on the gear side the magnets must be synchronized in order for the gear transmission to engage. If water is hammering or a sudden surge in pressure appears, the two magnets may slip and bring the cleaning cycle to a halt. The hysterisis clutch, on the other hand, comprises a hysterisis plate on the turbine side and multiple supermagnets on the gear side. This creates an even magnetic field that requires no synchronization so that the clutch remains unaffected by the pressure surges or water hammering. Ceramic balls

Other features of the i65 platform include an optimised turbine and the use of ceramic balls instead of traditional ball bearings. The new i65 D dual-nozzle tank cleaning machine is intended for smaller chemical and product tanks. The machine operates in a criss-cross pattern and is producing a shorter cleaning cycle that consumes a minimum of cleaning fluid. Single-nozzle machines, on the other hand, operate in a helical pattern. Though single-nozzle tank

cleaning machines are most common today, dual-nozzle machines have clear advantages for certain vessels. Dual-nozzle machines strike two points at the same time to create a faster and more efficient cleaning cycle. For ships using heated media in their cleaning applications, the two points of impact and the distributed cleaning pattern also gives a more even heating of the tank surface. The i65 D is very easy to use and needs no programming. The speed can be adjusted from the top without interrupting the cleaning cycle. For more information, please contact: André Szczerba, Tel: +46 (0)8530 651 17 andre.szczerba@alfalaval.com www.alfalaval.com

Rolls-Royce to design polar research vessel Rolls-Royce has been selected to design a research vessel that will carry out significant environmental research at both the North and South Poles. The contract is with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research but all Norwegian research institutes that are involved in polar research will be involved in the project. The vessel will be fitted out to be able to cover a wide range of marine research operations, such as monitoring fishing stocks, meteorological studies, sea floor sampling and mapping. Manages one metre of ice

The ship, NVC 395 POLAR, is classified to Polar 10 Ice Class and will be built for operations in up to one metre thick ice. The Norwegian institute of Marine 41

The polar research vessel will be fitted out to cover a wide range of research operations.

research and the Norwegian Polar Institute act as consultant to Norwegian authorities, contributing to the maintenance of administration standards in Norwegian waters and polar areas to ensure they remain some of the

best preserved wilderness areas in the world. For more information, please contact: Bill O’Sullivan, Tel, +44 1332 622 819 e-mail: bill.osullivan@rolls-roce.com www.rolls-royce.com

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

fleet news Editor: Pär-Henrik Sjöström ~ Phone: +358 2 242 62 50 ~ E-mail: par-henrik@shipgaz.com

The car-passenger ferry Christian IV has been sold by Color Line to the Finnish shipping company Stella Company Group for EUR 13 million. The vessel continues trading for Color Line until the delivery of the newbuilding SuperSpeed 2, which is scheduled to enter service in June 2008. The new owner intends to launch a ferry service between Helsinki and St Petersburg in late summer 2008. It is possible that there will also be a call at the port of Kotka, but in that case this would mainly serve freight traffic. The ferry service will be operated by Stella Lines, which also operates feeder traffic between the Continent and Finland with chartered ro-ro vessels. New name not yet decided

According to the current plans, the ferry will be sailing under the Finnish flag. On Stella Lines’ website the name Julia has been added to the photo of the vessel. Mr Tapio Kivilehto from Stella Lines confirms that the Christian IV will be renamed before entering service but that nothing yet has been decided on the new name of the vessel. The Christian IV was built for Olau Line at Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1982 as the Olau Britannia. In 1990 she was bought by Fred. Olsen and renamed Bayard. The same year as Color Line had been established as a result of a merger between Jahre Line and Norway Line in 1990, the company took over the ferry operations of Fred. Olsen. The Bayard was included in the deal and the ship was renamed Christian IV. The sister vessel of Christian IV has been sailing under the Finnish flag in the Gulf of Finland already for ten years as Eckerö Line’s Nordlandia.

The Christian IV, sold to Stella. 42

Pär-Henrik Sjöström

The Christian IV to Finland

The Ålandsfärjan has been trading in Viking Line’s colours for 21 years.

