Price EUR 12 No 3 – June 4, 2010 www.shipgaz.com
Winding road to recovery Since the financial walls of Iceland came tumbling down in autumn 2008, the country’s shipping companies have had a tough ride through turbulent times.
Successful struggle
Legendary achievements
Illegal oil discharges in the Baltic Sea are becoming a dramatically rarer sight. Helcom’s air surveillance is the reason.
He is seldom seen in the foremost rank, but his influence on Danish shipping in the last 30 years is legendary. Meet Knud Pontoppidan.
The front page picture is sponsored by Berg Propulsion
Iceland shipping special:
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dust pitch
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coal soot heavy fuel oil
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bilge water
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No 4 is published on September 3.
Iceland shipping special:
Winding road to recovery Since the financial walls of Iceland came tumbling down in autumn 2008, the country’s shipping
companies have had a tough ride through turbulent times.
Successful struggle Illegal oil discharges in the Baltic Sea are becoming a dramatically rarer sight. Helcom’s air surveillance is the reason.
Legendary achievements He is seldom seen in the foremost rank, but his influ-
ence on Danish shipping in the last 30 years is legendary. Meet Knud Pontoppidan.
by Berg Propulsion
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4 SHIPGAZ NO 3 2010
Intro FEATURE
Outrun by reality WELCOME Today I thought I’d reveal some details about the making of a Shipgaz issue. This spread of pages you are looking at right now is the last one sent to press in this issue. Most of the pages in this magazine already lie printed and ready, just waiting for cutting and glue binding as soon as I finish these ones. This means that the pages throughout each Shipgaz issue vary in “age” when they reach you. And sometimes that has the annoying effect that already printed pages get somewhat outrun by reality while we’re still working with the issue. An example:
»Most of the pages in this magazine already lie printed and ready, just waiting for cutting and glue binding«
In this issue, there is an article that by no means is out of date, but deals with a story that changes shape with every passing day. Danish tanker giant D/S Torm is experiencing an unprecedented turmoil at the moment. The latest blow is Shell putting Torm on its blacklist for not following certain safety regulations, according to Danish media. Yesterday, Torm forcefully denied this, however, but at the time of writing the price of the Torm share is in a steep downslope. These latest facts we couldn’t include in our report on Torm, as that article was sent to press some time ago. But we follow the development closely on our web, be sure to check there. What Shipgaz’ Danish reporter did include in the Torm article, however, is interesting results of a survey about Torm among people in Copenhagen’s shipping community. Don’t miss it. Also join our excursions to Åland and Iceland, two islands with very different stories to tell. ASSISTANT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Anna Lundberg anna.lundberg@shipgaz.com
FEATURE With 320,000 citizens, not more than the population of a borough bordering to any major city in Europe, Iceland has had a rough ride through the recession. PAGE 28
PHOTO: US COAST GUARD
PHOTO: JÖRGEN SPRÅNG
PHOTO: BENT MIKKELSEN
PORTRAIT He has been called father of the Danish International Ship Register and Denmark’s Shipping Ambassador. Meet Knud Pontoppidan. PAGE 16
REPORT In the aftermath of the Mexico Gulf oil well disaster, the shipping and oil industries fear a new law bill that would increase pollution liabilities. PAGE 23
NO 3 2010 SHIPGAZ 5
Intro PHOTO: PÄR-HENRIK SJÖSTRÖM
»It will not be easy to retain young seafarers on vessels operated by a company that invests only as much in its seafarers that it is forced to« EDITORIAL, PAGE 7
In this issue 16 Facilitator of Danish Shipping 20 Shakedown at D/S Torm 23 A disaster that goes down in history 26 Spotlight IMO: Piracy and goal based construction in focus 28 Iceland: Winding road to recovery 36 Fjord Cat – a speedy predator 38 Combat against Baltic Sea polluters pays off 42 An invoice was the last straw 49 First Estonian archipelago ferry 52 Åland’s lifeline 70 New order for vessels sailing in the Åland Sea 74 Spotlight Technology: Maintenance principles – PMS or condition based?
Thanks to a well developed network of ferry connections the sparsely populated areas in the Åland archipelago are totally integrated in the transport infrastructure of Åland. PAGE 52
PHOTO: HÅKAN SJÖSTRÖM
PHOTO: BENT MIKKELSEN
84 Trapped in Egypt– Israel conflict
Regular sections 7
Editorial
8 Review 12 Market Review 16 Portrait 49 Newcomer REPORT The coaster Faxborg abandoned
the Danish flag due to an invoice from Bureau Veritas – the ship is now registered in Africa. PAGE 42
RETRO The French-built Oberon was the
most stylish of the passenger steamers in the fleet of the Finnish Steamship Company in the late 1920s. PAGE 90
77 Technical Review 80 Fleet Review 84 Retro
Looking for a challenge?
chief officer, DFDS Tor line
NO 3 2010 SHIPGAZ 7
Editor-In-Chief Rolf P Nilsson rolf@shipgaz.com
Editorial
Ignorance a threat to recruitment »To retain an officer, you must first understand the expectations he or she had when the decision was taken to pursue a maritime career«
0oner or later, most maritime officers reach a crossroad in their professional lives. Do I want to continue at sea, or do I want to enter a shore-based career? This is not only natural, but also necessary for society in general and for the maritime cluster especially. The unique experiences gained at sea is vital for support and management functions ashore in shipping companies, equipment and services suppliers, in ports, at education and training institutions and in authorities.
S
Maritime transport is the backbone of global trade, and indispensable for progress and prosperity in the world. Society needs professional, experienced and well-educated maritime professionals at sea and ashore. The thing for ship managers is however that they would like to see officers reaching that crossroad a little later in their lives than they do today, and that more choose to stay on at sea, or at least consider to return after a break in a shore-based organisation. To retain an officer, you must first understand the expectations he or she had when the decision was taken to pursue a maritime career. A good thing is start with scrutinizing the arguments the industry uses to attract the next generation of seafarers. “Good wages”, “good long-term prospects”, “doing something useful” and “career flexibility and security” are some strong arguments used on industry websites promoting a career at sea. This is of course true and a positive argument for young people looking for responsibility and challenges, but if its too early, it can be a problem for the industry. From several directions within the shipping community, concern has been raised that recent years’ shortage of skilled officers has led to a situation where young officers is promoted to higher ranks without proper experience. As one delegate told an IMO meeting recently, “Today, we probably have the most well-educated but least experienced seafaring work force of all times”. “Long holidays” is a strong argument. Most European officers works a 1:1 scheme, meaning that you are the master of your own life for half a year each year, and you can live where you choose without worrying about commuting to work more than a couple of times each year.
“Early responsibility” is another.
“Something different from working in an office” is another argument used. This is a somewhat inconsistent argument from an industry that simultaneously claim that one good reason to go to sea is that it is a good merit for a future step
in the career – at the office. Irrespective of this, seafaring is different and gives unique experiences that are valued also in other sectors than shipping. “Opportunities to travel” was once a good reason to join a ship. Not long ago a port call meant a week at a berth with waking distance to a city centre. Today it’s a weak argument, and for most work positions in the merchant fleet also not entirely in line with reality to say the least. Today most European officers will serve on vessels staying in port for a few hours, often just as many hours from civilization by car – and that is if security will let you pass. Travelling to see the world will for most officers have to wait until a shorebased career, at least if you want an employer to pay for the ride.
Overall, the arguments for a seafaring career are however good and strong enough to attract a sufficient number of bright and young people to shipping. But does reality match new recruits’ expectations that have been boosted by those arguments? There are of course a lot of good ships out there, owned and operated by serious shipowners, but the opposite also exists. It will not be easy to retain young seafarers that signs on vessels with communication means that are too inadequate or too expensive to keep a regular contact with family and friends, an accommodation of lowest possible standards and that is operated by a company that invest only as much in its seafarers it is forced to by laws and regulations. Add to this criminalisation, piracy and security rules that restrict the possibility for a shore leave. Recruitment and retainment are at the top of the IMO agenda. This organisation knows shipping and seafarers, but the problem is that in this respect, IMO doesn’t own the question.
Recent years' tougher attitudes towards seafarers and the responsibility for the declining security for those passing through unsafe waters, lies with national government departments and agencies that all too often are totally ignorant of the importance of shipping and seafarers for society in general. The most important task for national delegates at the IMO must therefore be as lobbyists for shipping within their own countries and to educate decision makers in government offices at large.
Rolf P Nilsson, Editor-in-Chief
8 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Review Photo: transatlantic
Photo: bent mikkelsen
1
2
3
Photo: herning shipping
Shipgaz Calendar Asian Ports and Shipping When: June 3–4, 2010 Where: Windsor Plaza Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Posidonia When: June 7–11, 2010 Where: Hellenikon Exhibition Centre, Athens, Greece.
Mass rescue at sea When: June 7–8 June, 2010 Where: Långedrag, Göteborg, Sweden. Lars Vang Christensen, CEO of Herning Shipping, and chairman of the Danish Shipowners’ Association.
Toc Europe When: June 8–10w, 2010 Where: Feria Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
CFD in Ship hydrodynamics When: June 9, 2010 Where: Lindholmen Science Park, Campus Lindholmen, Göteborg, Sweden
Safety at sea When: June 22, 2010 Where: HMS Belfast, London, UK
European shortsea congress When: 29–30 June, 2010 Where: Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland.
IAME 2010 When: July 7–9, 2010 Where: Estoril and Carcavelos, close to Lisbon, Portugal
Offshore Northern seas When: August 24-27, 2010 Where: Stavanger, Norway Please visit our website www.shipgaz.com/ and find out about more events.
Optimism among Danish owners business “We are optimistic about the future as we see growth in most markets at the moment”, says Lars Vang Christensen, CEO of Herning Shipping, and chairman of the Danish Shipowners’ Association. “If we graded our optimism, we would say that 2009 was brutal and we expect 2010 to be only hard”, he says.
Despite the continued crisis, Danish shipowners had a relatively good 2009, the inflow of foreign currency reached DKK 140 billion (lower than the record-breaking DKK 190 billion in 2008). The fleet has never been bigger than at present. At the end of April 2010, the fleet consisted of 561 vessels totalling
11.2 million BT and 13.8 million DWT, which is a new record-high figure. The trend continued during the first months of 2010 with ten vessels totalling 300,000 BT added to the Danish register. The number of newbuildings on order has gone down from 273 units with a value of DKK 63 billion to ’only’ 264 units with a value of DKK 61 billion in 2010. The Danish Shipowners’ Association is working to change the regulations that demand a Danish citizen as captain on Danish-flagged vessels. “We would like to have the possibility to employ other nationalities as captains if their skills match those of the Danes”, says Lars Vang Christensen.
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 9
Review Photo: maersk line
Photo: torm
4
Photo review
1. DBB Jack-Up Services A/S (Dansk Bjergning & Bugser) has taken delivery of the wind turbine service vessel Wind after a 5-month major rebuild at Orskov Yard in Frederikshavn. 2. The first of four ice classed AHTS vessels built by Transatlantic at Astilleros Zamakona shipyard in Bilbao, Spain, has been given the name Loke Viking. 3. Another pool partner leaves the Torm LR1-pool – Italian LGR di Navigazione SpA. 4. The A P Møller-Mærsk Group reports a profit of USD 639 million for Q1 2010.
Photo: fredrik davidsson
Photo: stena roro
Håkan Friberg, managing director of the Swedish Shipowners’ Association.
The Stena Trader is to be rebuilt. It will be shortened with 12,5 meters.
Two Stena ferries to be shortened Rebuilt Stena Line’s ropax ferries, the Stena Trader and the Stena Traveller, built in 2006 and 2007, will be leaving its current service between Holland and England for a long term charter to the Canadian Marine Atlantic, operating ferries between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
The first ship will be delivered in December and the second two months later. But before that the ships will be rebuilt. Stena has previously extended their ferries, but for the first time they will now do the opposite. The ships will be shortened with each 12.5 meters to fit in the existing ports. “In addition to this rather unusual align-
ment, the passenger compartments on board will be expanded and adapted to meet the Canadian customers’ needs”, says Stena RoRo’s vice-president Per Westling, responsible for the conversion. The charter is for five years, worth SEK 1 billion, with option for a further two times five years. Marine Atlantic has also the right to purchase the vessels. The Stena Trader and the Stena Traveller will be replaced with two ferries currently being built in South Korea. Before these newbuildings are delivered, the route will be served by replacement vessels.
Unions say no to Swedish second register Maritime matters At its congress held in Bergen, the Nordic Transport Workers’ Federation, NTF, which organises 50 transport unions in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, has agreed on a statement that is highly critical of the ongoing investigation into a Swedish International Ships’ Registry, SIS.
NTF urges the Swedish government to close the investigation and gorget any idea of a SIS. NTF says “yes to Swedish shipping on Swedish terms” but “no to a Swedish International Ships’ Registry and statutory discrimination of Swedish-flagged vessels”. “It is positive that the question of a SIS is under investigation. We need to find the forms for a competitive Swedish register”, comments Håkan Friberg, managing director of the Swedish Shipowners’ Association.
10 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Review Photo: kystverket/the norwegian coastal administration
Photo: U.S. Navy/Jason R. Zalasky
A suspected pirate skiff burns after being destroyed.
New anti-piracy coalition piracy A broad coalition of organisations have joined forces in a new international anti-piracy campaign. They are demanding concrete action to end the Somalia-based piracy. Under the slogan “Enough is enough” the organisations call on nations to: “Dedicate significant resources and work to find real solutions to the growing piracy problem. Take immediate steps to secure the release and safe return of kidnapped seafarers to their families. Work within the international community to secure a stable and peaceful future for Somalia and its people.” The campaign is backed by BIMCO, ICS, IFSMA, IMEC, IPTA, Intercargo and InterManager, among others.
15
9
Overall, container shipping lines are estimated to have made operating losses of USD 15 billion during the year. The operating losses recorded by 18 of the top 23 liner operators reached USD 12.9 billion in 2009.
The Full City ran aground off Langesund in Telemark on 31 July 2009, and caused a large oil spill. The spill hit 37 nature reserves along a 120 kilometres long coastline. A large number of sea birds were killed due to the oil spill. The clean-up operation has cost NOK 200 million so far.
Fewer accidents in the wake of the crisis accident In 2009, 52 seamen lost their lives in EU waters, which is less than the 82 deaths in both 2007 and 2008 as well as the 76 deaths in 2006. 33 per cent of the deaths occurred on general cargo vessels and 31 per cent on fishing vessels, EMSA states in its annual Maritime Accident Review, where the organisation also says there is a strong correlation between the number of accidents and the economic downturn starting at the end of 2008.
626 vessels were involved in 540 accidents in 2009, down from 754 vessels in 670 accidents in 2008 and 762 vessels in 715 accidents in 2007. Nevertheless, the 2009 figures are 17 per cent higher than in 2006. The Cleanseanet satellite surveillance system reported 2,107 potential oil slick detec-
tions in 2009, of which 194 were confirmed. In 2008, the corresponding numbers were 3,296 detected and 232 confirmed. EMSA says: ”Confirmed illegal discharges occurred several times a week, with almost certainly many more unconfirmed”. The most significant oil spills in 2009 were the Full City, 200 to 300 tons of bunker oil, the MSC Shenzhen, which spilled 280 tons of oil, when it ruptured a bunker tank while entering a dry dock in Algeciras, and the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which spilled some 400 to 500 tons during a bunker operation off Ireland. At the same time, it is important to remember that 20,644 merchant vessels called at European ports in 2009 and that these vessels were involved in 593,207 port movements.
Our strength – your benefit Please visit us at: www.kockumsonics.com, www.polarmarine.se, www.texon.se
no 3 2010 Shipgaz 11
review Photo: gUri dahl/office of the Prime minister
Photo: Peter deilmann reederei gmbh & co.
Jens Stoltenberg.
norway helps ailing yards
Cruise vessel on fire in norway acciDent The cruise vessel Deutschland suffered an engine room fire on May 23. Over 360 passengers had to be evacuated from the 175 meter vessel, built in 1998. According to Norwegian papers a number of passengers were taken to hospital by ambulance. The rest of the passengers were
taken to hotels in Eidfjord and Ulvik. The fire started at half past twelve in the afternoon and by half past four fire fighters said the fire was out. When the fire broke out some passengers had already gone ashore for what was to be a seven hour stop in Eidfjord before returning to Hamburg.
politics Norway is boosting its struggling shipyard industry with the government increasing funds available to its export credit guarantee program by NOK 10 billion. ”Shipyards and the related supply industry are still feeling the impact of the financial crisis and face large, serious challenges... 17 out of 29 shipyards have been without orders since the beginning of the year”, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Oslo. Today’s subsidies are granted via Innovation Norway, which grants subsidies for research and development, and The Norwegian Guarantee Institute for Export Credit, GIEK.
