Supertankers

Oil-Tanker Cancellations

According to an April 15 report from Bloomberg, Frontline Ltd. said that a plunge in supertanker rates to their lowest in at least 11 years will likely spur owners to scrap ships and cancel orders for new ones. Supertankers are making $4,335 a day after fuel costs for delivering Middle East crude to Asia and the U.S., according to data from the London-based Baltic Exchange. (Source: Bloomberg)

$4B Fleet Expansion Planned

's state-owned shipping company aims to spend up to $4 billion over the next three to four years to expand its fleet size, a senior company official said, according to a report published on www.guardian.co.uk. Oman Shipping Company (OSC) is looking to grow its shipping fleet mainly to meet the demand for energy transportation, the company’s CFO reportedly told Reuters in a recent telephone interview. Part of OSC's multi-billion dollar expansion includes a recent order to build 10 VLCCs

Tanker, Container Ship Collide in Singapore Waters

Reports indicate that a supertanker and a container ship collided in Singapore waters southeast of St John's Island. But the incident did not result in any oil pollution or casualty, says the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. It has deployed an anti-pollution craft to monitor the situation and is investigating the incident. MPA says Greece-registered supertanker, Astro Luna, was heading west in the Singapore Strait when it collided with Panama-registered

MSCO Completes Modernization of Natali Supertanker

Murmansk Shipping Company (MSCO) has completed modernizing the Natali supertanker, Interfax Russia reported. The China State Shipbuilding Corporation modernized the tanker over a six-month period. The tanker currently meets the requirements of the international convention to prevent marine pollution. Murmansk Sea Shipping operates the state nuclear icebreaker fleet under a trustee agreement for the management of state property

Ottawa to Mulls Banning U.S.-bound Tankers from N.B. Waterway

The Canadian Press reported that federal politicians say Canada is considering regulations to ban liquefied natural gas supertankers from a sensitive waterway in the Bay of Fundy, risking renewed territorial tensions with the United States. Maxime Bernier, Canada's new minister of foreign affairs, assured a citizens' group on Sunday that Canada is opposed to the prospect of LNG supertankers navigating the treacherous waters that lead into Passamaquoddy Bay between Maine and New Brunswick

Supertankers Pose No Danger to Bay of Fundy

Proponents of a controversial liquefied natural gas plant in Maine say a study ordered by the Canadian government has found there is no reason to ban supertankers from the Bay of Fundy, as Ottawa has threatened to do if the U.S. approves the project. Downeast LNG said the environmental study found there were no immediate risks of having LNG supertankers go through the Bay of Fundy, part of which is split by the New Brunswick-Maine border, to the proposed plant.

Significant Evidence of External Explosion on LIMBURG

The U.S. Department of State, in its press briefing of October 11, said that, while work continues to arrive at a definitive judgment regarding the cause of the explosion on board the French supertanker LIMBURG, "there is significant evidence to suggest that an explosion that originated externally damaged the LIMBURG." Source: HK Law

Administration Calls for Prompt Creation of Department of Homeland Security

Citing, among other things, the explosion on the French supertanker LIMBURG in waters of Yemen, the White House issued Remarks of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge and other Administration officials calling on Congress to promptly enact legislation to establish the Department of Homeland Security. Source: HK Law

Iran Firm to Spend $2B on Tankers

National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), Iran's supertanker operator, plans to invest over $2 billion over the next four years. The plans include building of 10 LNG carriers and 10 chemical tankers by 2009, said Mohammad Souri, chairman, NITC. Currently, Iran exports $ 3.9 billion worth of petrochemicals and this will increase to $11.5 billion by 2010, he said in a published report. Source: Trade Arabia

From VLCC Bridge To Beans Café

Joseph Hazelwood -- the man who was captain of the Exxon Valdez supertanker when it grounded against the Alaska coast has started his first month-long stint of helping out at a kitchen -- Beans Cafe -- that serves Anchorage's poor and homeless. The community service is part of his sentence for his criminal conviction stemming from the 1989 accident in which about 35,000 tons of oil were spilled in Prince William Sound.