Farewell to Ålandsfärjan Viking Line has sold the Ålandsfärjan to the Barbados based company G.A.P Shipping Co Ltd for EUR 2.6 million. The buyer is a subsidiary of GAP Adventures of Toronto, Canada. The company owned the cruise vessel Explorer, which sunk in the Antarctic in November 2007. The Ålandsfärjan has been trading in Viking Line’s colours across the Sea of Åland between Mariehamn and Kapellskär since 1987. On May 30, 2008 she was replaced by the larger Rosella, which will continue on this service until a newbuilding with the project name ”Viking ADCC” takes over in 2009. The transfer of the Rosella from the Helsinki–Tallinn route to the Sea of Åland was possible after the delivery of the Viking XPRS, which entered service in the Gulf of Finland on April 28. Improvements on the route

By introducing the Rosella on the short route between Åland and Sweden, Viking Line can offer its passengers a crossing with a considerably larger and much more comfortable vessel. The car carrying capability is doubled as there is capacity for a total of 340 private cars on the car deck of the Rosella. It has also been possible to reduce the

crossing time with half an hour to two hours with the new vessel. The old Ålandsfärjan still has had a long and successful career on the route since she entered service for Viking Line. Before that she had already plied thousands of miles in Danish waters and in the English Channel. Delivered in 1972 by the Danish shipyard Helsingør Skibsværft og Maskinbyggeri A/S as the Kattegatt for the Danish ferry company Jydsk Færgefart A/S, she was employed by her first owner on the domestic route between Grenå and Hundested. In 1978 she was sold to Midland Montague Leasing (UK) Ltd and leased to P&O Normandy Ferries Ltd for the Dover–Boulogne service and renamed nf Tiger. Laid up

Townsend Car Ferries Ltd took over the ferry in 1985 and painted her in the Townsend Thoresen livery. She was laid up in Chatham already the following year, and in December 1986 SF Line Ab’s (now Viking Line Abp) Swedish subsidiary Finlandshamnen AB bought the vessel. After a refit at the Öresundsvarvet AB in Landskrona, the ship entered service on the Mariehamn–Kapellskär route in spring 1987 in Viking Line’s colours under her new name Ålandsfärjan. SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

M A RKET REPO RTS

Newbuilding contracts in the Nordic market Month Owner April Subsea7 Tide Fjord1 FSF Fjord1 FSF May Wisby Tankers/Red AB Gotland Wisby Tankers/Red AB Gotland Sigba AS Sigba AS DOF ASA Frontline Frontline SeaDrill Remøy Shipping Remøy Shipping * = gross tons

Nat Size Type No 133 m pipelay No 106 m ferry No 33.5 m catam No 38.2 m catam Sw 5,800 tanker Sw 5,800 tanker No 4,100 psv No 4,100 psv No 4,100 psv No 320,000 tanker No 320,000 tanker No semi-sub No 88.8 m psv No 88.8 m psv c = capacity in cubic metres

Shipyard Merwede Fiskerstrand Br Aa Br Aa Penglai Zhongbai Penglai Zhongbai Cochin Shipyard Cochin Shipyard Tebma Shipyard Zhoushan Jinhaiwan Zhoushan Jinhaiwan SembCorp Ulstein Verft Ulstein Verft

Delivery Value Remarks 3q10 USD 190 m 10.10 120 cars 11.09 190 pax 4.10 294 pax 2h09 2h09 12.10 Aker PSV09CD 1.11 Aker PSV09CD 10 NOK 250 m 12 USD 135 m 12 USD 135 m 12.11 USD 640 m 2.11 PX-105 5.11 PX-105 All details believed to be correct but not guaranteed.