Shipgaz Jobs. Your recruitment service. The online recruitment service, browse the available positions in shipping or let Shipgaz help you find the right personnel. With outstanding reach in Scandinavia, Finland, Germany and Poland shipgaz jobs reaches more than 10000 shipping professionals both onboard and shore based. A service from Shipgaz.
www.shipgaz.com/jobs
12 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Market Review
Don’t forget India Analysis The Chinese hunger for iron ore and steel has a considerable impact on the world economy. The first four months this year, Chinese iron ore import reached 210.3 million tons, an 11.6 per cent increase compared to 12 months earlier.
population, also small increases in consumption per individual will have significant effect on world trade. The Chinese consume about 2 barrels of crude oil per capita. According to government sources, this is expected to rise to 2.3 barrels this year. Multiply 0.3 with around 1.3 billion Chinese, and there is a lot of oil to transport.
»Small increases in consumption per individual will have significant effect on world trade«
Chinese steel exports are also on the rise, albeit from much lower levels. In the first four months of this year, exports rose to 13 million tons. Not much compared to the iron ore volumes, but it represents a doubling compared year on year. China is also the world’s largest coal producer, but its net imports might increase by
some 70–100 per cent this year. In figures, there are estimates floating around, including from the IEA, suggesting imports of 170 million tons or more in 2010. In such a vast country with its large
The increased demand is also from low levels. In Europe, crude oil consumption is close to 11 barrels per capita and year, and in USA, the consumption of crude oil per capita is almost 12.5 times higher than in China.
Gradually back to a normal situation offshore With spring there is normally a brighter outlook in the offshore market as construction projects and higher activity require more supply and support vessels. This year there is a different observation, too, that a more normal situation is gradually dawning, although there may be no fundamental change, as Hagland Offshore comments. From the end of March the rate level for good anchor-handlers doubled from GBP 6,000 to 12,000, mainly from increased activity. When the Icelandic volcano ash eventually brought air transport in Northwestern Europe to a standstill around 16th April, the effect did not take long to affect the offshore market. With helicopter movements tied down for indefinite duration, several field
100
80
60
40
20
Week 5
10 15 20
vanger, ordered another PSV09-type PSV from STX Norway’s Søviknes yard, the second in a few months. Rem Offshore has been busy rebuilding its fleet after the de-merger in which Solstad Offshore went away 48.7 per cent of the company and eight vessels. In April, a UT755Ltype resale contract was acquired from Drydocks World, Indonesia. Rem has also acquired a majority stake in Troms Vision, a 4,200 dwt PSV delivered earlier this year. Myklebust Offshore, Fonnes near Bergen, has acquired a 1,400 dwt supply/tug from Jaya Offshore of Singapore, being registered in Gibraltar as Dina Alliance. The acquisition may be considered in connection with the owners’ involvement in semi-submersible barges. Dag Bakka jr
New term North Sea fixtures: Charterer Vessel Type Marathon Stril Mermaid psv Shell N Olympic Promotor psv TAQA FD Reliable psv Nexen KL Arendalsfjord psv Demi ER Narvik psv CNR Maersk Fighter psv CNR Maersk Forwarder psv
Operation 5 years firm + yrs options, July 2010 120 days firm + opt, April 6 months firm + 4 weekly opt, May 3 months firm + 8 weekly opt, May 135 days + 3 monthly opt, June 2 years firm + 1 year option, May 2010 ext 2 years firm + 1 year option, July
New fixtures worldwide: ENI Congo Sea Pike ENI Angler Sea Pike Petrobras AH Paraggi BP Egypt Olympic Elena Capricorn Troms Vision Gazflot Sea Ocelot Gazflot Sea Hawk 1
ext 1 year from July 2010, Congo ext 1 year from July 2010, Congo 2 yrs firm + opt, April, Brazil ext 6 months firm to October, Egypt 5 months firm + 2 mth opt, June, Greenland abt 170 days from May, Sakhalin abt 170 days from May, Sakhalin
psv psv ahts psv psv ahts ahts
Source: Shipgaz Bergen, may, 2010
GBP 1,000
25 30 35 40 45 50 1
Additions. Simon Møkster Shipping, Sta-
Source: Shipgaz Bergen, may, 2010
Offshore earnings
0
operators moved to secure vessels for personnel transport to and from the oil installations. The rate level jumped to GBP 15,000– 30,000 per day, depending on type of vessel. A few days later ConocoPhillips Norway fixed Olympic Hera and Zeus for passenger transport, while Team took Maersk Tender. As also more rig moves were initiated, the backlog of vessels was instantly cleared, leaving Netherland Tide as the only vessel available in the North Sea. A week later Maersk Lifter, Island Valiant and Skandi Admiral were fixed at GBP 55,000, but the top fixture was concluded by the DOF chartering desk with TAQA on 11th May, at GBP 65,000 for Skandi Admiral, now for moving Stena Spey.
no 3 2010 Shipgaz 13
Market Review With much of the focus on China as the economic motor of recovery, development and prospects in other countries might not always get the attention they deserve.
indiAn Crude oil consumption per capita is only half of the current Chinese, around one barrel per year. This is likely to increase significantly and fast, not least as the government is prioritising infrastructure development such as road constructions, new bridges, airports and power plants.
one Country thAt sometimes is overlooked is India, a country that last year, in the middle of the world recession, increased its GDP by almost six per cent, and expects it to rise by almost nine percent this year and by around eight per cent the coming years. Compared to the other major economies in the World, India’s would be the second fastest in the years to come. According to IMF, Indian domestic demand will grow strongly as the labour market improves and investments are boosted by strong profitability, rising business confidence and good financing conditions.
Steady market for bulkers
signifiCAnt investments in refinery capacity are also in the plans, suggesting increased oil products exports.
editor-in-Chief
Rolf P Nilsson rolf@shipgaz.com
The long and winding road … shortseA dry Bulk April month started off quite positive with heavy ice in the Baltic and increased demand for sea transport in all areas. Fuel prices and commodity prices in general were on the move upwards 800 leaving hope that activity would sustain after the Easter holidays. But so was it not to700 be as the market saw an immediate dip after the holidays with sluggish demand 600 and falling rates in Baltic especially. Rates on 3,000 mt movements from St Petersburg to500 German Baltic dropped from EUR 30 p/mt to EUR 20 p/mt in a matter of weeks while MGO 400 prices soared above USD 800 p/mt having great impact on voyage costs.
remained patchy and unpredictable. Agri products, steels and forest products was dominating the Baltic spot market, but over supply of tonnage in all sized prevented the market to accelerate on the added ■ MGO ■ IFO 180 volume. seCond hAlf of April did not bring the expected boost in activity as operators had been hoping for, and most had more than enough with clearing prompt positions. 3,000 mt movements from Baltic to ARAG were covered around the EUR 13–14 p/mt level while lower than expected activity on the Continent resulted in a further drop in earnings in the mid sizes (3,000–4,000 dwt) especially. geir jerstAd Week
300
As the iCe Broke in most areas activity slowly started to pick up, but most areas 200
1
5
10
15
20
25
USD/ton 800
700
600
35
40
45
50
Source: norBroKer aS, may, 2010
Source: BunKerWorLD/norBroKer aS, may, 2010
mgo rotterdAm Cif priCes
30
eArnings estimAtes
Past 12 months. EUR/day 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500
wet And dry Bulk indiCes 1,500
400 1,000 Week 25
30
35
40
45
50 1
5
10
15
20
500
4000
3000
Week 25
30
35
40
45
50 1
5
10
15
20
End ’08
End ’09 Mid May ’10
Clean Tanker Index
839
633
Dirty Tanker Index
1252
815
1112
Baltic Dry Index
784
3023
3929
■ 1,250 DWT ■ 1,750 DWT ■ 2,500 DWT ■ 3,500 DWT ■ 6,500 DWT
720
Source: BaLTic eXchange
2,000
500
300
wet & dry April and the first half of May was a relatively good period for large bulk carrier operators, especially capesizes. After a week start, capesize rates took off. The Clarkson Average Earnings estimate stood at USD 23,489 per day on ) April. A continuous rise boosted the estimate to pass above USD 40,000 by mid-May. At the time of writing, rates have however been corrected downwards and time will tell if this is the start of a weakening market pressed by the influx of newbuildings. The Golden Week/May Day passed almost unnoticed in the Pacific for panamaxes, and the segment has overall enjoyed a period of a slow but steady increase in rates. Also handies have seen a stable, healthy development. In the trip charter market, On 14 May, Clarkson reported USD 36,000 per day for a Transatlantic round-voyage, almost double up on the average for the whole of 2009, and factors indicate that demand will continue to boost rates for a while. The period started on a positive note for VLCC owners, with Clarkson reporting an average earnings estimate at above USD 60,000 per day in the second half of April. Then it turned and some three weeks later, the corresponding sum was down to around USD 43,000. Chartering of VLCCs for storage purposes have helped to hold rates under the arms. Currently there are some 40+ VLCCs on short-term storage charters, and the around 20 per cent fall in oil prices during May, could help to boost the number as oil price speculators’ interest grows. This is important as some 18 million dwt of newbuildings are expected to join the current VLCC fleet of close to 550 vessels this year. Aframax rates took off during the first half of May. By the end of April, aframaxes trading in the North Sea had daily earnings below USD 16,000. Two weeks later, Clarksons reports average earnings at above USD 60,000. rolf p nilsson
DRYDOCK 2: 275 M × 45 M × 10 M
(UNDER CONSTRUCTION, READY 2012)
DRYDOCK 1: 195 M × 34 M × 7 M
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INCREASED CAPACITY, NEW NAME
Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 17
By Bent Mikkelsen bent@shipgaz.com
Knud Pontoppidan
Portrait
Facilitator of Danish Shipping He has been called Minister of Foreign Affairs, father of the Danish International Ship register, Denmark’s Shipping Ambassador and Lobbyist par excellence. But he prefers to be called facilitator for Danish shipping. Shipgaz has met Knud Pontoppidan, who retired officially from the A P Møller-Mærsk Group last year, but since then has taken up the position as chairman of the board of Nordic Tankers. The meeting took place in his office in Den Maritime Fond (The Maritime Foundation), where he – as chairman of the board – facilitates funds for the Danish maritime cluster. He is not the most well known person in Danish shipping and has been standing second in line most of the time, but his influence on Danish shipping in the last 30 years is legendary.
You have great achievements on your scoreboard, which is the greatest? There is no doubt that the law bill issue in the summer of 1988 was the biggest achievement in my career in Danish shipping. This law bill contained the framework for The Danish
International Register of Shipping as the best known. We – and I deliberately say we as it was the result of strong teamwork in the Danish Shipowners’ Association and the actual shipowners in the Danish shipping community – had been working for several years trying to find a way out of the shipping crisis in the middle of the 1980s. And we managed to find a political and legal pathway, where we could work and promise the political system growth and more employees in a bigger fleet under Danish flag.
»We could promise the political system growth and more employees in a bigger fleet under Danish flag« 1944 Born in Co penhagen 1962–1968 Studies in law at Copenha gen University 1969 Married to Bodil 1969–1971 Salén Rederierna, Stock holm 1971–1972 Bro ström, Göteborg
Were the negotiations tough? Not really. We chose at an early stage to be open about our needs and showed our problems to our counter-
parts. You have to remember that it was in 1985/1986, when the publicity was on a smaller scale than today and when some owners still wanted to conduct their business with the utmost discretion. However, we managed to make them play with an open hand. We also set up some task forces in order to be ready whenever the political system, both in Denmark and in Brussels, wanted more information. Whenever a question or any need for clarification came up, we arranged for a team of people to answer any question. In fact there was a small but complicated detail around the seafarer’s tax deduction that was solved in a special way in order to make it fair to all parties. The special solution was commented on by one of the MPs, Mr Bernhard Baunsgaard, with the words: This is not lobbying, this is art!
18 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Portrait Knud Pontoppidan Not at all, in fact I started in shipping by coincidence while looking for a job in Stockholm. You see, I studied law at the University of Copenhagen when I fell in love with a Swedish girl, who was studying at Lund University. When she finished her studies, she found her dream-job as assistant judge in Stockholm. I urged her to take the job. We had been living apart for some years and could continue to do so, but I followed her to Stockholm and started looking for a job. Again by coincidence Salén Rederierna was in need of people with an education, as the company had grown dramatically with 130 reefers in the fleet in the years up to 1969, when I was employed. So I became an operator of reefer vessels in the company and got quite good knowledge of carrying bananas on reefer vessels. Before my assignment with Salén Rederierna, my dream was to be part of the legal team in an association like the Danish Shipowners’ Association, handling industrial agreements and so on. Later I was employed in the Pegasus project, where a number of large container operators in Scandinavia looked into the air freight business.
The Danish Shipowners’ Association? Both my wife and I were looking for an opportunity to come to Copenhagen or nearby. So in 1973 the Danish Shipowner’s Association applied for a young lawyer to handle industrial agreements and I sent in an application. I got the job under special circumstances. The number of applicants was narrowed down to only two persons of which I was one. On the date of the final interview I was the only one to show up to have the interview with the chairman of the Danish Shipowner’s Association, Tage Wøldike Schmidt, who was also one of the Managing Directors of Østasiatisk Kompagni. When he found out that I was the only one to show up he said: Well, Mr Pontoppidan, I believe the job is yours. And then I started managing international relations like OECD and EEC. In the years to follow I was gradually promoted again and again until 1986, when I became the CEO of the Danish Shipowner’s Association.
Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
If we go back, how did you end up in shipping? Was it planned?
Knud Pontoppidan at his office in Copenhagen. I will always remember my first trip to London, accompanying shipowner Georg Andersen from Maersk Line to a meeting in one of the committees. He was used to staying in fine hotels around the world, but it was special for me to stay at the Savoy Hotel in London, where the business celebrities stayed.
»Working with Mr Mærsk McKinney Møller has always been highly interesting« 1973–1991 Danish Shipowners’ Asso ciation 1986–1991 CEO of Danish Shipown ers’ Association 1991–2009 A P Møller-Mærsk 2010 Chairman at Nordic Tankers 2010 Member of the board of World Shipping Council, Washington Chairman of Skibs fartsnævnet Chairman of Den Danske Maritime Fond
Why did you become an employee in the A P Møller-Mærsk Group? I got an offer I could not refuse. Ever since I started in Danish Shipping in 1973 I have had very close contact with Mr Mærsk McKinney Møller, so when I was offered the position to handle international relations I could not resist. And I must say that being able to work with US Congress members, members of the European Parliament and Danish politicians has been a great pleasure for me. Officially I retired from the Group last year, but I continue on an advisory basis for the coming years. Working with Mr Mærsk McKinney Møller has always been highly interesting.
Will you ever retire? I am not sure, at present I am working
around 60 per cent of a full-time job, but I am very flexible and certainly want to be with my six grandchildren. But I am very glad for my work, and in general I have been very happy with my working hours for most of my working life. I have been and still am very happy to be working with networking and connections with other people.
Yes, you have recently been appointed Chairman of Nordic Tankers? Yes, well, it’s not the first time I take up a chairmanship in a commercial business, but it’s the first time in Denmark. I am already chairman of the board of TT Club Mutual Insurance Ltd in London, a special insurance company for container carriers. I was offered the position in Nordic Tankers and found it interesting, especially with a very competent board of directors with good knowledge of shipping and finance, and with the great potential for Nordic Tankers I said yes to joining the company.
Spare time? We spend quite some time in our summerhouse on the Isle of Ingarö in the Stockholm Archipelago. Being back in Stockholm and golfing on the island’s golf course is really relaxing for me … and my family.
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20 Shipgaz No 3 2010
By Bent Mikkelsen bent@shipgaz.com
Report Torm turmoil
Photo: Torm
Shakedown at D/S Torm
Danish tanker giant Torm has been challenged by a massive loss of top management as well as pool-partners. But the situation could be a golden opportunity for the new management to make a fresh start. Dampskibsselskabet Torm has been shaken to its very foundations over the past couple of months, with the loss of the two top layers of management in the tanker department and the change of group CEO and CFO, a kind of culmination of the uncertainty dating back to September 2008 and the termination of former CEO Klaus Kjærulff’s contract upon request from Torm’s main shareholder, the Greek tycoon Gabriel Panayotides (55), also called Villy.
Panayotides controls around 52 per cent of the shares in Torm via three different companies owned by his family members and himself. “Villy always gets his will done”, is the phrase in the shipping world for the Greek tycoon’s strength and power in the day-to-day business both in Torm and in his Greek company Maryville Maritime Inc as well as in the New York listed company Excel Maritime. Maryville and Excel
control a fleet of 49 bulk carriers. Panayotides’ control over Torm and the fact that he sacked the appreciated CEO Klaus Kjærulff have been some of the factors behind most of the old leader team resigning within two months of Jacob Meldgaard’s debut as the Torm CEO.
