First Four

China Overtakes Korean Shipbuilding

South Korean shipbuilders were overtaken by their Chinese rivals in new orders acquired in the first four months of the year, a London-based market researcher said on Wednesday. South Korean shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co and Samsung Heavy Industries Co received a combined 6.9 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders in the January-April period, up 6.9% from a year ago, Clarkson Research Studies said. New orders acquired by Chinese shipyards totaled 8.5 million However, South Korea maintained its No 1 ranking in the global shipbuilding industry in terms of backlogs of orders and the volume of vessels built, the market researcher said. South Korean shipbuilders' combined backlogs of orders totaled 46.4 million CGTs as of the end of April, compared with their Chinese rivals' 34.2 million CGTs and Japanese shipbuilders' 29.7 million CGTs. Korean shipyards built 3.2 million CGTs in the first four months of the year, nearly triple the Chinese shipyards' figure of 1.2 million CGTs. South Korea, home to seven of the world's top 10 shipyards, clinched record-high orders last year because of strong demand for crude-oil carriers and offshore exploration equipment amid high oil prices. Source: Asia Pulse/Yonhap

Good start for Jotun in 2004

The Jotun group generated sales of NOK 2,039 million in the first four months of 2003 which is NOK 244 million more than for the same period in 2003. The group generated a profit on operating profit before tax of NOK 228 million compared to NOK 185 million last year. Sales measured in volume have increased and the strong currency fluctuations of recent years have moderated so that sales measured in NOK more closely reflected the group's growth.

Unitor to Supply Skaugen Fleet

A six-ship fleet of state-of-the-art ethylene carriers building for Norway’s I.M. Skaugen at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai, China are being fitted with a comprehensive range of fire-fighting and fire-protection systems from Unitor. All six ships, known as the Super Coolers, have been specially designed for operation within the Norgas fleet of gas tankers. The first four vessels, Norgas Orinda, Norgas Sonoma, Norgas Petaluma and Norgas Alameda have a capacity of 8,556m³

Northrop Grumman Newport News to Lay Keel

Northrop Grumman Corporation's Newport News sector is teamed with Electric Boat to build the first four ships of the Virginia-class. Texas is the second ship of the class and the first one that will undergo final assembly and delivery at Newport News in 2005. The keel that will be laid for Texas is part of the stern section of the ship. The keynote speaker for the ceremony will be U.S. Sen. John Warner of Virginia. Other ceremony participants will include Northrop Grumman

Tanker Rates Plateau After 90% Surge

Middle East tanker charter rates, up more than 90 percent since the start of the year, appear to have reached a plateau, shippers said. Worldscale rates for chartering a very large crude carrier (VLCC) to transport two million barrels of crude oil from the Middle East to the U.S. Gulf now stand at W82.5-W85, compared with W42.5 at the beginning of January. To Japan rates have risen to W95-W100 from about W52.5. That means the cost of shipping oil to the U.S

Navy Contracts for Sub Conversion

The Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) a cost reimbursement modification, valued at $162,359,000 for the conversion of the USS Georgia from an Ohio Class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN 729) to Ohio Class guided missile submarine (SSGN 729). "This contract modification represents the final contractual step in transforming the first four Ohio Class SSBNs into the most capable strike and Special Forces platform in the Navy," said Capt

Laura Bush Authenticates Keel

Northrop Grumman Corporation's Newport News sector hosted a keel laying ceremony for the second Virginia-class submarine, Texas (SSN 775). Laura Bush is the Ship's Sponsor and served as the keel authenticator for the ceremony. Mrs. Bush authenticated the keel by chalking her initials onto a metal plate. Her initials were then welded and the plate will be permanently affixed to the submarine. "A mighty American submarine deserves a mighty American name," she said

French, Spanish Funds for Motorways of the Sea

Funding Commission authorises state aid to a Franco-Spanish Motorways of the Sea project and includes it among the twenty-two selected projects for Marco Polo financing The European Commission gave its green light for the public financing from France and Spain to the Fres Mos project. It will link the French port of Nantes-Saint Nazaire with the Spanish port of Gijon, and will be operated by GLD Atlantique. This Motorways of the Sea project will also receive an EU grant in the framework of

Chouest Continues Newbuild Program

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) announced plans to continue its newbuilding program. Having already designed, built, owned and operated almost 70 new generation offshore vessels servicing the deepwater oil and gas industry over the past decade, the company plans for 11 new vessels, with options for an additional 14. Construction highlights feature three additional 280-ft. deepwater supply vessels, with an option for another 10; four 160-ft

Queen Mary 2 Celebrates Keel

Cunard Line celebrated a milestone when a prefabricated section of the keel was lowered into the building dock of Queen Mary 2. The new $800-million Cunard flagship will enter service in January 2004 and will be the largest, longest, tallest and most expensive passenger ship ever built. The keel is the lower part of the outer hull and is the base of the ship upon which everything else is built. Cunard chose July 4, 2002, as the