Secondhand transactions in the Nordic market Month

Name

April

Acergy Petrel

Statesman

Kate Mærsk

DWT

Built

Type

From

3,371*

2003

offshore

Uksnøy & Co, Ålesund

Price

Buyer

Remarks/New name

Acergy

1,791

1976

ahts

Oceanlink, Oslo

Eide Marine, Høylandsbygd

84,900

1996

container

A P Møller Maersk, Cph

HCI Hammonia, Hamburg

USD 100 m

Karen Mærsk

84,900

1996

container

A P Møller Maersk, Cph

USD 100 m

HCI Hammonia, Hamburg

Knud Mærsk

84,900

1996

container

A P Møller Maersk, Cph

USD 100 m

HCI Hammonia, Hamburg

Castle Peak

Merchant Bravery

151,000

1990

bulk

Toyo Sangyo KK, Imabari

USD 81.5 m

Arne Blystad, Oslo

5,290

1978

roro

Cenargo, UK

EUR 4.5 m

Express Sh, Frederikshavn

USD 51 m

San Marco

47,000

2003

tanker

Japanese

Jinse resale

32,000

2009

bulk

Arne Blystad, Oslo

Jinse resale

Vega 3

32,000

2009

bulk

Arne Blystad, Oslo

undisclosed

139,000

1983

bulk

Arne Blystad, Oslo

USD 40 m

undisclosed

USD 14 m

Keilir

6,000

2002

tanker

Oliudreifung hf, Reykjavik

Amber

313*

2005

tug

Amber Holding, Riga

Favourite Arrow

4,950

1988

gen cargo

Fav Shipping, Bergen

Henriette

4,200

1971

bulk

Storesletten Rederi, Kopervik

Ingrid Majala

Fjordbulk

A P Møller Maersk, Cph undisclosed

OW Bunkering, Århus Alfons Håkans, Åbo

EUR 3.4 m

undisclosed Minor, Karmøy

1,032*

1975

fishing

Silfaks, Hammerfest

Hordafor, Austevoll conv tk

2,165

1990

bulk

Fjordbulk, Bodø

Bal Bulk, Torshavn

Terningen 2

925 1982/03

seismic

H K Sæternes, Trondheim

Artic Shipping, Førde

Sealink Vanessa 88

496

offshore

Sealink, Malaysia

Tananger Offshore, Stavanger

2008

May

Beluga Spirit

7,200

1988

dry cargo

Beluga Sh, Hamburg

Dania Marine, Mariager

Ingrid Bulker

28,700

1996

bulk

J Lauritzen Bulkers, Cph

Korea

USD 42.25 m

Baltic Press

4,600

1979

roro

Charterfrakt, Skärhamn

Batamec resale

80 m

2009

offshore

Otto Marine, Singapore

NOK 300 m

Batamec resale

80 m

2009

offshore

Otto Marine, Singapore

NOK 300 m

G C Rieber, Bergen

Batamec resale

80 m

2009

offshore

Otto Marine, Singapore

NOK 300 m

G C Rieber, Bergen

NOK 300 m

Batamec resale

80 m

2009

offshore

Otto Marine, Singapore

Olympic Orion

4,800

2002

psv

Olympic Sh, Fosnavåg

G C Rieber, Bergen Global Industries, US

Rasa

5,500

1996

gen cargo

DFDS Lisco

Greek

Aukse

5,500

1996

gen cargo

DFDS Lisco

Greek

Gediminas

4,863

1996

gen cargo

DFDS Lisco

Greek

Vytautas

4,863

1995

gen cargo

DFDS Lisco

Greek

Christian IV

Skandi Navica

Stena Confidence

Puspawati

TC Österströms/Festivo

G C Rieber, Bergen

21,699*

1982

ferry

Color Line, Oslo

EUR 13 m

Stella Group, St Petersburg

9,600

1999

cable layer

Dof ASA, Austevoll

NOK 320 m

Subsea7, Grimstad

107,000

2003

tanker

Stena Bulk, Göteborg

USD 70 m

Neste, Helsingfors

20,000

2008

tanker

BLT, Indonesia

bb back

Atlantis Shipping, Oslo

Pramoni

20,000

2008

tanker

BLT, Indonesia

bb back

Atlantis Shipping, Oslo

Ding Heng resale

12,000c

2010

LPG

I M Skaugen, Oslo

USD 47 m

Teekay, Vancouver

Ding Heng resale

12,000c

2010

LPG

I M Skaugen, Oslo

USD 47 m

Teekay, Vancouver

BW Helen

6,100c

2000

LPG

BW Gas, Oslo

USD 25 m

A Veder, Amsterdam

Tairikudana 2,762* * = gross tons c = capacity in cubic metres

1988

seismic

Sankyu, Moji

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

G C Rieber Sh, Bergen All details believed to be correct but not guaranteed.