»The loss of these companies and their tonnage does not give me any sleepless nights«
Jacob Meldgaard is not shaken Jacob Meldgaard, Torm CEO.
by the fact that he has lost the next level of leaders in his organisation. On the contrary. “The world is full of opportunities, not limits”, was one of his first comments to the brain drain in the Torm organisation. The fact that the former head of the tanker division, Anders Engholm, has resigned and taken four of his key employees with him to the newly
formed Hafnia Management will give Jacob Meldgaard an opportunity to put his own team within the Torm organisation. Mikael Skov stepped in as temporary CEO in October 2008 when it became clear that Jacob Meldgaard could not join Torm immediately after he resigned from D/S Norden, as he was tied by a competition clause and had to wait 18 months before joining Torm. When Jacob Meldgaard finally started as CEO on April 1, 2010, Mikael Skov decided to leave Torm, and so far not for any other company. “At the moment I am doing a lot of the practical things that I have been avoiding for the last couple of years”, says Mikael Skov to Shipgaz. “Right now I am having my home fitted with a new roof, which was needed.”
Shipgaz asked representatives of the Copenhagen shipping community what they think will happen to Torm now and if it will lose a lot of business
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 21
Torm turmoil
Report Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
Swedish Gotlandsbolaget decided to leave the Torm LR1 pool for the newly established Hafnia Management, taking eleven product tankers with them, among them the Gotland Carolina.
There is a strong confidence among the Copenhagen shipping community in Jacob Meldgaard’s skill in negotiating new contracts for Torm’s gigantic product carrier business. In fact Torm holds the world biggest contract for shipping CPP (Clean Petroleum Products). A lot of these contracts, which came into the hands of Torm by way of personto-person relations between Klaus Kjærulff and cargo owners, might be lost under the new circumstances after the change of management, but there is a strong belief around Copenhagen that Jacob Meldgaard will gain a lot of this business back as he is familiar with negotiation in the Far Eastern trading house from his 15 years of employment in D/S Norden.
Under his regime in Norden, the dry cargo department grew dramatically to the benefit of D/S Norden as well as Japanese trading houses, which also deal in CPP trading and shipping.
Photo: Torm
in the tanker sector. The anonymous answers from several colleagues and competitors point in a clear direction: Naturally Torm will lose some business due to the change of management on several levels, but it will most certainly not be a great loss and with Jacob Meldgaard heading Torm, new business will be gained in a relatively short time.
Since the beginning of May Torm has lost several partners in the LR1 pool of panamax product tankers. Swedish Marinvest and Gotlandsbolaget, Italian LGR and lately also Nordic Tankers have handed in their notice of resignation, leaving the LR1 pool for the new Hafnia Management with the former leader team of Torm’s tanker department. Hafnia Management will have a fleet of 12 product carriers from the Torm LR1 pool plus another 13 tankers from Lauritzen Tankers, which also joined Hafnia (which is the Latin name for Copenhagen). “The loss of these companies and their tonnage does not give me any sleepless nights”, says Jacob Meldgaard. “I wish them and their tonnage good luck in Hafnia.” Again the talk of the town is that this concerns less than a couple of per cent of the total Torm controlled fleet, and that the new player Hafnia
Klaus Kjærulff was appreciated by many when he was CEO at Torm, but had his contract terminated upon request from the main shareholder Gabriel “Villy” Panayotides.
Management could have the effect that more business will be attracted to Copenhagen. “It has been seen before in Copenhagen”, is the word among those Shipgaz asked about Torm. “When the old Armada Group was split up by Torben G Jensen and Jørgen Dannesboe in the beginning of the 1990s, both former partners each managed – at least for a decade – to grow a new business (Clipper Group and Armada Group) in the same size as their old partnership.”
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no 3 2010 Shipgaz 23
By Pierre Adolfsson pierre@shipgaz.com
Gulf of Mexico disaster
report Photo: US navy
a disaster that goes down in history The US government accuses BP for “hiding information” in the company’s response to the Mexico Gulf oil well disaster. At the same time the industry fears a new law bill that would increase pollution liabilities. The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has become a true nightmare for the US President Barack Obama and his administration.
In a furious letter to the British Pe-
The drilling rig Deepwater Horizon sinks off Louisiana. The rig had been burning for 36 hours after an explosion. Eleven persons are killed.
Ken Salazar, US Interior Secretary.
aPRIL 29
The Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, declares a state of emergency, and asks for 6,000 soldiers from the National Guard to combat the oil.
aPRIL 30
BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward says the company takes full responsibility for the spill.
the US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar openly questioned the oil company’s efforts to seal the well and said the government may consider to take control of the response and cleanup operations. “If we find they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, we’ll push them out of the way appropriately”, says Salazar according to international news agencies.
a controversial issue is the amount of oil pouring out from the leak every day. BP estimates the leak is flowing at a rate of 5,000 barrels per day, but sci-
Photo: BP
aPRIL 22
Photo: doi
troleum, BP, the US government accuses the oil company for hiding information in the aftermath of the sinking of the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon. “In responding to this oil spill, it is critical that all actions be conducted in a transparent manner, with all data and information related to the spill readily available to the United States government and the American people”, Homeland Security Secretary
Janet Napolitano and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said in the letter. The Obama administration plans to create a presidential commission to identify the causes of the spill. The government has also stated that no drilling will be allowed in new areas, as the president had recently proposed, until the cause of the Deepwater Horizon accident is known. After a meeting with BP officials,
»If we find they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, we’ll push them out«
Mr Hayward.
May 1
According to the US Coast Guard the oil spill has not affected shipping lanes that giant oil tankers and barges follow to gain access to the Mississippi River and other ports.
24 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Report Gulf of Mexico disaster Photo: US Coast Guard/Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Kelley
»I am disappointed that an effort to ensure that oil companies pay fully for disasters they cause has stalled« entists and the government have questioned that figure. Scientists analyzing videos of the oil pouring from the seabed have said the spill’s volume could be 14 times as great as the 5,000-barrela-day figure, Reuters reports. On May 20, BP officials claimed that the company is siphoning 5,000 barrels per day through the riser insertion tube tool containment that was put in the end of the leaking riser on May 16.
The Democrats in the US Senate are trying to bring forward a new bill to make oil companies bear a larger part of the cost of oil spill cleanup operations, but the Republicans refuse to let it by.
Oil hits the shore of the fragile Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast.
“I am disappointed that an effort to ensure that oil companies pay fully for disasters they cause has stalled in the United States Senate on a partisan basis”, Barack Obama said in a response. “This maneuver threatens to leave taxpayers, rather than the oil companies, on the hook for future disasters like the BP oil spill.” The International Chamber of Shipping is “very concerned” over the new bill and says it could “drastically increase pollution liabilities of ships (as well as the offshore industry), potentially making them uninsurable.” US law limits energy companies’ liability for lost business and local tax revenues from oil spills to USD 75 million. The US government has declared that they expect BP to redress all of the damage that has occurred or will occur in the future as a result of the oil spill.
May 8
BP’s attempt to place a containment dome, weighing over 100 tons, over the leaking well fails.
Photo: uS navy
May 6
Workers clean dirty oil containment boom on May 4, 2010.
Bird cleaning.
Photo: transocean
When BP had its back to the wall, the company spokesman Mark Proeg ler admitted the leakage is going beyond the estimated 5,000 barrels. “There’s still oil leaking there. We’re not saying otherwise.” BP is preparing for a top kill; shooting mud down the well to halt the spill. An attempt to place a large containment dome over one of the leakages failed, since the dome’s opening became clogged with gas hydrates — crystal structures that form when gas and water mix and are found in the low temperature and high pressure on the ocean floor. BP is using various methods to disperse the oil. However, the US Environmental Protection Agency seems to be deeply worried about some of the arrangements and on May 20 ordered the company to “identify and use a less toxic and more effective dispersant from the list of EPA authorized dispersants.”
Deepwater Horizon The drill ing rig is owned by Swiss-based Transocean Ltd. The oil company BP chartered the rig at the time for the accicent and Halliburton per formed cement ing work on the well.
May 11
“We are taking full responsibility for the spill and we will clean it up, and where people can present legitimate claims for damages we will honor them”, BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward says to Reuters.
Over 1,040 vessels are involved in the response effort, including skimmers, tugs, barges and recovery vessels. Some 1.43 million feet of containment boom is deployed and more than 8.37 million gallons of oily water is recovered so far. Heavy oil has hit Louisiana’s wetlands and oil-stained animals are being rescued and cleaned. The oil is also moving towards the coast of Florida, as the oil has been mixed with the Loop Current, which is a part of the Gulf Stream. The hurricane season is also under way, which will worsen the situation further.
Executives with BP, Transocean and Halliburton appear at congressional hearings in Washington, where Senators criticize their safety records.
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May 20
The US Environmental Protection Agency ordered BP to identify safer dispers ants that can be used to deal with the spill.
26 Shipgaz No 3 2010
By Rolf P Nilsson, rolf@shipgaz.com
Spotlight IMO
Piracy and goal based construction in focus sues such as container security, human trafficking, smuggling, organised crime and money laundering. The main result of this meeting was further pressure on the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibility and increase international efforts to combat piracy.
iMO: rolf P nilsson Rolf P Nilsson, Editor-in-Chief of Shipgaz, points the spotlight at IMO in each issue. Check this column to get the latest updates on what’s up in the IMO chambers.
back home at its headquarters irates, construction standards for future tankers and bulkers, failing release mechanisms for lifeboats, who should host the Long Range Identification and Tracking for ships (LRIT) data and safety for crews working in confined spaces were some of the topics on the agenda when IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee, MSC, convened on 12–21 May. IMO is well aware that the solution to end piracy off Somalia doesn’t lie with the UN maritime agency. IMO has therefore been very active in the efforts to lift the question higher up in the UN organisation and on its agenda.
»Piracy cannot be addressed without taking on these other crimes«
P
Efthimios E Mitropoulos related piracy to container security, human trafficking, smuggling, organised crime and money laundering.
recently, piracy for the first time became a debate topic for the UN General Assembly and at an informal meeting, the IMO secretary-general
Efthimios Mitropoulos, headed one of three debates. There seems to be a general view that a holistic approach is essential, including politics, security, peacebuilding, government stability and humanitarian needs to tackle the increased piracy activity originating in the lawless, conflict stricken and poor nation of Somalia. IMO has also stressed that piracy must not be seen in an isolated manner. “Piracy cannot be addressed without taking on these other crimes” said Efthimios Mitropoulos and related to maritime security isPHoTo: EU / LAURENT CHAMUSSY
EU Atalanta patrols strike against pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
in London, IMO however has to work with the instruments available for the organisation to improve the piracy issue. Its focus is of course set on the safety and security of the world fleet ships and seafarers. At the MSC meeting, piracy related guidelines were discussed. The work on guidelines for shipowners and crew on how to act before, during and after a pirate attack, and how to support seafarers taken hostage and their families is on going. There are expectations that the organisation will be able to approve final guidelines at the next MSC meeting later this year. There were also discussions on the need for additional guidelines on investigations and how to secure evidence to be used in court after a pirate attack. The industry and the organisations were urged to submit concrete proposals for consideration at the next MSC meeting.
The Committee also approved a draft Goal Based construction Standard, GBS. If work continues as hoped, the new rules could be included in SOLAS and enter into force by 1 July 2016, but they might have more far reaching implications for maritime safety and ship design development than its current scope that is limited to tankers and dry bulk carriers above 150 metres in length. Goal based standards is a way for authorities to set up the objectives for a safe ship design, while letting the industry work out the best ways to reach them. According to many, this will boost development and innovation, in contrast to the existing SOLAS requirements, that by its detail-focused criteria for ship design
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 27
IMO
and equipment have a limiting effect on new ideas. GBS has been discussed for several years, and one of the most complex problems to solve has been the issue of intellectual property rights. This might be solved if IMO can agree on a new way of distributing information. Manufacturers are reluctant to share sensitive and detailed knowledge of solutions that they have developed and that are important from a business view. The thought now is to restrict the information needed to be filed on board and in the shipowner’s office and to create an archive centre to house data that the manufacturer considers too sensitive and to which access is restricted. If GBS for large tankers and bulk carriers is successfully implemented, this could lead to the concept being introduced to other ship types and sizes and to other parts of the SOLAS convention.
Long-range identification and tracking of ships, LRIT, was also up to discussion at the meeting, and especially the question of where to house the data. Currently the central server
»The existing SOLAS requirements have a limiting effect on new ideas by its detail-focused criteria for ship design and equipment « is temporarily placed in the USA, but the European Maritime Safety Agency has offered to take over the responsibility for the International Data Exchange permanently. The meeting was in favour of this, with the support of the USA.
On-load release mechanisms for lifesaving appliances were also on the agenda. New requirements had been prepared before the meeting, but they were met by critique from several directions concerning the test standards. The issue was sent to a working group under the DE sub-Committee and its findings will be on the agenda of the next MSC meeting for decision. Failing on-load release mechanisms during lifeboat drills have been the cause of several accidents with fatal outcome. As it
Goal based regulation Goal-based regulation, as apposed to prescriptive regulation, does not specify the means of achieving compliance but sets goals that allow alternative ways of achieving compliance.
Spotlight
has been on the committee’s table for several years, the lack of concrete action has become an embarrassment for the MSC. This is recognised also by those parties that refused to accept the presented test standards, but they argue that this is a complex matter and when tests are introduced, it must be made right from the beginning.
Another topic on the agenda concerned safety for seafarers when working in confined spaces. The need of training and education for crews in this matter was discussed, but remitted to the relevant sub-committees before MSC will take a definite decision. The Committee however decided, on Danish initiative, that requirements for portable gas- and oxygen measuring equipment should be mandatory for all vessels, irrespective of year-of-build. Other topics discussed at the meeting were corrosion protection of cargo oil tanks, installation of fixed hydrocarbon gas detection systems in ballast tanks and void spaces, fire alarm and detection systems in enclosed spaces containing incinerators.
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Winding road to recovery ”We asked for cash – not ash!” – ”What’s the capital of Iceland? Well, about 25 euro.” Since the nation’s banking sector collapsed in 2008, Iceland has been laughed at, ridiculed and terrorist-marked by people in Europe, but this small nation might have passed the downturn and the long-term prospective are favourable. TEXT: ROLF P NILSSON PHOTOS: JÖRGEN SPRÅNG
With around 320,000 citizens, not more than the population of a borough bordering to any major city in Europe, Iceland has had a rough ride trough the recession. lmost at the same time as the volcano Eyjafjallajökull started to distribute its ashes over Europe, a special investigation commission handed over its report on what happened to the nation’s financial sector in autumn 2008 to the Parliament, Althingi. The report is fascinating reading and tells a story of what can happen in a small nation where generally speaking almost everyone knows or has some kind of relation to each other, when control systems fail and when megalomania and hubris sets in. In the early 2000s, Iceland decided to set its banks free. This became the starting point of an economic wonder that stunned a whole world. How was this possible? Some years later, the answer came – it wasn’t.
A
The story is about a money merry-go-round in major banks where the biggest borrowers also were the biggest owners of the banks, a financial supervising agency with no chance or resources to follow the unprecedented growth of the banking sector and a laid-back, lax or incompetent government. When the bubble burst, Iceland found itself in a free-fall situation with a banking sector having debts several times larger than the country’s entire gross domestic product, the latter slumping by some 6.5 per cent in 2009. It also had to face international anger, especially from UK and Holland, where many people saw their savings in the internet bank Icesave vanish. The GDP fall was however somewhat less than feared, and by the end of the year there were signs indicating light at the end of the tunnel. Today, things seem to have turned, thanks to the support of IMF and the Nordic countries. Recently, Moody’s changed its outlook on Iceland’s ratings back to stable from negative. The national currency, the Króna, appreciates, interest rates decline, private consumption is growing stronger than expected and recovery is forecasted by the new government in the third quarter this year. Being a nation built on fishing, the country has a vast number of shipowners, but few are engaged in maritime transport.
Iceland has been ranked first of 163 nations on the Environmental Performance Index, EPI. More than 85 per cent of all houses on Iceland are heated with geothermal energy.
About one fifth of Iceland’s primary energy supply comes from fossil fuels, mainly oil, and this has to be imported. Iceland has a long-term national goal of using 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050.
One of Samskip’s container carriers, the 900-TEU Arnarfell, is one of the vessels connecting Iceland and Northwest Europe.
Established in 1914, Eimskip is Iceland’s oldest liner operator.
Cold and containers. Fish and fish products are still of immense importance for the Icelandic economy and for the activities of the country’s shipping industry.
»The turmoil is far from over. Investigations are running to determine if there were criminal actions involved in the financial drama, and the taxman is looking into the dealings« The crisis has of course affected Iclandic shipping, dominated by two players, Eimskip and Samskip. Both companies expanded rapidly during the golden years of the Icelandic banking saga, but 2009 became a year of restructuring, changes in ownership and slimming of their organisations to secure core activities. HF Eimskipafélag Íslands or Eimskip was established in 1914 and quickly nicknamed “the nation’s most wanted child”, as Iceland at that time had around 80,000 inhabitants, a GDP that was half of Denmark’s but with a growing economy and a desire to break its isolation.
95 years later, in 2009, the company had to announce a EUR 645 million loss for the previous fiscal year and a substantial restructuring process, including disvestments of its cold storage operations in North America and in Europe, and the sale of its Finnish subsidiary Containerships. Actions taken were successful and in 2009, things turned. With a new ownership setup, the company could announce a pre-tax gain of EUR 1.9 million for the first quarter of 2010. Today, the company operates 16 vessels on four routes connecting Iceland with North America and Iceland and Faroese Island with Denmark. The other liner operator Samskip was founded in 1990, but its roots date back to 1943. The company has grown rapidly, not least in the first half of the 2000s. In 2005, Samskip bought Geest North Sea Line, Seawheel and a number of other activities. Today, after having announced that it has signed an agreement with its main creditors on a financial reorganisation, the company runs a fleet of container carriers, multi-purpose vessels, reefers and one passenger/cargo vessel, all in all 25 vessels, engaged in three business areas. Samskip operates a multi-modal transport network in Europe and Russia, a liner service connecting Iceland and Faroese Islands with several destinations In North West Europe and the company is also a reefer logistic specialist, working globally. The turmoil is far from over. Investigations are running to determine if there were criminal actions involved in the financial drama, and the taxman is looking into the dealings of several entrepreneurs, some connected to shipping. The long-term prospects for Iceland are however positive. It’s a nation with vast hydroelectric and geothermal energy resources that have made production of aluminium and alloys about as important for the nation’s exports as fish and fish products. Tourism is growing, people are well educated and the country has a strategic position, not least as the interest in Arctic shipping is growing. Earlier this year, Iceland was also ranked first out of 163 evaluated nations of the World in the Environmental Performance Index, EPI, created by experts at US Yale and Colombia University.
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36 Shipgaz No 3 2010
By Bent Mikkelsen bent@shipgaz.com
Report New Skagerrak service
Photo: fjord line
Fjord Cat – a speedy predator
The conflict with Port of Kristiansand is over, Fjord Line can now focus on business. Recently the fastest ferry connection in Skagerrak was launched. At the end of April, Fjord Line started sailing between Kristiansand and Hirtshals with the fast ferry Fjord Cat after two years’ absence because of a dispute with Port of Kristiansand, which demanded a whole-year service with the HSC. Fjord Line will only guarantee a summer service. Shipgaz participated in the first official sailing with the Fjord Cat and talked to some of the crewmembers.
The Fjord Cat, which holds the Atlantic Blue Ribbon for the fastest sailing between New York and Southampton, done in 1996, is the tool that Fjord Line is using for their service from Kristiansand to Hirtshals. In fact, the Fjord Cat is the fastest unit in the Skagerrak with a service speed of 30 knots and a crossing time of two hours and fifteen minutes. “We are the fastest unit in the traffic lane, and even if our colleagues Color Line call their ferries Super-
speed, we are still the fastest in these waters”, explains Captain Jan Richter. He is an experienced HSC sailor with several years of service on this particular type of ship. “We have been training for this day for several months now, and I think we managed to get a good start for Fjord Line Express. There is a strong need for this type of sailing and we have great faith in this summer service”, says Jan Richter.
»There is a strong need for this type of sailing and we have great faith in this summer service«
Captain Jan Richter has been working on HSC ferries for several years.
The Fjord Cat will sail from Kristiansand, which will be its homeport, although the ship has Hirtshals as port of registry. “The ferry sails from Kristiansand in the morning in order to serve the Norwegian customers leaving for an
early start on the continent, which starts at Hirtshals port”, says Gert Balling, CEO of Fjord Line Denmark. This fact gives a special kind of challenge for the crew as well as the company. By having Kristiansand as homeport, overnight accommodation has to be provided for the crew. The Fjord Cat offers absolutely no accommodation on board, so it has to be organised ashore.
“At the moment we are accommodated in former military barracks in Kristiansand”, says Chief Mate Claus Persson. “It works quite well at the moment. After the last sailing we turn over the ferry to our night team and the rest of us leave for our accommodation for relaxation and sleep until the next morning, when we start again. We work a 14-day schedule and have 14 days off before signing on again.”
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 37
New Skagerrak service
Report Photo: bent mikkelsen
The night team is a special arrangement used in the maintenance of fast ferries. The diesel driven Fjord Cat has restrictions on how long each person in the engine crew may stay in the engine room, because of the noise and vibration level. So as a consequence of these regulations, a lot of the maintenance tasks will be given to the night crew to take care of when the engine room is silent.
“We do a number of tasks during our night shifts”, explains Jonas Jensen, who on the first day has the job as night engineer on board. “We sleep in the daytime and arrive at the end of the last sailing each day ready for this night duty. Often there is a list of work items from the day crew, but otherwise we have normal routine work like checking oil levels in engines, gearboxes, waters jets etc.” The Fjord Cat has a mixed crew, lot of the service crew in the catering because of a special way of organising department are Norwegians. the various services on board. All told, The Swedish crew comes from three different nationalities are repthe sales department for tax-free resented on board the ferry: Norweitems, because the tax-free sales are gian, Danish and Swedish. The crew 1 2010-05-11 13.03 to the Swedish company for sailingStenaBulk_Shipgaz_184x118mm.pdf the ferry is Danish, while a outsourced
The bridge crew on board the HSC Fjord Cat. The ferry entered the new service in April.
Inflight, which also has the contract for tax-free sales at the Copenhagen Airport. Most of the catering is outsourced to a Norwegian provider and done ashore in Kristiansand and delivered on board shortly before each sailing from Norway.*
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38 Shipgaz No 3 2010
By By Pierre Adolfsson pierre@shipgaz.com
Report Illegal oil discharges
Photo: the swedish coast guard
combat against Baltic Sea polluters pays off The number of observed illegal oil discharges in the Baltic Sea is going down, substantially. And less oil spills go undetected. The newly published annual report from the Helsinki Commission, Helcom, shows that the number and size of deliberate and illegal oil discharges from ships in the Baltic Sea continues to decrease. The observed discharges went down 25 per cent in 2009, compared to 2007. And when going back a decade, the trend is even clearer – discharges have been cut by over 60 per cent, according to Helcom member states’ statistics.
Thomas Fagö, chairman of the Helcom Response Committee 1999– 2009 and head of the Swedish Coast Guard’s Rescue Service 1989–2009, has closely monitored the development over the years. “Six years ago the Swedish Govern-
ment set a target for the Swedish Coast Guard, the illegal discharges should be negligible for the environment until 2010.” “I believe we have fulfilled our assignment. Less than 30 cubic metres of oil discharges were detected in Swedish waters last year. In the 1990s one spill alone could contain 100 cubic metres of oil”, says Thomas Fagö. Helcom’s member states track oil spills via national aerial surveillance and the satellite system CleanSeaNet. “We are detecting nearly every single illegal discharge, even the smallest ones. Satellite information
»The satellite detects the difference between a noninfluenced and an influenced surface«
Thomas Fagö, Senior Advisor at the Swedish Coast Guard.
and AIS-information is coordinated to track the source of the spill, and we are able to put the clock back for several days. Shipowners and crews are aware of this.”
“The number of unrecorded cases is much smaller today. During the 1990s we estimated that the hidden statistics were nearly as large as the illegal discharges we actually observed.” The CleanSeaNet satellite surveillance service is provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency, EMSA. “The satellite system detects the difference between a non-influenced and an influenced surface. Oil makes the water surface still. When the satellite sends out short pulses the
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 39
Illegal oil discharges
Report Photo: the swedish coast guard
»One of the Baltic States still operates an old sport plane lacking remote sensing equipment« pulses will not bounce back to the sensor if they hit an area with still water, where there are no small capillary waves.” When the satellite system tracks an influenced area, the information is forwarded to the Coast Guard concerned.
“We examine the satellite infor-
Clean-up operation after the sinking of Fu Shan Hai. The vessel sank north of Bornholm in May 2003.
“Most of our member states use high-technological equipment. The crews don’t need to rely on their naked eye, except for one of the Baltic States that still operates an old sport plane lacking remote sensing equipment”, says Thomas Fagö without identifying the specific country. Sweden harbours one of the most modern air patrol fleets, consisting of three Dash 8 Q-300 surveillance aircraft, among other things. “Until the end of the 1990s we reported all observed oil spills to the Swedish authorities, but few actions were taken judicially. But today there is legislation in force, the Coast Guard reports every punishable oil spill to a special prosecutor on duty. We no longer need to bring the cases to the police.” “The legal framework has been strengthened in every country con-
Photo: the swedish coast guard
mation. In many cases the influenced area consists of algae. But if the area consists of a long and thin streak it’s most probably an oil spill. If we do suspect an oil spill we fly over the scene and make contact with the suspected polluter.” The Helcom states endeavour to fly – as a minimum – twice per week over regular traffic zones including approaches to major sea ports as well as regions with regular offshore activities, and once per week over the regions with sporadic traffic and fishing activities. The air patrols are equipped, in most cases, with side looking airborne radar, infrared cameras and ultraviolet scanners.
A Casa C-212 aircraft (left) and a Dash 8 Q-300 aircraft. cerned and we have also increased the cooperation between the national public prosecution offices. As an international organization Helcom obviously strives towards equivalent penalties. However, we are not there yet as the penalties imposed differ from country to country. But I would say that the penalties in place are sufficient enough to deter crimes, irrespective of national waters.”
When a ship pollutes the water by illegal oil discharges, there are three different penalties to be imposed. The one who ordered the discharge, for example the technical chief or the master, risks a fine proportional to their daily income. The water pollution charge falls upon the shipping company and the
»Today there is legislation in force, the Coast Guard reports every punishable oil spill to a special prosecutor on duty« Helcom Helcom works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution through intergovernmental cooperation.
owner may also have to pay for the clean up operation. In Sweden the water pollution charge is based on a basic amount of SEK 40,000 (EUR 4,160), and depending on the size of the oil discharge a convicted owner risks one to a hundred basic amounts. In serious cases the owner theoretically risks a SEK 4,000,000 (EUR 416,000) pollution charge. Of 5,046 Helcom flight hours last year, Sweden alone recorded 2,758 hours.
40 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Report Illegal oil discharges Photo: magnus hägg
»The legal framework has been strengthened in every country concerned« “The figure might raise some eyebrows, but do not forget that Sweden has responsibility for 40 per cent of the waters and possesses the longest coast line by far. Sweden initiated aerial surveillance back in the 1970s and was one of the first countries to use high-technological equipment for this purpose.”
98 per cent of the oil discharges
The black object is a 360 degrees radar for search missions. The blue pipe is a SLAR (Side-Looking Airborne Radar). The aircraft belongs to the Swedish Coast Guard.
detected in 2009 were smaller than one cubic metre and of these oil spills as many as 138 were even smaller than 0.1 cubic metre or 100 liters. Only one spill was over ten cubic metres and the total estimated volume of oil spills observed in 2009 amounted to 40.3 cubic metres. “The problems of large oil discharges are more or less insignificant as
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barely any oil tanker cleans its tanks at sea anymore. Before, up to 100 cubic metres of oil waste could be discharged into the sea from one single tanker. The oil waste from ships is nowadays included in the port fees, there is no need for a ship to commit crime while en route.” In recent years several shipping
companies have been imposed heavy fines by US courts for illegal discharges of oil-contaminated waste directly into the ocean.
In many cases bilge waste has been pumped directly overboard via a so-called magic pipe to bypass the vessel’s pollution prevention equipment.
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No 3 2010 Shipgaz 41
Illegal oil discharges
Report Photo: magnus hägg
»When using a system bypassing the separator the problem is avoided and you save money and time« Thomas Fagö is not unfamiliar with magic pipes. “Ships are urged to use separators when discharging oily water into the sea. The separator is programmed to not let by more than 15 ppm oil, or it should automatically stop.” “When using a system bypassing the separator the problem is avoided and you save money and time. At port state controls inspectors regularly check the regulator systems, inspectors are also looking for bypass installations.” According to Thomas Fagö there are mainly two reasons behind today’s illegal discharges – sludge (residues from bunker oil) and waste from engine room cleaning.
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Camera equipment on the Swedish Dash 8 Q-300 aircraft. The equipment contains three different cameras.
178 deliberate oil spills in 2009 The Helcom member states detected 178 illicit oil spills during a total of 5,046 hours of surveillance flights in 2009. This compares to 210 discharges during a total of 4,603 air patrol hours in 2008, and 238 discharges observed during 3,969 air patrol hours in 2007. A decade ago in 1999 a total of 488 discharg-
es were detected during 4,883 air patrol hours. Most of the illegal oil discharges detected during 2009 were along major shipping routes. Deliberate oil discharges from ships have been regularly observed during surveillance flights over the Baltic Sea since 1988.
*
Source: Helcom
42 Shipgaz No 3 2010
By Bent Mikkelsen bent@shipgaz.com
Report Reluctant reflagging
Photo: Bent mikkelsen
An invoice was the last straw
The coaster Faxborg abandoned the Danish flag due to an invoice from Bureau Veritas – the ship is now registered in Africa. At the beginning of April, Captain Hans Poulsen on the coaster Faxborg took a major decision and changed from Danish flag to the flag of the African state of Togo. The decision was taken in anger with high fees and expenses on the invoice from the classification society Bureau Veritas. In order to cut exorbitantly high costs, Hans Poulsen tried to sail with safety certificates from the Danish Maritime Authorities and without any classification, but it was not allowed.
He also tried other classification societies, but was rejected because of the ship’s age (42 years) and the fact that the other major societies had about the same prices for their services.
“I am certainly not proud of my new national flag”, says Hans Poulsen, when Shipgaz visited the Faxborg alongside in Aalborg. “But things are so tough for coasters that I have to look at all possible costs concerning the ship.”
»I chose Togo because it doesn’t have a bad reputation like Belize and Cook Islands« Captain Hans Poulsen on the coaster Faxborg.
“When Bureau Veritas sent an invoice for nearly DKK 50,000 (approx EUR 6,700) for a special survey carried out at Marstal at the beginning of April, I blew up. The travel time for two persons going from the regional office in Fredericia to Marstal
on the isle of Ærø had a cost of DKK 18,572.40, which was added to the actual cost of the survey, DKK 29,546. And that wasn’t enough. The surveyor travelling to Marstal had personal expenses of DKK 2,606.40, which were also added to the invoice.”
When the Bureau Veritas invoice landed at the Baltic Shipping Company in Charlottenlund, which is the Faxborg’s and Hans Poulsen’s administrative office as well as commercial office, the captain tried to negotiate the sum on the invoice with Bureau Veritas. It was not possible as it was done according to the price list for these services. Then Hans Poulsen started to find alternatives to the high cost of
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 43
Reluctant reflagging
Report Photo: Bent mikkelsen
Photo: Bent mikkelsen
The Faxborg was delivered from Frederikshavn Værft & Tørdok back in February 1968 and is now 42 years old. Photo: Bent mikkelsen
Photo: Bent mikkelsen
The Faxborg was reflagged at the beginning of April and nowadays belongs to the international ship register of Togo. the necessary services. He contacted Det Norske Veritas (DNV), where the vessel previously had been classed, but was rejected because of the age of the vessel. The Faxborg was delivered from Frederikshavn Værft & Tørdok back in February 1968 and is now 42 years old.
He also tried to run the ship without classification under the Danish flag with Danish Maritime Authorities (DMA) to issue safety certificates, but without luck. DMA outsourced classification of commercial vessels several years ago to the private societies like Bureau Veritas and others. Hans Poulsen and his advisors found a new way by using the Greek
»The change of flags does not affect the safety and maintenance standard on board« based International Naval Surveys Bureau (INSB). By using this classification he had to change to another flag as INSB is not recognized by DMA. INSB class is accepted by Belize in Central America, Togo in Africa and Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. “I chose Togo because it doesn’t have a bad reputation like Belize and Cook Islands”, says Hans Poulsen. “The change of flags does not affect the safety and maintenance standard on board the Faxborg at all. I intend
togo flag 99 ships currently fly the Togo flag, according to Sea-Web. The largest ship in the register is on 27,000 dwt and the newest ship was built in 1991.
to keep the vessel as shipshape as possible and on this particular day there is nothing that would lead to any remarks in a Port State Control.”
The registration and the in-flagging survey to the Togo Ships Register had a much different price that of Bureau Veritas. The special inspection before flagging in was priced at three days each costing SEK 5,000 (approx EUR 500) and travelling expenses for the Swedish surveyor from Scandinavian Maritime Services AB travelling from Valdemarsvik to Svendborg were SEK 950. The grand total for the change of flags to the Togo register was SEK 25,075 (approx EUR 2,600) or less than
44 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Report Reluctant reflagging Photo: Bent mikkelsen
»Being sharp on the expenses is an essential part of running a ship like this« half the price of a Bureau Veritas special survey. “A survey at half the price of what I have already paid is something that is very interesting in a business like the Faxborg.” “A 1,100 dwt coaster only has a certain amount of potential on the income side, so being sharp on the expenses is an essential part of running a ship like this, otherwise I will have to give up and stop sailing”, says Hans Poulsen.