MAR K ET R EPORT S

Secondhand transactions in the Nordic market Month

Name

DWT

Built

Type

From

Astor

2,542

1981

tanker

Storesund Tank, Karmøy

Price

Buyer

Anglo

4,594

1980

tanker

Storesund Tank, Karmøy

Onartank, Bergen

Avant

2,296

1975

tanker

Storesund Tank, Karmøy

Onartank, Bergen

Ålandsfärjan

6,172*

1972

ferry

Viking Line, Mariehamn

Normand Skarven

2,685

1986

ahts

KS Solstad Offshore, Karmøy

Nor Sea

2,000

2005

ahts

Nor Offshore, Singapore

Maha Roos 64,931 * = gross tons c = capacity in cubic metres

1982

bulk

Remarks/New name

Sandefjord

EUR 2.6 m

GAP Sh, Barbados foreign

USD 30 m

Neptun Marine, Singapore

krister bång

Imperial Shipping, Göteborg All details believed to be correct but not guaranteed.

Festivo, ex Baltic Press, at Cityvarvet in Göteborg.

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Enwa Watrer Treatment Backa Strandgata 8 422 46 Hisings Backa Tel: +46 (0)31 - 742 92 50 Fax: +46 (0)31 - 742 92 60 info@enwa.se www.enwa.se

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

M A RKET REPO RTS

Rates and fixtures week 23

Shortsea dry bulk market report Baltic. The Baltic markets remain patchy with little pressure on rates either way. Tonnage have been difficult to attract in the smaller sizes for steels and minerals movements out of Baltic while it appears that larger units are struggling somewhat more in order to secure decent combinations especially in an extremely volatile bunkers market. However this week bunkers prices have retreated, but few dare speculate where fuel prices will head in coming weeks. Activity level: Mixed

earning estimates past 12 months 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000

Scandinavia. This week have shown mod-

erate activity in the Scandinavian waters with the spot market dominated by feed stuff and agri products both in the conventional and the self discharger sector. Rates remains mostly unchanged from last week with EUR 11 p/mt paid for 2,000 mt aggregates from SC Norway to German North Sea while 1,000 mt fish meal from Denmark to WC Norway was fixed at EUR 26.50 p/mt. Activity level: Stable UK/Continent. The Continent market

remains fairly unexciting and patchy, but smaller units have been in demand for project movements and feed stuff parcelling from ARAG to Scandinavia and across to the UK. A 1,500 tonner obtained EUR 40,000 for a project run from Rotterdam to WC Norway with spot loading showing how strong the market can be for the right position, but in general owners’ earnings have been hit by increasing fuel costs and higher tonnage availability making it difficult to book

■ 1,000–1,500 DWT ■ 1,500–2,000 DWT ■ 2,000–3,000 DWT ■ 3,000–4,000 DWT ■ 6,000–7,000 DWT

EUR/day

1,000

Week 25

earnings estimates on t/c basis per day (modern, box) Size 1,250 DWT 1,750 DWT 2,500 DWT 3,500 DWT 6,500 DWT

Week 23 EUR 2,000 EUR 2,050 EUR 2,500 EUR 3,350 EUR 5,100

Week 22 EUR 1,950 EUR 2,000 EUR 2,500 EUR 3,350 EUR 5,150

ahead. We expect little change in activity in coming weeks. Activity level: Stable

market snapshots Brent MGO Rotterdam IFO180 Rotterdam EUR/USD

Week 23 USD 123.60 USD 1,186.50 USD 579.00 1.55

Week 22 USD 126.60 USD 1,224.50 USD 600.00 1.57

further while eastbound backhauls with grains from S.France to Italy and Greece have proven more difficult to cover. Activity level: Mixed Fixtures

Despite good activity in Western regions tonnage appears more visible, and owners have been keen to cover backhauls to Northern Europe. Brokers advise they have multiple candidates for minerals and phosphates in the 4,000–8,000 mt size with rates remaining mostly unchanged from previous weeks. Maintenance stops in Torrevieja as from next week will reduce backhaul possibilities Mediterranean.