Hans Poulsen purchased the “I am certainly not proud of my new national flag”, says Hans Poulsen.
Coast, Miquelon, Prince of Gotland and Lone Baand. “The first years were economically all right, but 2009 showed a deficit of around DKK 300,000 for the first time in years.”
“This fact in combination with a very slow start to 2010, with ice in the Baltic area and low activity in the industry, has sharpened our senses in order to stay in business for the future”, says Hans Poulsen.
*
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Faxborg in February 2008 after the sale to Chile of a smaller (and one year older) coaster with the same name. Originally the ship was built as the Merc Jytte for the Mercandia Group and since delivery in February 1968 it has sailed as the Jytte Bewa, Karelli
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No 3 2010 Shipgaz 49
By Madli Vitismann, madli@shipgaz.com
Muhumaa
Newcomer Photo: Madli Vitismann
First Estonian archipelago ferry When Muhumaa began trading on the Rohuküla–Heltermaa route in March 2010, a new generation of Estonian ferries was introduced. The Muhumaa is the first of the three double ended ferries that the Saaremaa Shipping Company ordered from the joint enterprise of Estonia’s BLRT Grupp and Norway’s Fiskerstrand Verft. According to Tõnis Rihvk, Executive Director of the shipping company, contrasting characteristics were required: low draught and high ice class while retaining maximum carrying capacity.
The new ferry was to meet the requirements of both of the company’s routes, which are quite different. While the priorities of the relatively short Saaremaa route are large carrying capacity and rapid loading and unloading, the longer and more complicated Hiiumaa route needs small draught and good manoeuvrability to negotiate the narrow channels. Ice class is required on both routes.The design is based upon
the somewhat smaller Sylt Express, sailing on a short route between Denmark and Germany, as she was also designed by Multi Maritime and built by Fiskerstrand.
»Every day we discover something new about the vessel«
The steel hull and aluminium The Muhumaa is currently sailing on the Rohuküla–Heltermaa route, but when the Hiiumaa is launched she will be transferred to the Virtsu–Kuivastu route.
superstructure of the Muhumaa was built at the Western Shipbuilding Yard in Klaipeda, Lithuania, whereafter the construction work continued in Norway. Captain Andrus Saat is very pleased with the vessel, but stresses that even the tiniest observations and proposals are immediately communicated to the shipyard. This ensures that the Saaremaa, which is due for completion shortly, and the third sister Hiiumaa will be even better.
“During our first month on the Hiiumaa route not a single car has been left behind on the quay – not even on Good Friday, which was our peak day”, he said. “But we still don’t know the ferry’s limits about how strong winds will prevent her from leaving port. My previous ship, the Scania, had a very clear limit: the wind couldn’t be more than 13 m/s from a particular direction. Every day we discover something new about the Muhumaa: how she behaves in different weather and with different cargo.”
The Muhumaa, with her open decks fore and aft, should not require snow removal as the thruster rooms below produce sufficient heat to melt it. The 5 metres of free height on the upper car deck is sufficient for practically any vehicle, while the lower deck with a height of 2.4 metres is designed for passenger cars only.
50 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Newcomer Muhumaa Photo: Madli Vitismann
The Captain Andrus Saat stresses that even the tiniest observations and proposals are immediately communicated to the shipyard. While moored to the shore ramp, the thrusters are used to gently push the ship against the pier. This method is quick, and new shore ramps compensate for fluctuations in the water level between -60 and +80 cm. Captain Saat is satisfied with the manoeuvrability of the vessel, which is essential in the narrow channels of the Hiiumaa route. The Rukkirahu channel, which is one nautical mile long, is only 60 metres wide – less than the length of the ship – so there is very little room for errors. The same goes for the three-milelong Heltermaa channel, which is 70 metres wide with a limestone bed, and where the vessel needs to execute a sharp turn before entering the port.
Four Wärtsilä engines produce electrical power for the thrusters and switch on automatically in a preprogrammed sequence when there is insufficient power. There is no engineer on watch in the automated engine room, but the operations of the machinery are monitored from the bridge’s computer. During the warranty period it can even be monitored and adjusted over the internet from the shipyard in Norway. Powered by Rolls Royce Contaz thrusters, the Muhumaa can move through up to 80 cm ice. On the
Saaremaa Shipping Company Founded in 1992. Transported cargo on three vessels of riversea type. Has carried passengers between the Estonian mainland and its largest islands since 1994. Initially operated ferries of the Soviet ”laid” series and since 1997 second hand ferries from the routes between Denmark and Sweden.
bridge the officer on watch simply turns the chair around when the ship changes direction. There is a SAM Electronics radar, Seamap electronic charts and Saab DGPS. There is even a sound sensor to ascertain the direction of another ship’s fog signal. Almost no engine noise reaches the bridge, from which the engines are operated via a Høglund computer system.
The officer on watch berths the vessel alone, aided by a monitor displaying feeds from up to four cameras simultaneously. The shore ramp is remote controlled from the ship by the boatswain. Access roads have been rebuilt in the ferry ports and ticket-selling and checking machines have been installed.
To improve the ship’s manoeuvrability, the Muhumaa’s superstructure was designed with as small a sail area as possible. It accommodates the passenger spaces such as a bistro, a shop, a bar, and a lounge and also other spaces as galley.
True, when the capacity of the ferry is fully utilized there are not enough seats for everyone, and the children’s play corner is of modest size, but the only disgruntled customers are Hiiumaa’s dogs, who are not allowed into the lounge. One inquisitive Hiiumaa goat seemed satisfied with the new ferry, however – and by the time this story is released, the sister ship Saaremaa has entered service on the Saaremaa route.
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A man with a goat On the island Hiiumaa there is a man with a goat who traditionally inspects new ships. The pair was also waiting when the Muhumaa first arrived. This custom dates back to a time when the captain of a departing steamboat saw a man with a goat running down the hill towards the port. The ship turned back and the captain beckoned the man on board,
but the man replied: “I don’t want to go anywhere – I just wanted to show the iron ship to my goat!” A photograph of that steamboat, the Progress II, owned by Hiiumaa’s Count Ungern-Sternberg from 1895 to 1916, hangs on the wall in the bar on the Muhumaa. The goat that inspected the new ferry seemed very satisfied with her.
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No 3 2010 Shipgaz 51
Muhumaa
Newcomer Photo: Madli Vitismann
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4
1. Discharging cars in Heltermaa. 2. Three generations of ferries in Rohuküla: Harilaid, Ofelia and Reet seen from the Muhumaa. 3. The engine room. 4. The bar with large panorama windows.
Muhumaa Type ..................................... Car Passenger Ferry Built by .. Fiskerstrand Verft BLRT AS Norway Design . ................. Multi Maritime AS Norway Newbuilding No ............................................... 63 Owner ............... Saaremaa Shipping Company Flag .............................................................. Estonia Class ..... +1A1, R3, ICE-1A Car Ferry A, EO, EU Class C IMO No .................................................. 9474060 Port of Registry . .......................... Roomassaare
Delivery date .............................. March 8, 2010 Length o a ................................................ 97.84 m Breadth . ................................................... 18.00 m Depth, moulded main ship ................... 5.70 m Draught, moulded midship ................. 4.00 m GT . .................................................................. 5,233 NT ................................................................... 1,849 Machinery ................................... Diesel-Electric Main Engines ................. Wärtsilä 8L20 Clean, Wärtsilä 6L20 Clean
Output (MCR) ..... 2 x 1600 kW, 2 x 1200 kW Propulsion ....... Rolls Royce Contaz 25 ICE 1A Output ............................................. 2 x 2200 kW Max speed ............................................... 16 knots Ice Class .............................................................. 1A Passengers ...................................................... 690 Cargo capacity, lane meters ..................... 800 Cars .................................................................... 150 Crew ..................................................................... 18
Photo: Madli Vitismann
3
Photo: Madli Vitismann
Photo: Madli Vitismann
2
Åland’s lifeline
Thanks to a well developed network of ferry connections the sparsely populated areas in the Åland archipelago are totally integrated in the transport infrastructure of Åland. The government owned ferries form a lifeline for the archipelago, preventing depopulation and even enabling the establishment of a small-scale industry. Text & photo: Pär-Henrik Sjöström
The 8,300 square kilometre area between the Åland Sea and mainland Finland is called the Archipelago Sea (Skärgårdshavet in Swedish and Saaristomeri in Finnish) – a descriptive name that really hits the spot. This unique environment is cluttered with some 40,000 small island and skerries, counting for some 2,000 square kilometres of the total area. t is said that the Archipelago Sea is the largest archipelago in the world when it comes to the number of islands. True or not, the Archipelago Sea is anyway one of the largest archipelagos in the world, and certainly also one of the most fascinating. Here we find all kind of sea environment – from large, forest covered islands to small cliffs with barely any vegetation at all. On these small spots of solid ground the seabirds rule – hundreds of seagulls and ducks compete about a place to build a simple nest, lay their eggs and ensure the continued existence of their species.
I
In fact the Archipelago Sea consists of two main areas. In the west there is Åland and its archipelago and in the east the Åboland archipelago. They are separated by a water called Skiftet. From the deck of a large car and passenger ferry, sailing between Finland and Sweden via Åland, you don’t actually feel that you are out at sea at all for most of the time. Both on the Swedish side and in the Archipelago Sea there is always land in sight – sometimes so close that you can almost count every stone on the shore. However, the large ferries disturb the real proportions due to their height. If you are in a boat, close to the sea level, the Archipelago Sea is mighty and deserves all respect. The small spots of water turn into vast seas, where the islands suddenly retreat far away to the horizon. On the larger open waters there will be a swell already in moderate wind conditions. The Archipelago Sea may turn into a dangerous opponent if you are not familiar with the local conditions. Åland The area called the Åland islands consists of more than 6,700 islands and skerries, of which only 65 are inhabited. The population of this autonomous region of Finland is about 27,500, of which some 90 per cent live on the largest island, mainland Åland.
The barren nature of Kökar is fascinating. There is not much soil, but even in the smallest clefts some vegetation have found enough to take root.
Skiftet is the name of the water dividing the Åland and Åboland archipelago. It is also the name of a ferry.
Hamnö of Kökar with St Anne Church from 1784.
The car decks of the Ă…land inter-island ferries are highly utilized year-round as the local small industry generates an extensive cargo traffic.
»The idea is that the tourists should stay for a while in the archipelago and spend some money before they continue« Reality has always been harsh in the outer archipelago, where the Baltic Sea meets the first cliffs of solid granite. For centuries the sea has taken its toll among the local inhabitants. Experienced fishermen have been lost without a trace in the storms in the dark evenings of the autumn. Many merchant vessels have ran aground and been broken apart in the large waves, pounding against the rocky shore. These shipwrecks have usually resulted in heavy loss of life. In our days most of the cargo and passenger transports in the Archipelago Sea are operated with purpose built inter-island ferries. The most extensive network of ferry connections is found in the Åland archipelago. It is operated by the Traffic Department (Trafikavdelningen) of the local government (Ålands landskapsregering), consisting of two main routes in westerneastern direction, an additional crossing route and a separate route connecting Föglö with mainland Åland. In addition to these main routes there are connecting routes to smaller islands in some of the places where the ferries call. The basic idea is to connect as many islands as possible with a limited number of ferries and sailings. “When we talk about the archipelago we mean the islands in the eastern part of Åland. The purpose with our traffic is to ensure transports from and to these islands”, explains Bo Karlsson, who is in charge of the ferry traffic unit at the local government of Åland. The services are intended primarily for the inhabitants and the small scale industry in the archipelago. The most important industry nowadays is fish breeding, with most of its plants in Föglö, Brändö and Kumlinge. The products are regularly shipped with trucks both to the mainland Åland and Finland. In addition to that the mild climate is also ideal for green house growing. Secondarily the services are intended for tourists and owners of summer homes in the archipelago. Tourism is an important branch of business for Åland as a whole, and especially for the archipelago. Cottage and holiday villages attract visitors from far away and off season the archipelago is an Eldorado for anglers. Bo Karlsson stresses that the ferry services are not an alternative to the commercial ferry routes between mainland Finland, Åland and Sweden. “It is not even possible to make a reservation for a car from
Large volumes The ferries of Åland’s local government (Ålands landskapsregering) annually carry between 550,000 and 600,000 passengers. In addition to that they carry close to 300,000 vehicles. The busiest route with the largest passenger volumes is the short crossing between Svinö and Degerby. The demand for capacity on each sailing is largest on the long route between Hummelvik and Torsholma.
The Skiftet is arriving at Kรถkar and the bow visor is opened. The car deck of the ferry is closed only aft of the superstructure.
The ferry pier at Kökar. During the short visit several cars are loaded for Långnäs on mainland Åland.
The largest volumes of cars and passengers are carried on the Föglö route. Here cars are waiting to drive aboard in Degerby.
After her morning departure from Galtby the Skiftet is meeting the ro-pax ferry Finnsailor.
Föglö’s largest village Degerby seen from the deck of the new Åland inter-island ferry Skarven.
one endpoint to another on our routes between mainland Åland and mainland Finland. If someone still would choose to do so, the pricing does not make us competitive with the commercial ferry companies. Our purpose is not to steal customers from them, as our traffic is financed by tax revenue.” Bookings from Finland to Åland are however possible at a much lower price, if the voyage includes an overnight stop on some of the islands called en route. “The idea is that the tourists should stay for a while in the archipelago and spend some money before they continue.”
The southern route is the longest one, with a total crossing time of some five hours. It starts from the ferry port Långnäs in the eastern part of mainland Åland. The destination for some of the sailings is Kökar in the Åland archipelago, while the ferries on some sailings continue to Galtby on the Korpo island in the Åboland archipelago. About fifty years ago Galtby was an international car ferry port, as it was Viking Line’s first port of call in Finland when their service started in summer 1959. In addition to the Åland ferry connection, today this former international ferry port serves as the base for the road ferry links to the islands of Houtskär and Norrskata. The Åland ferries on the southern route provide the lifeline for the 250 inhabitants of the municipality of Kökar. This is the southernmost municipality of Finland, facing the open Baltic Sea. The voyage from Galtby to Kökar takes a little bit less than two and a half hours. This leg of the voyage goes across Skiftet, the larger sea area forming the border between the Åboland and Åland archipelagos. An early bird may have a cup of tea or coffee and a sandwich in the cafeteria, but most of the passengers on this
early morning sailing choose to continue with their short night’s sleep. Skiftet looks much larger from the small ferry with the same name than from the deck of the giant cruise ferries plying between Turku and Stockholm. Although it is mid April, there is still quite a lot of old ice left on the sea. When approaching Kökar, the spots of open water get larger and close to the island there is hardly any ice left at all. The channel licks the northern shore, providing an amazing scenery. There is no question this is one of the last outposts in the Archipelago Sea. There are hardly any larger trees growing on the cliffs. The pines that have found enough soil in the clefts to survive are knotty and starved after being battered by weather and wind for decades. After a brief visit in Kökar, where several more passengers and cars comes aboard, the captain chooses a slightly different route due to the excellent early spring weather. He takes the old channel, passing close to Kökar’s St Anne Church from 1784, situated on an island called Hamnö. Measuring some 1,000 metres between its furthest points, Hamnö is one of the most interesting islands in the Åland archipelago. Its natural harbour has provided shelter for seafarers since the Middle Ages. There are plenty of ancient remains, proving that the distant island may not have been quite godforsaken after all. Several important old fairways meet here and Hamnö saw its heydays in the 15th Century, when there even was a Franciscan monastery on the island. Although the monastery has been gone for centuries its traditions still leave traces in today’s ferry traffic. During the sea trials of the Finnish-built newbuildings Gudingen and Knipan, they visited Kökar, where a dean blessed them. The Franciscan
The Skiftet has unloaded some cars and a truck at Överö and is continuing to Långnäs on the last leg of the route.