– 3,500 mt Steels WC Turkey/Algeria fixed USD 45 p/mt – 2,500 mt minerals WC Norway/Lithuania fixed EUR 18.50 p/mt – 6,000 mt minerals SC Spain/North Sea fixed USD 28 p/mt – 1,500 mt generals ARAG/WC Norway fixed EUR 40,000 lump sum no rbro ke r s hipping & tradi ng as, fle kkefjord, norway

25.000 shipping professionals read this ad Advertise in Scandinavian Shipping Gazette. www.shipgaz.com

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

MAR K ET R EPORT S

Wet – slow start in June for crude carriers Continent trade, WS 310 was paid at the end of last week for a 30,000-tonner, corresponding to USD 35,915 in daily earnings, according to Clarkson. 20,000 tons paid WS 330 in the North Sea, slightly less than a week before, but more than 50 points the average for this year.

a 1999/2000-built vessel stood at USD 45,650 at the end of last week, down by 27 per cent but above the average estimate for 2007 and 2006. Things were different of the clean markets last week, with earnings firming on almost all routes. On the Baltic–UK/

m green

June has started off slowly for large crude carriers with sharp rate falls almost all over. On the hottest market, the VLCC market, average earnings fell to USD 137,147 per day for a modern VLCC, from USD 156,668 a week earlier, Clarkson Research reports. Persian Gulf to Europe paid WS 130 at the end of last week, eight points less than a week earlier. Average earnings fell by six per cent to USD 102,466 per day, but this is still well above twice the Clarkson Research average earnings estimate for 2007 as well as 2006. Earnings on major suezmax routes fell sharply, with the average estimate more than 40 per cent lower at the end of last week, compared to a week before. Although a significant drop, earnings stayed well above the average estimates for 2007 and 2006. Last week rates fell on all major Aframax routes, with daily earnings at around USD 42,000 on the North Sea, almost 40 per cent down from a week earlier. The Clarkson aframax average earnings estimate for

Stena Confidence was in June reportedly paid a lump sum of USD 2,800,000 for 80,000 t, Rotterdam to Fujairah.

Dry – no end to Capesize earnings hike Apart for a slight softening of the rates last week, the capesize bonanza has continued for the last week, with daily spot earnings comfortably above USD 200,000 on the major capesize routes. Last week, the Clarkson Research average earnings estimate for a 1999/2000-built capesize

firmed to USD 218,955 per day, from USD 210,089 the previous week. The current earnings level is more than double up on the average estimate for 2007. On the iron ore trade Tubarao–Rotterdam, charterers paid USD 59 per ton last week, almost twice as much as in mid-March

Dry bulk freight development ■ Capesize ■ Panamax ■ Handymax

Atlantic round voyage,USD/day 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 Jul ’06

Oct ’06

Jan ’07

Apr '07

Jul ’07

Oct ’07

Jan ’08

Apr '08

Source: Fearnleys/SSG, June 5, 2008

this year. On the large coal trades, rates firmed with USD 61.00 paid on the Bolivar– Rotterdam route, with corresponding daily earnings at USD 224,582. Earnings on the Indonesia–Rotterdam route hiked by almost 25 per cent to USD 167,605 at the end of last week, compared to a week before. Earnings for panamaxes and handymaxes fell back, but still remains on healthy levels well above the average for 2007. On the Hampton Roads–ARA panamax coal trade, freight fell from USD 44.20 per ton to USD 41.25, with average earnings at USD 80,866 per day. According to Clarkson, a handymax transatlantic roundvoyage paid USD 73,000 per day by the end of last week, down from USD 81,000 a week before and around USD 25,000 per day less, than paid two weeks ago. The Clarkson average earnings estimate for a modern 45,000-tonners stood at USD 58,375, down slightly compared to the week before but still more than USD 16,000 above the average for 2007.. rolf p ni lsson