The small ferry port at Storsottunga is visited several times a day by the ferries of Åland's local government.
connection was also existent, when the Norwegian-built ferry Alfågeln on its first voyage from Norway to Åland called Oslo, where Franciscan priests blessed the vessel. A similar ceremony was held with the newest ferry Skarven during the naming at the building yard in Lithuania. By request the ferry also calls at the small island Kyrkogårdsö in the Kökar archipelago, with only a couple of year-round inhabitants. The same goes for the next stop Husö, which is an island belonging to the municipality of Sottunga. Close to the ferry pier at Sottunga there are already some boats in the sea, although the ice edge is visible a few miles away in the East. Here more passengers enter the vessel and in the cafeteria it is no longer quite as silent as it was a couple of hours earlier. Sottunga is Finland’s smallest municipality with just 120 inhabitants. The ferry pier is situated on the main island Storsottunga, usually referred to as just Sottunga. The small pier at Sottunga is a crossing point for two of Åland’s inter-island ferry routes, as also some of the sailings on the crossing line between Långnäs and Hummelvik call here. From Sottunga the next leg westwards to Överö in the municipality of Föglö takes just about half an hour. Situated close to the channel used by the large car- and passenger ferries, the ferry pier is one of the junctions in the inter-island ferry network. Överö is visited daily also by the ferries of the crossing line, connecting the southern part of the archipelago with the northern part. From Överö there is a road connection to Degerby, which is the largest village of Föglö. However, to get there from Överö you have to take the cable ferry across the narrow sound Embarsund. At Överö two trucks leave the ferry, and the small cable ferry across Embarsund is capable of taking just one of them a time.
Before the car ferry age, the passenger steamers on the Turku–Stockholm route passed Degerby at close distance. In the old days the steamers stopped in the channel to leave or pick up passengers if needed. The cruise ferries of today are far too large for this route, but if you know where to look you can see a glimpse of them when they pass in the distance between the islands.
Degerby is also the destination for the largest and newest of the Åland inter-island ferries, the Skarven, which is designed especially for the route between mainland Åland and Degerby. The demand for capacity and high crossing frequency is large on the route, as Föglö is the largest of the Åland archipelago municipalities with some 600 inhabitants. Many of them are commuters, working in the Mariehamn area. In the mornings and afternoons the demand of car deck capacity is therefore large. On the 25-minute crossing between Degerby and Svinö there are sailings every hour in each direction during the peak hours. The northern main route in the Åland archipelago is a twoleg service. The western leg is operated between Hummelvik in Vårdö and Torsholma in Brändö via Kumlinge. The islands of Kumlinge are situated in the middle of the Åland archipelago and have some 400 inhabitants. From Torsholma there is a 20 km road connection to Åva in the northern part of Brändö. This municipality consists of 1,200 islands and has a population of some Next 500. Åva is the end point for the ferry service across The Åland ferry the northernmost part of the Skiftet, connecting to fleet – built for a Uosnainen (Osnäs in Swedish) in Kustavi (Gustavs) purpose on the Finnish side.
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The Kökar was the first ferry newbuilding of Åland's local government, delivered in 1967.
The history of Åland’s government-owned ferries is almost as long as the history of car ferry traffic between Finland, Åland and Sweden. This fleet of icebreaking small ferries is most likely unique in the whole world. s long as there have been inhabitants on the islands in the Archipelago Sea between Åland and mainland Finland the water has provided a means for transports and communications. The most important possession for the people in the archipelago have always been a boat. Characteristic for the Archipelago Sea boat types are seaworthiness in combination with capacity for carrying both cargo and passengers. Even the rowing boat had to be used as a small freighter when the fisherman/farmer moved his only cow or his small herd of sheep from island to island to provide pasture in the harsh environment. A transport revolution was started when the steamers entered the scene towards the end of the 19th century. It became possible to carry cargo and passengers on larger distances without spending days at sea. Small passenger steamers upheld the transport infrastrucxture for more than a century. It is an understatement to call the fleet miscellaneous. There were old and
A
even older vessels of different shapes and sizes, most of them heavily rebuilt during some stage of their long lives. For example the infamous Swedish steamer Per Brahe, that capsized and sank with all hands and passengers on Lake Vättern in 1918, had later a long life in the Åland archipelago as the Åland II. Some of the vessels were extremely ugly due to several refits, but they all carried out an important task carrying people and cargo to the small islands far away from the cities.
When the first car ferry connections to Åland were established in 1959, the new way of thinking also gave impulses for a total renovation of the inter-island traffic. Already in an early stage it was clear that the archipelago vessels of the future should be ice strengthened, as no assistance was available during severe winters. The traffic also needed to be operated with vessels equipped with car decks and roll on-roll of capability.
The pre-ferry age in the archipelago is represented by the steamer Åland II, which was broken up in 1959 after 102 years of service on various routes. As the Per Brahe she sunk in Lake Vättern 1918, but was salvaged and refitted in 1922. The photo was taken in Mariehamn in 1957 by Veikko Sjölund and is reproduced by kind permission of www.turkusteamers.com. Handing over of the Knipan in 1985. Lant rådet Folke Voivalin, the head of the local government, and the local government’s technical manager Göran Holm berg are seen in the front row. Far right is Henrik Wilén, managing director of the shipyard Laivateollisuus.
The strategy was to connect the larger islands with roads, bridges or road ferries where it would be possible. This would make the remaining main ferry routes shorter and less complicated. Åland’s local government – today called Ålands landskapsregering – launched an ambitious strategy to coordinate and connect the road networks with purpose built ferries. However, the building up phase had to be taken in small steps. For example on a service between mainland Åland and the Finnish archipelago the privately owned Skärgårdsfärjan carried cars and passengers on behalf of the local government in the 1960s. This former surplus British mine sweeper had been converted into a car ferry in Norway in the late 1940s before she finally entered service for Eckerö Linjen between Eckerö and Grisslehamn as the Rospiggen II in 1962. One year later she was sold to Rederi Ab Skärgårdstrafik, led by Eckerö Linjen’s main shareholder Waldemar Höglund. The ferry was renamed Skärgårdsfärjan and transferred to the eastern route. Also Viking Line had shown interest in the domestic traffic between Åland and mainland Finland, but eventually came to focus at international services.
The car carrying vessels drastically improved the communications in the archipelago. It became possible to start small enterprises within the fishery industry and agriculture. Oil could be shipped in trucks to the islands, ending the de-
pendence upon wood as fuel for house heating. The inhabitants also began to see great potential in tourism. Cottages, reachable by road, were built for rental to tourists, and this became a major business in the archipelago. The rapid development is reflected by the escalating investments in ferry tonnage. The first road ferries were acquired second-hand by the Åland local government in 1957 and 1962. In 1967 the local government introduced its first ferry with ice class, the newbuilding Kökar. After her a row of newbuildings were commissioned to the local government of Åland, starting with the Grisslan in 1971, which is still in service. Until mid 1980s all large newbuildings for the Åland traffic were built by the shipyard Laivateollisuus Oy in Turku. When Ångbåts Ab Åland closed down their passenger and cargo traffic in 1975 after a hundred years of service, the last of the traditional archipelago vessels disappeared. For Åland’s local government the question now was how to deliver small shipments of cargo to the archipelago in the future. “This was when we introduced the ‘stagecoach’, a transport system to the archipelago where cargo was discharged from the truck immediately after arrival at a loading platform by the pier. After some five minutes the truck was back on board and continued with the ferry. This system is still in use”, says the former technical manager of the local government of Åland Göran Holmberg.
The Viggen, delivered by UKI Workboat in 1998, arriving at Åva, Brändö, during her first winter of service.
The Skiftet, delivered by Laivateollisuus in 1985, in the waters off Sottunga.
The Grisslan, delivered by Laivateollisuus in 1971, was the first of a new type of icebreaking Åland inter-island ferries.
The Gudingen, delivered by Laivateollisuus in 1980. She was built with a large passenger lounge and cafeteria.
The Alfågeln, built by Simek in 1990, arriving at Hummelvik, Vårdö.
Göran Holmberg is nowadays retired after forty years with Åland local government. As technical manager of the Traffic Department he has held a key role in the development of new tonnage. His first vessel was the Grisslan and after his retirement he still acted as project manager during the building of the newest ferry Skarven. He says that a new standard was set with the Ejdern in 1978. “With her we introduced comfortable passenger spaces with a lounge and cafeteria one deck above the car deck.” After the Ejdern five ferries of a similar type followed. They were of course improved in several features and also adapted for their main traffic areas, but the main principles remained: All newbuildings were designed with a drive through car deck, ramps fore and aft, a lounge for passengers in the superstructure and an icebreaking hull. The last of these conventional ferries was the Viggen, delivered by UKI Workboat in 1998. The newest ferry Skarven is of a double-ended type. All of the ferries are icebreaking and designed to manage year round without icebreaker assistance. The ice in the archipelago can be up to 60 cm thick. In addition to the larger ferries mentioned above a further eight cable ferries for shorter crossings have been introduced during the years.
After the Kökar, which was named after a municipality, all Åland-owned ferries are named after seabirds. An exception is the Skiftet, but the explanation is that she was originally owned by the Finnish Maritime Administration and taken on bareboat charter by Ålands local government. Now also the Skiftet is Åland-owned, but her original name remains. According to Göran Holmberg, the idea was that the ferries should not be named after municipalities or places to make it easier to move them to another route.
“The Kökar was originally built for the Kökar service. When we transferred her to another route, the inhabitants of Kökar wondered why ‘their’ ferry served another route.” Although originally intended for a certain route, all of the ferries – with the exception of the Skarven – may trade places on the routes. Still the ferries have their own routes, and changes are made mainly during dockings. Regarding the technical equipment on the ferries the aim has been to achieve a standard with the same equipment on all vessels. “This makes it easy to change personnel between the ferries without separate training. Also maintenance is handled by own personnel and we have a workshop of our own in Mariehamn.”
Although purpose-built, the fleet of Åland ferries is ageing and a fleet renewal will be necessary in a foreseeable future. This process has already started with the Skarven. Nowadays Göran Holmberg sees totally different problems in developing the inter-island traffic than back in the early 1970s. “A huge problem is the interpretation of the new EU-regulations, which basically are the same for domestic and international ferry traffic. Exceptions are granted for sheltered archipelago areas, but the interpretation is still unclear for example in Finland, as well as how the new regulations should be implemented on older tonnage.” He thinks that such unique conditions as in the archipelago areas in Finland and Sweden are not found anywhere else in EU-countries. “Therefore the authorities should introduce certain exceptions for archipelago ferries. Sweden is working on such regulations, which indeed must be approved by EU. I think that mutual discussion about the interpretation of these regulations are lacking between Finland and Sweden.”
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70 Shipgaz No 3 2010
By Pär-Henrik Sjöström par-henrik@shipgaz.com
Report Åland sea traffic
New order for vessels sailing in the Åland Sea
Since the beginning of 2010 a traffic separation scheme has been in use on the Åland Sea. The experience from the first months of traffic is encouraging, even if the system was down for almost two months due to ice. Despite sophisticated navigational equipment on the ships there have been several accidents on the Åland Sea. Vessels have touched each other and a striking feature is that several vessels have run into fairway marks. In some of these cases the consequences have been severe.
This was the case when the container vessel Janra collided with the 20 metres high edge mark Tröskeln Västra on December 23, 2000, totally destroying the mark and damaging the vessel so badly that she later capsized. “Subsequently the maritime authorities in Finland and Sweden became more and more worried and
decided to do something about the situation in the Åland Sea. They decided to go for a traffic separation scheme to avoid such accidents in the future”, VTS Manager Hanna Linjos-Maunula at Finnish Transport Agency informs.
»The maritime authorities in Finland and Sweden became more and more worried«
Master Mariner Hanna LinjosMaunula has an extensive experience of vessel traffic surveillance. After several years at sea as a deck officer, she went ashore and started as a VTS operator at Archipelago VTS in 1997.
After that she has had several different positions in the maritime administration, including participation in the introduction of the Gofrep-system in the Gulf of Finland. Now she is in charge of all VTS operations on the west coast of Finland.
The vessel traffic on the Åland Sea is relatively dense. In 2006, when the Åland Sea project was under preparation, some 17,000 southbound or northbound vessels passed through the area. The crossing traffic accounted for an additional 14,000 vessel movements. Hanna Linjos-Maunula points out that Åland Sea is a difficult area to navigate. The southern entrance is
Photo: Pär-Henrik Sjöström
Hanna Linjos-Maunula, VTS Manager at Finnish Transport Agency, is convinced that the traffic separation scheme on Åland Sea improves safety.
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 71
Åland sea traffic
Report Photo: Pär-Henrik Sjöström
»When violations are dealt with the traffic separation system is adapted much faster« narrow with shoals and shallow water on both the western and the eastern side. An equally narrow strait is the Southern Quark (Södra Kvarken in Swedish) – the area where the Åland Sea turns into the Gulf of Bothnia.
“The passage with a deep water route is surprisingly narrow and does not allow much deviation and manoeuvring. Some large bulkers, which have not visited any ports by the Gulf of Bothnia before, even take a deep water pilot when entering the Åland Sea”, she explains. IMO approved the traffic separation zones in the Åland Sea in 2008. “The decision from IMO is important for us because we need an international decision to lean upon when surveying the area. It is indeed said that traffic separations are recommendations, but they have more weight with an IMO decision behind them”, Hanna Linjos-Maunula thinks. She stresses that a traffic separation scheme may be even worthless if there is not a well-organized surveillance.
“The benefits of traffic separation are of course strongly depending on how the seafarers are adapted to using them. When violations are dealt with the traffic separation system is adapted much faster. This was noticed on the Gulf of Finland, where a similar system was taken into use in 2003.” A working party was established to take a stand in the important question about which criteria should be counted as violations from the authorities’ point of view. In Finland the surveillance is managed by Archipelago VTS, although it is a separate area. Also communication between the VTS centre and the ships was standardised with certain phrases. The call sign used in communication with vessels is Åland Sea Traffic to avoid confusion with Archipelago VTS.
Vessel movements in the Åland Sea are tracked with AIS data as there is no radar surveillance system covering the whole area. “From the beginning it was clear that the surveillance should be based upon AIS data, because radar surveillance was not possible. We developed instructions and we adapted the same system as in the Gulf of Finland for reporting violations. The reporting system in the Gulf of Finland is in its turn based upon the system in the English Channel. We wanted the same limits as in the Channel and elsewhere in the world as we hope that this will be an international standard.”
Reports about violations are sent to the authorities in the flag state of the vessel. They decide about the penalties. “The practice may vary very much. I have heard about a case where the master got a penalty of EUR 20. In another extreme case the master lost his license.” All operators at Archipelago VTS are trained also for surveillance of the traffic separation scheme of the Åland Sea. If the VTS operator notices that a
Gofrep A mandatory ship reporting system in the Gulf of Finland under SOLAS Regulation V/11. Shore-based facilities at Tallinn Traffic, Helsinki Traffic and St Petersburg Traffic are able to monitor shipping movements and provide advice and information about navigational hazards and weather conditions.
Source: The Finnish Transport Agency
vessel is in danger, for example on a collision course or heading for shallow water, he or she informs the vessel about this over VHF. “The VTS operators do not direct the traffic as they do a purely informative job. The aim of the whole system is to make the Åland Sea a safer place to navigate”, Hanna Linjos-Maunula stresses.
Last winter the traffic separation on the Åland Sea was temporarily out of use due to the ice situation. Hanna Linjos-Maunula underlines that there are exceptional cases, when the authorities may allow violations of the rules, especially if the safety of the ship might be in stake. “We have our own regulations for such cases. There may for example be strong winds, heavy seas, freezing on the superstructures endangering the stability of the vessel or drifting ice, which limit the use of the traffic separation areas. The separation scheme must not in any case endanger the safety of shipping. In practice this means that the ships may go closer to
72 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Report Åland sea traffic Photo: Pär-Henrik Sjöström
»The VTS operators do not direct the traffic as they do a purely informative job« the coast or even ignore the regulations in extreme cases. When the VTS operator knows that safety reasons cause the deviation no report will be sent to the flag state.”
Hanna Linjos-Maunula says that the introduction of the traffic separation scheme has gone surprisingly smoothly. “In the end of last year we started to inform about it over the Navtex. At midnight between December 31 and January 1 the new scheme was taken into use without any transition period. In the beginning there were of course some violations, but many of them were due to unawareness. A month later when we tracked all vessel movements, the traffic went almost exactly along the separation zones.” The surveillance is managed in
VTS Operator Hannu Leppänen and his colleagues at Archipelago VTS also monitor the traffic separation.
cooperation between Finland and Sweden. “Archipelago VTS is responsible for the southern area and the Swedish authorities for the northern area. This is the most rational solution as the southern separation area
is mostly on Finnish water while the northern area is mostly on Swedish water. It would have been too complicated to divide the responsibility after economical zones or other national borders”, Hanna LinjosMaunula says.
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74 Shipgaz No 3 2010
By Per Nyström, per@shipgaz.com
Spotlight Technology
Maintenance principles: PMS or condition based? Technology: Per Nyström Per Nyström has a long experience as Chief Engineer, Shipyard Superintendent and troubleshooter when propulsion systems fail. He is part owner of FT Engineering AB.
s Planned Maintenance Systems the most efficient method to maintain our engine, or are there more cost efficient alternatives? Planned maintenance based on running hours or time elapsed has many advantages, but has also become a costly way of maintaining machinery in general. Is it really necessary to open up an automatic filter for inspection just because it is the second week of February?
I
In one ship with a super long stroke engine the torsional vibration damper was not entered into the planned maintenance system, therefore this important component of 10.5 ton weight was not maintained over
Vibration measurements were frequently used a decade, or two, ago. This was not considered especially useful at the time, but today the technology has improved considerably and many faults can be pinpointed in ample time, or followed up by round measurements. Cylinder pressure monitoring is another field where reliable instruments have appeared on the market during the last couple of years. The older type of fixed cylinder pressure indicators, that seldom worked, is gone or has disintegrated by vibrations. PHoTo: DNV
It is not unusual that machinery components are replaced even if they are in the best of conditions, just because a certain time has elapsed. In addition costly sets of gaskets, o-rings etc, follow the replacement of the component. When the chief engineer logs into his computer in order to see what work is to be done during the up-coming week, it is hardly a technical challenge that are in parity with his or her technical skill and ability. Maintenance as per monitored operational parameters seems to be an underestimated method for deciding about maintaining machinery. It is not seldom found that components that exist in the engine room, or possibly outside it, is absent in the planned maintenance system even if the engineers very well know of these components’ existence. This type of components will not be maintained since they will never appear on the computer screen.
the last 12 years, nor subject to class inspection. Planned maintenance systems are not seldom based on maintenance intervals picked up from the equipment makers’ instruction manuals. Bearing in mind that such manuals often are edited with a guarantee aspect in mind, and sometimes with shorter maintenance intervals than the technical lifetime of a component suggests in reality. On the reverse it may be that maintenance cycles have to be more
»Is it really necessary to open up an automatic filter for inspection just because it is the second week of February?«
frequent, if for instance fuels of poor quality are in use. Today there are instruments that are not too costly that can be used for monitoring of machinery to estimate the necessity of dismantling for maintenance. For more in depth analysis the portable instrumentation is unfortunately still priced on the high side, and may be more suitable for consultants and service engineers that deal with the various objects on a more regular basis.
Traditional class survey of an engine.
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 75
Technology
»PMS are certainly a part of the class system and, used with common sense, a valuable tool, but sometimes we have to see engine maintenance in a broader perspective« The condition of pumps and heat exchangers can easily be monitored by simple instruments such as thermometers and pressure gauges to asses if it needs dismantling or not. Unfortunately it is quite common that the local instrumentation such as thermometers and pressure gauges is in doubtful condition, since it is often of too low quality and unsuitable for the marine environment (does the purchase department know this?). There is a certain difference in the cleaning cycle of a fresh water cooler if the ship is trading in the Pacific, in Amazonas or on the Wouri river.
Spotlight
FOR DIESEL ENGINE MAINTENANCE
PMS Planned Maintenance Systems are comprehensive preventive maintenance programs for machinery, workshops, accommodation etc. According to the ISM code maintenance systems have to be approved by the classification society.
Experience has shown that filters are the most common engine component that suffer from lack of maintenance, weekly filter routines are replaced by planned maintenance that does not always consider the quality of the medium to be filtered. Collapsed filter cartridges are often a result of wrong timing of filter maintenance (80 per cent of all medium speed engine crankshaft damage originates in filtering error, usually caused by lack of maintenance). Regular reading of a suitable quality pressure gauge could prevent from serious engine damage.
Planned maintenance systems are certainly a part of the class system and, used with common sense, a valuable tool, but sometimes we have to see engine maintenance in a broader perspective. In case of damage to the engine of such magnitude that class and the insurance company are involved, the first they check is the planned maintenance system and if the machinery affected has been maintained in accordance with the instructed interval. In view of this the chief engineers choice of maintenance method is very limited. Engine vibrations causes engine damage, but engine damage will also cause vibrations.
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No 3 2010 Shipgaz 77
Technical Review Automated oil boom system
illustration: Lankhorst Ropes
Stronger and safer rope for tug and salvage boat operators equipment Lankhorst Ropes launches a breakthrough in tug boat rope splicing. Called A3, the splice has 100 per cent efficiency, and so there is no loss in rope strength due to splicing.
“This is an important development for tug and salvage boat operators. The new splice enables a stronger rope that provides greater safety in rope handling, and offers significant savings in the overall cost of rope ownership for tug and salvage boat owners”, says Steven Wardenier, commercial director at Lankhorst Ropes. The A3 splice will be progressively introduced across the Lankhorst Ropes range over 2010.
“Already, security in the oil port is high and we have so far been spared from spills”, says Åke Åkesson, general manager at CMP. “All loading and unloading is supervised by staff in the stores and on the quays and also by the crew of the vessel.” In the event of an oil spill, CMP has so far had to rely on local rescue services to come and manually lay out the booms by boat. “Now we choose to invest in an automated and flexible system that puts the booms in place very quickly”, says Åke Åkesson.
The SP Marine Technology system that will be installed at CMP has 800 metres of oil boom, made of a composite material that stays flexible also at low temperatures and that can be incinerated after use without environmental impact, according to the manufacturer. The boom is kept wound around an ordinary wooden cable drum in a stand at the quayside. The boom is attached to an ASV that looks like a small torpedo. The ASV is launched from a rail and is controlled by GPS-technology. It follows a predefined route, connecting the boom to docking stations placed around the port basin. “The technology is interesting from an environmental point of view because it increases the possibility of fast limitation of spills”, says Måns Krook, fire protection engineer at the rescue services in Malmö. “In the event of a spill, time is always critical. With the old routines it takes 25-30 minutes at best until the boom was in place in the water, connected and ready. That time will be considerably shorter now.” Illustration: SP Marine Technology
There is no doubling of the rope or splice stiffness in the mainline, which makes rope handling easier. The A3 splice design is less prone to the effect of abrasion on vulnerable areas of the splice covering, thus providing a longer lasting rope.
Environmental Gothenburg based SP Marine Technology AB has developed a unique fully automatic oil boom system. Activated by remote control, for instance a cell phone, the system automatically lays out oil booms, towed by an Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) that follows a predefined route. This way the inlet of a port can be shut off within 5–6 minutes after an oil spill, thus minimizing the impact of the spill. The system will be installed after the summer in the Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP), the first port to try it out.
Graphic illustration of the cable drum on the quay and the torpedo-like ASV, Autonomous Surface Vehicle, that pulls the oil boom onto the water.
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78 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Technical Review
equipment The new cradle containers of Langh Ship Cargo Solutions enable easy and secure containerisation. They make it possible to transport coils in ordinary cargo vessels and coils can thus be delivered profitably also when shipments are small. Hard Open Top Bulk Cradle Containers are multipurpose, even though they have been optimised for steel transportation. When handling coils the whole roof of the container can be removed. When transporting bulk the container can be loaded through the small bulk hatches in the roof and it can be unloaded through the letter box hatch in the back wall.
“These containers significantly reduce the time used for loading coils and totally remove the need for disposable lash-
Photo: Tritex NDT
Containers for steel coils – and more ing material”, states Commercial Manager Laura Langh-Lagerlöf, who has invented the securing system of the coils. The container can be used with flexitanks also for liquid transportations. The whole cubic can thus be exploited, while the properties of the container can take the pressure caused by liquids. The valve gear of the flexitank is easy to handle through the letter box hatch in the back wall. The payload of the container is 40 tons and the tare weight is 4,8 tons. Sales Manager Mika Saarinen considers the multipurpose use of the containers as one of their assets: ”With these containers it is easy to transport raw material in the return leg, and thus they don’t need to be transported empty.”
New underwater thickness gauge
Photo: Langh Ship Oy
The gauge is equipped with IPR (Intelligent Probe Recognition), which automatically adjusts settings in the gauge for enhanced performance and AMVS (Automatic Measurement Verification System) to ensure only true measurements are displayed, even on the most heavily corroded metals. Other features are: integral battery with 55 hour runtime on one fast charge – no need for a spare battery; no fuss upgrade option to a topside repeater; rugged and robust; no zeroing required.
BerCom
When transporting bulk the container can be loaded through the small bulk hatches in the roof and it can be unloaded through the letter box hatch in the back wall.
Equipment The Multigauge 3000 underwater thickness gauge from Tritex NDT in UK is a simple, robust ultrasonic thickness gauge designed for most common underwater thickness gauging applications. The gauge is pressure tested to 500 metres and has the option to transfer measurements to a surface display unit with the simple addition of a replacement end cap. It has been designed and built to survive extremely harsh conditions that exist in the offshore and underwater industries worldwide. The gauge uses multiple echo, which means measurements can be easily taken without the need to remove coatings. The large bright LED display ensures the display can be seen by the diver, even in poor visibility.
The patented Vacuumarator™ pump is the most compact, efficient and reliable vacuum generator available for vacuum toilet systems.
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MARINE
80 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Fleet Review Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
The Ability and the Isle of Wight ferry Cenwulf lying at the Smedegaarden Recycling at Esbjerg.
Two Norwegian coasters to be recycled Recycling Smedegaarden Recycling has taken two Norwegian coasters under treatment at their plant at Esbjerg in Denmark. The oldest one of the pair was the Linn Kristin, which was built in 1962 at Ferrol, Spain, for Fred Olsens Linerservice under the name Bonn. The 765-DWT coaster has been sailing most of her time in Norwegian waters. After Fred Olsen it had the names Gardegg, Fonnland and Mellandsværingen, before changing to the Linn Kristin in 2005.
The Ability, built in 1978, was considered beyond repair and sold for recycling. The 4,245-DWT Ability was built by Goole Shipbuilding at Goole in 1978 as the Stability for the British company Everard & Co. The vessel sailed under the special yellow hull colours until 2000, when the vessel was sold to Norway.
Name change In October 2010 the Nordic Ferry Services will change name to Færgen (the ferry) A/S. The ferries will change livery from light green and turquoise colours to dark blue and cream on the superstructure. The change comes after a change in management and board of directors earlier this year.
At the beginning of the year the chairman of the board of directors, Jens Stephensen,was forced to leave his position, which was taken over by the deputy, Per Gullestrup from the Clipper Group. After some months, also the Managing Director Mads Kofoed was forced to leave his position and was replaced by his deputy Jørgen Jensen in a temporary position. He will go back to being a deputy in October, when John Steen-Mikkelsen joins Bornholmstrafikken as Managing Director. He
comes from a position as Chief Operations Officer in Scandlines. With the new management and chairman of the board, ambitions have been reduced to a national ferry operator instead of a Nordic operator. The new name, Færgen A/S is only for the umbrella company situated at Rønne on Bornholm. The different operational companies will have local names like BornholmsFærgen A/S. On the Samsø service the name will be the SamsøFærgen, and on the Bøjden-Fynshav run the name will be the AlsFærgen. On the Spodsbjerg-Taars the name LangelandsFærgen will be used. “We have reduced our ambitions and realized that we will not be a ferry company with operations outside Denmark, so there is no reason to send a ‘Nordic’ signal to the outside world”, says Per Gullestrup, chairman of the board.
A new Atlas tug Purchase Many icebreaking tugs have during the last years changed ownership between Finland and Sweden. Another Swedish tug that has moved Eastwards is the Per, which has been renamed Atlas. This tug has recently been bought by the Finnish shipping company Rederi Ab Fakir from Svitzer Sverige AB in Sweden. The Atlas took the name from another tug that was sold to Sweden in 2009 and renamed Hallsta. Built in 1972 for Röda Bolaget by Åsiverken AB, Åmål, the Atlas has had no other name than Per before the
Photo: Pär-Henrik Sjöström
The last voyage from Haugesund to Esbjerg was under tow by the Danish tug Odin from Hanstholm Bugserservice A/S, which safely delivered the coaster at Es bjerg where one week later it was converted to steel scrap. The second coaster to be recycled at Esbjerg also arrived under tow. It was the Bergen registered coaster Ability, which was towed from Rostock to Es bjerg by the Eurosund from Svendborg Bugser A/S. The Ability had been lying at Rostock in Germany since January 2010, when it arrived in tow from the Baltic after a serious fire in the engine room while on a voyage from Ghent, Belgium.
Danish ferry group changes name and aim
recent renaming. The icebreaking tug has a 2,470 kW Ruston 12 ATCM main engine, providing a bollard pull of 33 tons. The new owner will base the Atlas at Helsinki.
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 81
Fleet Review Photo: MSC Crociere
Photo: Ulstein
Magnificent Magnifica to Italian MSC
AHTS to Solstad Delivery Solstad Offshore has taken delivery of the anchor handling tug supply vessel (AHTS) Normand Ranger from Ulstein Verft. The vessel was completed by Ulstein Verft after the bankruptcy of the shipyard Karmsund Maritime Service in August 2009. According to managing director Karsten Sævik of Ulstein Verft it was challenging to take over a half built vessel. “We had to get a complete picture of everything that had been done, and whether it had been done correctly in relation to the regulations. Furthermore, we had to provide an overview of which suppliers were still a part of the project.”
The Normand Ranger is designed by Wärtsilä Ship Design Norway AS. The 91 metres long and 22 metres wide vessel has a bollard pull of 287 tons. The vessel is equipped with a Triplex Multi Deck Handler and Odim Anchor Recovery Frame. Propelled by two large main engines of 8,000 kW each, the propeller power can be
boosted by electric motors via the reduction gear PTI, to provide additional propeller power during demanding operations. There are several combinations to run the machinery. In addition to the mentioned boost mode, it can be operated either in diesel-electric mode with the two electric propeller motors of 1,500 kW each, or in diesel mechanic mode. In addition to that there are two DP modes, one for good weather and one for bad weather. The ship is built to DNV’s Clean Design class. Catalytic converters for minimum NOx emissions are installed on the diesel engines. A Green Passport, complying with IMO ship recycling scheme, has been issued. With a deadweight of 4,019 tons the vessel has a large cargo capacity on main deck. The cargo area is 760 sqm, strengthened for a deck load of up to 15 t/sqm. On board there is accommodation for 58 persons. The Normand Ranger is to be employed at the spot market in the North Sea.
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Delivery The Italian cruise company MSC Crociere has added another newbuilding to its fleet. On February 25, 2010 the 95,128 GT MSC Magnifica was handed over by the STX Europe shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The shipping company has experienced an amazing growth. Including the MSC Magnifica, the fleet of MSC Crociere now consists of eleven ships. “Our capacity has increased ten times in just seven years to reach 1,200,000 passengers in 2010”, MSC Crociere’s CEO Pierfrancecsco Vago said at the handing over ceremony in Saint-Nazaire.
On March 6, 2010 the newbuilding was officially named MSC Magnifica during a spectacular event in the port of Hamburg. The MSC Magnifica is the fourth panamax cruise ship of the Musica class. An interesting difference compared to her three sisters is the retractable roof on one of the pools, enabling the use of it throughout the year regardless of weather. On March 20, 2010 the MSC Magnifica enters regular service on the North-Eastern Mediterranean with Venice as her turnaround port.