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

M A RKET REPO RTS

Offshore market report June Despite a vi brant, dynamic market with a fair amount of long-term business, the month of May proved rather disappointing to the players in the North Sea spot market. Since mid-March the average rate for rig moves has dropped steadily from GBP 120,000 to 7,000 for good anchor-handlers. Also, the contracting activity is slowing down, an indication that “offshore” boom is slowly passing into a new phase. The spell of nice weather in May also contributed to the weak market as jobs were carried out in expediently. Lower utilization of the vessels has led to weaker results for the shipowners, perhaps not very promising for the summer market. Actually, there were a couple more anchor-handlers in the market a year ago, but fewer platform support vessels (PSVs). And the summer market was generally good with rates of GBP 40,000–100,000 for good anchor-handlers and 25,000–30,000 for PSVs. So much for volatility.

smaller segments, with vessels for guard duties and seismic support. Opstad Shipping, domiciled in Molde, decided to convert is side-loader Broa in 1998 and hire her out for seismic support. This has given rise to building three 60-meter vessels in Shanghai at USD 10-12 million each. The first, Bravo Atlantic, was delivered last year and sold to Australia, while the second was taken over in March as Bravo Sapphire. Similarly, Tananger Offshore of Stavanger has expanded in secondhand vessels since 1995. Last year, three newer

offshore rate development GBP 1,000

A niche for smaller units

The last few years have been a period with ample commercial opportunities. Some companies have expanded quietly in the

PsV:

■ 600/700

Ahts:

■ 15,000–16,000 ■ 20,000+

140 120 100 80

A few more orders

Fair long-term prospects under high energy prices are keeping a certain pressure on the charter market for specialized vessels. Orders for large PSV/light construction and seismic vessels are still emerging, often from shipyards in India and the Far East. Noteworthy is the joint-venture between Rieber Shipping, Bergen, and Otto Marine of Singapore, where Rieber will take 51 per cent in four MT6009DP vessels building in an Indonesian shipyard. The first two, due next year, are already fixed to Technocean. A rather unusual newcomer is Sigba of Bergen, formerly operating chemical tankers, now building two Aker PSV09s at Cochin Shipyard. This is the same design as ordered by DOF, leading to speculation of DOF management of the vessels. Remøy Shipping, which had secured a contract with StatoilHydro of 8+4 years for two ships, recently ordered two PX-105 vessels of 88.8 meters from Ulstein Verft. These X-bow units will also have contingency functions with facilities for rescue and attendance of 250 persons.

50-meter vessels were acquired in the Far East for seismic support. Tanux II and III were former Sealink Singapore vessels from 2004 and 2006. Recently the company took over Guard Merlin and Guard Celena, newbuildings from the same seller. Although at the lower end of the scale, such operators have to comply with the stringent QA regime of the offshore industry, and thereby slowly building experience and a market niche as subcontractors to the global providers of seismic data. dag b akka jr

60 Text

40 20 Week

0 25

New north sea term charters: Charterer EOn Ruhrgas Petrofac BP UK MLS Senergy Centrica ADTI BP UK AGR Peak

Vessel Type Operation FD Reliable psv 1 well support Ensco 80, June Sea Trout psv 7 wells support TO John Shaw, end May Ursus ahts 1 month from early June Rem Supplier psv 5 months firm + d/d 60, June Island Earl psv 90 days firm, support Sedco 714 Siem VS470 psv abt 300 days from July ER Kristiansand psv 1 well support Ensco 92, July Ocean Mainport psv 3 months + 1 opt, June Supply Express psv 3 months extension until september

New international term fixtures: Charterer Saipem Pemex Tullow Oil Tullow Oil ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Acergy Acergy

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

Vessel Type Operation Sea Lynx ahts 175 days, Spain Bourbon Opale psv Feb 2009 to Dec 2014, Mexico Highland Valour ahts 1 year support Blackford Dolphin, Ghana Highland Courage ahts 1 year support Blackford Dolphin, Ghana Sea Pollock psv 3 years firm, Indonesia Sea Turbot psv 3 years firm, Indonesia Northern Chaser ahts 40 days firm +d/d 40 bargehandling, Mexilaho Beta ahts 40 days firm +d/d 40 bargehandling, Mexilaho Based on information from R G Hagland Offshore, www.hagland.com

MAR K ET R EPORT S

BUNKERS AND CRUDE OIL TREND Week 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Rotterdam Bunkers 380 cSt, USD/t 499 481 537 541 579 546 532

Crude Oil MDO, USD/t 1,013 1,012 1,095 1,083 1,170 1,072 1,065

Share Price Index

Quotations Friday each week.