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82 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Fleet Review Secondhand transactions in the Nordic market Month Name
Dwt
Built
Type
From
Price
Buyer
4,101* 1987
ferry
KS Korsør, Copenhagen
Cyprus
Remarks/New name
March
Troll
Aries Warrior
3,600 2008 psv
Aries Sh Norway, Ålesund
USD 27.3 m
Asian
Akrafell
12,184 1993
container
Seafin, Århus
USD 8.8 m
Greeks
Polaris
12,216 1993
container
Difko, Copenhagen
USD 8.8 m
Greeks
Sigas Centurion
1979c 1984
LPG
C Eitzen & Co, Oslo
Russia
Allegro
5,916 2002 bulk
Scandinavian Bulkers, Oslo
Sandfrakt, Ølen/Haugesund
Ewald
2,262 2000 dry cargo
Ewald Schiffahrts, Hamburg
Hav Shipping, Bergen
Polar Sun
3,740 2000 dry cargo
Briese Schiffahrt, Hamburg
Kopervik Shipping, Kopervik
April
Ocanlady
23,679 2004 container
Dilos Maritime, Greece
USD 16.6 m
T Klaveness, Oslo
Norgas Traveller
Heros
Northern Corona
Andromeda Glory
Callisto Glory
FD Nord Fast
40,083 2010
FD Nord Farer
Benarita
Tri-Frakt
4,415 1973
Havila Troll
4,537* 2003 rescue
Seacor Grant
7,100c 1980
LPG
I M Skaugen ASA, Oslo
USD 2.6 m
breaking India
12,000c 1978
LPG
Solvang, Stavanger
breaking India
2,845 1992
ahts
Trico Marine, Haugesund
USD 16 m
Far East
321,000 2009 tanker
Gulf Marine, Piraeus
USD 105 m
Frontline, Oslo
321,000 2009 tanker
Gulf Marine, Piraeus
USD 105 m
Frontline, Oslo
bulk
Italian
USD 52 m
DS Norden, Cph
40,083 2010
bulk
Italian
USD 52 m
DS Norden, Cph
40,688 1984
bulk
J J Ugland, Grimstad
USD 8.75 m
China
self-disch
Knut Sætre, Austrheim/Bergen
Nygård Sh, Egersund
Havila Shipping, Fosnavåg
Norwegian KS
bb back
2,603 2008 ahts
Seacor Offshore, US
KS Fearnley Finans, Oslo
bb back
Bibby Sapphire
6,064* 2005 subsea
Volstad Maritime, Ålesund
GBP 34 m
Bibby Offshore, Liverpool
Cemstar
6,089 1989
cement
T Klaveness, Oslo
Eureka Cement, Cyprus
Conberria
5,935 1981
cement
T Klaveness, Oslo
Eureka Cement, Cyprus
Sunnanvik
9,060 1978
cement
T Klaveness, Oslo
Eureka Cement, Cyprus
Östanvik
4,940 1974
cement
T Klaveness, Oslo
Eureka Cement, Cyprus
Vestanvik
3,282 1966
cement
T Klaveness, Oslo
Eureka Cement, Cyprus
Danavik
5,700 1983
cement
T Klaveness, Oslo
Eureka Cement, Cyprus
Envik
3,700 1983
cement
T Klaveness, Oslo
Eureka Cement, Cyprus
May
Bro Venture
7,474 1995
tanker
Broström Tankers, Göteborg
USD 5.0 m
Far East
Bro Opti
7,474 1995
tanker
Broström Tankers, Göteborg
en bloc
Far East
Far Viscount
1,200 1882
psv
Farstad Shipping, Ålesund
Far East
Troms Vision
4,200 2010
psv
KS Troms Vision, Tromsø
51%
Rem Offshore, Fosnavåg
Nord Shanghai
32,700 2010
bulk
DS Norden, Copenhagen
USD 110 m
Russia
Nord Mumbai
32,700 2010
bulk
DS Norden, Copenhagen
en bloc
Russia
Jiangsu resale
32,700 2010
bulk
DS Norden, Copenhagen
en bloc
Russia
Jiangsu resale
32,700 2010
bulk
DS Norden, Copenhagen
en bloc
Russia
Miss Claudia
40,158 2006 tanker
Perserveranza, Italy
USD 27.2 m
DS Norden, Cph
Trogir
40,000 1995
tanker
Novoship, Moscow
USD 11 m
Champion Tankers, Bergen
Champion Arctic
48,000 1986
tanker
Champion Tankers, Bergen
USD 6.1 m
breaking
Champion Polar
48,000 1986
tanker
Champion Tankers, Bergen
USD 6.1 m
breaking
bb back
Maritime Training STCW courses
Basic Safety . Fire Fighting . Fast Rescue Boat . Crowd and Crisies..... www.sjosakerhet.nu
phone +46 (0) 31 97 65
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 83
Fleet Review Newbuilding contracts in the Nordic market Month
Owner
Dwt
Type
Shipyard
Delivery
Value
March
Western Bulk Carriers No
Nat
58,000
bulk
Yangzhou Dayang
1q11
USD 33 m
resale
Spar Shipping
58,000
bulk
Yangzhou Dayang
10
USD 32.5 m
resale
No
Remarks
Spar Shipping
No
58,000
bulk
Yangzhou Dayang
10
USD 32.5 m
resale
Spar Shipping
No
58,000
bulk
Yangzhou Dayang
10
USD 32.5 m
resale
Spar Shipping
No
58,000
bulk
Yangzhou Dayang
10
USD 32.5 m
resale
Spar Shipping
No
58,000
bulk
Yangzhou Dayang
10
USD 32.5 m
resale
Fjord Line
No
170 m
ferry
Bergen Yards Fosen
3.12
EUR 103 m
Fjord Line
No
170 m
ferry
Bergen Yards Fosen
10.12
EUR 103 m
Concordia
Sw
158,700
tanker
Samsung
12
USD 67.4 m
Stena Bulk
Sw
158,700
tanker
Samsung
12
USD 67.4 m
Stena Bulk
Sw
158,700
tanker
Samsung
12
USD 67.4 m
Stena Bulk
Sw
158,700
tanker
Samsung
12
USD 67.4 m
foreign
86 m
salvage
STX Offshore Norway
4q11
multi-purpose
foreign
86 m
salvage
STX Offshore Norway
2q12
multi-purpose
foreign
86 m
salvage
STX Offshore Norway
3q12
multi-purpose
April
Nordic American
No
158,000
tanker
Samsung HI
3q11
USD 65 m
Nordic American
No
158,000
tanker
Samsung HI
4q11
USD 64.5 m
Oslo Bulk Shipping
No
8,000
drycargo
Yangzijiang
11.10
resale
Kristiansund Taubåt
No
tug
Bogazici Shipyard
7.10
resale resale
Rem Offshore
No
3,200
psv
Drydocks World
8.10
USD 20 m
May
ESL Shipping
Fin
56,150
bulk
Hyundai Mipo
1h12
USD 78.2 m en bloc
ESL Shipping
Fin
56,150
bulk
Hyundai Mipo
1h12
Spar Shipping
No
58,000
bulk
Yangzhou Dayang
2h11
USD 32.5 m
resale
Spar Shipping
No
58,000
bulk
Yangzhou Dayang
2h11
USD 32.5 m
resale
Western Bulk Carriers No
32,700
Simon Møkster
No
93.5
bulk
Jiangsu Zhenjiang
8.10
USD 24.5 m
resale
psv
STX Søviknes
1q12
NOK 360 m
PSV09LCD
Em Z Svitzer
Den
tug
Baltija SB
11
Eco-tug
Em Z Svitzer
Den
tug
Baltija SB
11
Eco-tug
Em Z Svitzer
Den
tug
Baltija SB
11
Eco-tug
Cancellations in the nordic market Month Company
Nat
Feb
Viking Line
Fin
Delivery
Type
Shipyard
Ordered
Price
15,600*
March
Seven Seas
Dannebrog
3.09
ferry
Ast de Sevilla
1.07
EUR 60 m
No
58,000
4q09
bulk
Yangzhou
8.08
GBP 60.9 m (no 2)
Den
45,000
7.09
tanker
SLS Shipyard
07
USD 50 m
Dannebrog
Den
45,000
2q10
tanker
SLS Shipyard
07
USD 50 m
Kristian Jebsen
No
33,500
08
bulk
Mingde
12.05
semi-openhatch
Kristian Jebsen
No
33,500
08
bulk
Mingde
12.05
semi-openhatch
ESL Shipping
Fin
18,800
08
bulk
ABG Shipyard
1.06
EUR 25 m
* = gross tons
Dwt
c = capacity in cubic metres
Remarks
ice-str
All details believed to be correct but not guaranteed.
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84 Shipgaz No 3 2010
By Bent Mikkelsen bent@shipgaz.com
Retro International crisis
Photo: Bent Mikkelsen archives
Trapped in Egypt窶的srael conflict The Danish cargo liner Inge Toft was caught in Egypt for 258 days in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis. The ship had Israeli cargo on board. Fifty years ago, at the beginning of 1960, a brand new Danish cargo liner was caught in the middle of the international conflict between Israel and Egypt. The newbuilding Inge Toft was seized in the Egyptian port of Port Said in May 1959 as the ship was trying to transit the Suez Canal with an Israeli cargo on board.
The Inge Toft was a true Nordic project as it was delivered from Langesund Mekaniske Verksted at Langesund, Norway, which had ordered the hull for the vessel from Helsingfors Skeppsvarv, and delivered the vessel to the Danish company D/S Jutlandia at Copenhagen. Throughout the 1950s D/S Jutlandia developed a close connection with the New York based brokering company Mediterranean Agency, which was part of the Jewish community in New York.
ﾂｻOn the last day of May 1959 an Egyptian prize court seized the cargoﾂｫ
The retribution for this voyage came in May 1959, when the Inge Toft arrived at Port Said and applied for transit through the canal. The vessel was bound for Japan with Israeli cargo on board.
When the Inge Toft arrived at Port Said it was not sequestrated on arrival, but instead different kinds of harassment were started
It was not officially forbidden at
They chartered several ships from D/S Jutlandia on behalf of an Israeli trading company to take cargo to and from Israeli ports, with success. In 1955 the motor vessel Birgitte Toft managed to take a cargo of oilseeds from French Somalia to the Israeli port of Eilat in the Red Sea under close watch from the world community.
The voyage to Eilat was the first to break the Egyptian blockade of the port, but several Israeli warships protected the Birgitte Toft, which was welcomed by all the 2,000 inhabitants of Eilat on arrival. Some weeks later the Birgitte Toft managed to transit through the Suez Canal from Eilat to Haifa.
the time to carry Israeli cargo through the canal, but unofficially it was not allowed. Egypt kept a low profile in the matter, but the Association of Arab States was strongly against it and made all kinds of trouble for those that broke the rules. When the Inge Toft arrived at Port Said it was not sequestrated on arrival, but instead different kinds of harassment were started. The ship was anchored and its papers (ship-registration papers, cargo manifests etc) were taken ashore as usual before transit. But the days went on and on for the Inge Toft.
No 3 2010 Shipgaz 85
International crisis
Retro Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
The Inge Toft sailed under DDR flag until 1980, when it was sold to a Greek operator and renamed the Kassian Glory, flying the Malta flag.
Meanwhile all the papers were sent to the central authorities in Cairo for further investigation. The situation between Israel and Egypt worsened dramatically only a few days after the Inge Toft’s arrival at Port Said. A small Egyptian freighter came off course and sailed into Israeli waters and was taken into custody by Israeli military vessels in order to have collateral in the negotiations on the Inge Toft. However, there was no opening in the case and on the last day of May 1959 an Egyptian prize court seized the cargo. Newspaper interviews with Captain V Schultz told the Danish public that all 34 crewmembers were in good health and lived a normal life on board the still anchored ship.
At the beginning of June the UN Secretary General, the Swede Dag Hammarskjöld, took part in the case as he urged Egypt’s President Nasser to let the Inge Toft sail through the Suez Canal. A few days later the Egyptian authorities wanted to start unloading
the cargo, but Captain Schultz refused to open the hatches. Meanwhile the diplomatic effort to solve the conflict was working on the highest level. The UN Secretary General arrived in Egypt en route to the Far East on a mission to resolve the situation. Meanwhile Radio Moscow broadcast a message in Arabic that the seizure of the Inge Toft could be an excuse for the Israelis to launch a military attack on Egypt.
The meeting between Dag Hammarskjöld and President Nasser did not give any result, and President Nasser said that he would not allow Israeli cargos to pass the Suez Canal. On board the Inge Toft the days went by. In July 1959 one crewmember was signed off because of sickness and transferred to Denmark. In September one of the engine crew signed off in order to travel back to Denmark for a family celebration. In the following months messages and statements from both sides were released without any effect on the situation.
Suez crisis The Suez Crisis was a war fought by Britain, France and Israel against Egypt beginning on October 29, 1956. The conflict ended in October 1957. The attack followed Egypt’s decision to nationalize the Suez Canal.
The Inge Toft was still lying at anchor at Port Said. In December 1959 the Egyptian minister of Foreign Affairs arrived at Copenhagen to negotiate with the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jens Otto Krag, but without any immediate result. But later, in February 1960, the situation changed. Egypt issued a high level statement that the Inge Toft could leave Port Said if the cargo was unloaded. This was also subject for negotiations and on February 15, 1960, after 258 days at anchor, the Inge Toft could leave Port Said with most of the cargo still on board.
The Inge Toft left Port Said for Haifa and more cargo before continuing on its maiden voyage. From Haifa it sailed to the Panama Canal and arrived at Osaka on April 14, 1960. The voyage continued, calling several Japanese ports before taking off to Lorenzo Marques in Mozambique and several Nigerian ports to load logs for Haifa in Israel. The Inge Toft called at Haifa on August 17, 1960, which was
86 Shipgaz No 3 2010
Retro International crisis Photo: UN
» But later, in February 1960, the situation changed« the last call for the New York based charters. After Haifa the Inge Toft took a cargo from Melilla to Szczecin and sailed from Poland to Helsingør for docking, arriving on September 15, 1960.
The Inge Toft sailed for D/S Jut-
Dag Hammarskjöld urged Egypt’s President Nasser to let the Inge Toft sail through the Suez Canal. blockade of the vessel because of the 1959/1960 incidents.
The Inge Toft sailed under DDR flag until 1980, when it was sold to a Greek operator and renamed the Kassian Glory flying the Malta flag. The adventure under Malta flag did not
last long, as the international shipping crisis made the owner send the ship to be laid up at Chalkis, Greece on May 21, 1982. The ship stayed laid up until April 1987, when it was sold to a cash buyer and sailed to Gadani Beach in Pakistan for recycling.
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keeping the course
184x118, P1, dh 060510
landia until 1964, when it was sold as the last member of the Jutlandia fleet. The buyer was the East German state company Deutsche Seereederei (DSR), which took over the vessel and renamed it the Altmark. It was deployed to DSR’s East African service, calling Kenya and Tanzania via the Suez Canal. Despite the change of name and flag to a more Arab friendly nation than Israel, the vessel ran into a blockade again. On one of the first voyages under DDR flag the vessel was boycotted when calling at Alexandria. The Association of Arab States issued a
7 –10 sept 2010 hamburg www.smm-hamburg.com
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In 1960 …
… the coaster Jytte Bres constituted the second major step in the careers of two employees at J Lauritzen A/S at Copenhagen. For Axel Nielsen and Poul Bresling, the first step was to decide to go their own way and start the company Rederiet Nielsen & Bresling. In October the same year, the Jytte Bres was delivered as their first newbuilding from Alfred Hagelstein in Lübeck. The ship still sails. She was sold in 1969 becoming the Grollen and from 1977 under Norwegian flag as the Tatjana, Vinjevåg and Karla. Sold in 2007 to Nigeria and left Stellendam for Africa in March 2007. Rederiet Nielsen & Bresling celebrated its 50 years anniversary in the beginning of May this year.
90 Shipgaz No 3 2010
By Pär-Henrik Sjöström par-henrik@shipgaz.com
Retro Oberon
Picture: Håkan Sjöström
Lost at disaster in Kattegatt The French-built Oberon was the most stylish of the passenger steamers in the fleet of the Finnish Steamship Company in the late 1920s. Designed for the emigrant trade from Finland to Hull, the Oberon was completed in 1925, when the traffic already was diminishing to negligible volumes. She was the Finnish Steamship Company’s (FÅA) first newbuilding after World War I. She could carry 100 passengers in first class and 236 passengers in third class. Although regarded as a rather large steamer of her days, the main dimensions of the Oberon are not particularly impressive today: With a length of 92.3 metres and a beam of 13.4 metres she had a gross tonnage of 3,000. Her triple steam engine had an output of 4,500 ihp, providing a speed of 13.5 knots.
The service career of the Oberon was uneventful until the end of 1930. After loading 4,000 casks of butter and some other general cargo, the Oberon sailed from Hanko (Hangö in Swedish) for Hull via Copenhagen on December 17, 1930. The Oberon arrived at Copenhagen on December 19 and continued towards Hull the same day at 1 pm. The weather was grey with zero visibility. The only sign that the Oberon was not alone at sea was the
sounds of steam whistles from other ships. When the bridge watch changed at 8 pm the vessel had reached a position off Læsø. The master Eric Hjelt was on the bridge due to the poor visibility and the vessel proceeded with reduced speed. The captain had some minutes earlier received a telegram with Christmas greetings from the Eastbound Arcturus, another steamer in the FÅA fleet, where his brother Ossi Hjelt was the master. The position mentioned in the message revealed that the vessels were quite close to each other.
»The ice strengthened, razor sharp bow of the vessel cut deep into the starboard side of the Oberon« From 1893 to 1916 a 250,000 Finns emigrated to the US, most of them during the peak years between 1906 and 1910. Many of the emigrants started their voyage on an FÅA-passenger steamer in the port of Hanko, taking them to Hull. From UK they continued their voyage across the Atlantic with ocean liners.
The steam whistle of the Arcturus was first heard on the open bridge of the Oberon soon after 9 pm. The vessels were now South South East of the reef Læsø Trindel. The signals revealed that the vessel was approaching fast. Suddenly the Arcturus became visible in the fog at a distance of just some 100 metres, steering
straight towards the Oberon. The Arcturus started an evasive turn to port, but only seconds later the ice strengthened, razor sharp bow of the vessel cut deep into the starboard side of the Oberon, aft of the funnel.
The Oberon immediately got a severe list to starboard. The crew failed to launch the lifeboats and the lights went out. Within a couple of minutes the Oberon went down stern first. Of the 81 people on board 43 were lost, among these the wife and daughter of captain Hjelt. The reason why the Oberon sank so fast might have been that the collision damaged the cables controlling the water-tight doors, which captain Hjelt had closed from the bridge immediately after the accident. The survivors were picked up by the Arcturus, which got damages in her bow above the waterline. At dawn a Svitzer rescue vessel reached the place, but there was nothing more to do. The Arcturus arrived at Copenhagen in the morning of December 21, flying her flag at half-staff.
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