6/6 361.87

30/5 366.09

**OSE2030GI includes the shipping companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Source: Stockholm Chartering, www.stochart.com

Crude tanker markets

dry cargo markets, large carriers

Size Route Week Worldscale VLCC Persian Gulf–UKC C/S 17 115.0 280,000 18 117.5 19 120.0 20 160.0 21 145.0 22 137.5 23 132.5 Suezmax Cross Med 17 240.0 130,000 18 260.0 19 230.0 20 260.0 21 280.0 22 275.0 23 180.0 Aframax North Sea–UKC 17 190.0 80,000 18 190.0 19 220.0 20 290.0 21 345.0 22 180.0 23 160.0 Quotations Friday each week.

Index OSE2030GI**

Brent, spot IPE, USD/brl 115.90 111.32 123.86 123.95 132.00 127.72 121.43

Earnings (USD/day) 108,700 112,200 113,100 170,400 144,600 135,400 130,400 111,400 125,300 102,900 122,000 132,700 131,300 71,000 58,800 59,600 73,300 110,700 138,600 51,400 41,300

Source: Stockholm Chartering, www.stochart.com

Size

Route

Week

Single voyages Capesize Tubarao–Rotterdam 17 165,000 Iron Ore 18 19 20 21 22 23 Tripcharter Panamax Cont–Far East 17 70,000 18 19 20 21 22 23 Handymax Transatlantic, round voyage 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

USD/ton 39.50 47.45 52.00 52.50 58.50 53.00 57.00 Av. Earnings (USD/day) 92,000 91,000 100,000 105,000 116,000 99,000 99,250 61,700 65,750 74,500 86,750 94,750 89,250 74,750

Source: Fearnleys, www.fearnleys.no

READ THE LATEST NEWS FACTS & STATISTICS ON SHIPGAZ.COM 48

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

“The Blue Book on the web” The web will give you access to the Register’s daily updated database on our Internet site with the same information as on the CD-ROM.

THE

TOOLS you must have

CD-ROM Included with the Main hardback Edition, this CD gives additional information such as e-mail and web address, activity marks and VAT number. Print-out facility for address labels.

Every working day, more than 100,000 operators in shipping and forwarding rely on these tools for dependable, up-to-date information: The Shipbrokers’ Register lists 15,000 shipbrokers, shipping/liner and chartering agents worldwide. The Shipbrokers’ Register Main Edition Lists name, address, cable, telex, phone, fax and additional information such as after-office-hours communication details. A special yellow section contains approx. 12,000 e-mail addresses.

The Shipbrokers’ Register Pocket Edition In a handy format lists name, street address, phone and after-office-hours communication details.

Multiuser CD-ROM The Shipbrokers’ Register CD-ROM is available for multiusers (unlimited number). This CD also gives users access to the database on our Internet site.

The Shipbrokers’ Register Box 2 • SE-26122 Landskrona, Sweden Phone: +46 418 766 60, Fax: +46 418 766 67 Telex: 72525 wram s E-mail: info@wramfeltmaritime.se www.shipbrokers-register.org

HÅKAN SJÖSTRÖM

Six names before the end in Greece

n December 1935 Rederiaktiebolaget Disa, belonging to the Brodin Group in Stockholm, placed an order for two new cargo ships with Aktiebolaget Lindholmens Varv in Göteborg. The maritime press introduced the newbuildings as ”the most interesting cargo motorship units that have come to our notice for some time”. These 3,750 dwt vessels had an overall length of 101 metres. The launching ceremony of the first newbuilding, yard No. 947, took place on May 3, 1937. Mrs Astri Nordgren, the wife of Captain Sven Nordgren, christened her Astri. The fitting out progressed rapidly and a few months later, on August 18, the Astri was ready for delivery. Her sister ship Anita was put to sea in February 1938. With these ships Brodin inaugurated a cross trade liner service between the US East Coast and South America.

In 1948 Brodin established Swedish East

Africa Line in association with four other Swedish parties of interest. The Astri was transferred to the new service in October 1949 and the Anita in July 1951. In April 1951 forces were joined with the French shipping company Delmas-Vieljeux, and the liner service now adopted the new name Svedel Line. But construction of new ships was under way. 50

The Astri had completed seven roundtrips to East Africa before the Norwegian flag was hoisted in September 1952. The Oslo-based E. B. Aaby’s Rederi A/S had bought her and renamed her Pan. For the following five years the Pan was on the worldwide tramp trade, still mainly sailing in European waters. The Pan remained under the Norwegian flag when Botvid Ohlsson from Oslo bought her in March 1957. She was renamed Frigg and continued in tramp service. On 5 January 1961 Leo Jouhki on behalf of Oy Thombrokers Ab in Helsinki signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Botvid Ohlsson for the purchase of the Frigg. After discharging her cargo of coal at Turku, the ship was taken over by Thombrokers on March 4. She was renamed Mylle after Jouhki’s elder son Lauri Juhani, who was called Mylle. Like the other ships in the Thombrokers fleet, she carried round wood and sawn timber from Finland. Owing to her bigger capacity, the Mylle was usually engaged for longer hauls, i.e. to the Mediterranean. In 1969 the Mylle was sold to Ab Vasa Shipping Oy and delivered to her new owners on February 21. Renamed the Mercia, the ship continued to ply the same waters. Vasa Shipping had already

bought her sister ship Vogelsberg (ex Peik ex Anita) from Germany and renamed her Johanna. After 13 years the two sisters were reunited in Finland and sailed again under the same company colours. In November 1973, the Mercia was sold to the new Vaasa-based company Ab Kors holm Shipping Oy. The ship’s name, port of registry and even funnel marks remained unchanged, since she continued under the management of Vasa Shipping. The time with Korsholm Shipping ended soon, as the Mercia was sold to the Greek shipowner Captain Gerassimos Agoudimos. The ship was handed over in early September 1974 and got her last name Alkmini A. She was later handed over to Kefalliniaki Thalassa Shipping Co., a company belonging to the Agoudimos Group. During her last years, she hauled sawn timber from Yugoslavia to Egypt. However, the Yugoslavian timber contract terminated and in February 1979 the Alkmini A arrived at Piraeus and dropped anchor on the roads of Perama. As the years went by, the paint started to peel off but nothing else happened. The fate of the Alkmini A was not sealed until the early spring of 1984 when she was towed to a scrap yard at Perama and broken up. m at ti pi eti käi nen SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • JUNE 16, 2008

ClassDirect Live

ClassDirect Live a tool for Owners and Ship Managers ClassDirect Live is a maritime information service for operators of Lloyd´s Register classed ships, providing managed access to the latest information about ships in their fleet. ClassDirect Live gives direct, live access to information held on the Lloyd´s Register groups database and presents it through a simple web interface. Through this portal, information is available anytime of the day, anywhere in the world. ClassDirect Live ensures information is secure and confidential by use of password access control and data encryption during transmission. Visit our web site www.lr.org select Group web site ClassDirect Live, take a look at our guided tour and apply for your account.

Building better business Services are provided by members of the Lloyd´s Register Group. Lloyd´s Register EMEA is an exempt charity under the UK Charities Act 1993

Lloyd’s Register EMEA Första Långgatan 28 B SE-413 27 Göteborg, Sweden Phone +46 (0) 31 775 48 00 Fax +46 (0) 31 12 12 18 E-mail: gothenburg@lr.org www.lr.org www.lloydsregister.se For enquiries please contact: Bo Dire, Country Manager or Torbjörn Rydbergh, Account Manager Phone +46 (0) 31 775 48 00 E-mail: bo.dire@lr.org torbjorn.rydbergh@lr.org

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