Vessel Parts

Korean Shipyards Face Challenge

Korean shipbuilders' earnings are forecast to improve through 2008 and beyond as the tight supply and demand balance allows them to pass on rising costs, said investment bank Lehman Brothers in a report. Lehman's expects earnings at the shipyards to report a 64 percent growth over the 2006-2008 period as revived interest in container ship investment amid continued demand for tankers and gas carriers is increasingly making global shipbuilding a seller's market. "At the same time, Korean shipyards are more keen on managing risk and costs by hedging their foreign exchange exposure and procuring lower-cost steel plates from China," the report said. It also noted that Korean shipyards' flexible vessel design capabilities are the key differentiating factor that positions them ahead of their Japanese and Chinese counterparts. Lehman's top picks were Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. among shipbuilders, and Samyoung M-Tek among vessel parts suppliers. Yet, it might not be all smooth sailing for Korea's shipyards after 2008 with Brazil, Russia, India and China rushing to build large shipyards to meet the growing demand for vessels to transport oil and raw materials, according to maritime information portal site Marine-net.

Graig expands into Germany

Cardiff and Shanghai-based Graig Group is expanding into Germany. Graig has established a ship management company in Hamburg, and has sold and chartered back seven ships in a $24m KG deal backed by Hamburg-based KG broker Ownership Emissionhaus Gmbh. Graig Shipmanagement (Germany) Gmbh will manage seven modern Confidence-class multi-purpose vessels, part of the nineteen-ship series which Graig built in China between 1997 and 2003

ILS-Software Package for German Coast Guard

Just two weeks after christening the first of three 216 ft. (66 m) Offshore Patrol Vessels, the German Coast Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz) ordered an extensive software and data package for Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) of the new " Bad Bramstedt"-class from Abeking & Rasmussen, designers and builders of the new vessels. The order consitsts of three on-board versions and one shore version of the new developed Virtual Ship Explorer (VSE)

Blue Star Maritime to Sell Catamaran

Greece's Blue Star Maritime SA said it signed an agreement to sell its catamaran Seajet 2 for $3.6M to the Sea Jet II Shipping Co The delivery of the vessel is expected to take place by the end of March. Part of the sale price will be paid when the vessel is delivered, while the credited amount of $3M will be paid in monthly instalments until September 2006. Blue Star said the vessel sale is part of its policy to focus on the operation of fast, modern, conventional vessels.

MARAD Releases Report on E-Seals

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) released the voluminous two-part report evaluating electronic seals for use on cargo containers. The analysis was conducted on behalf of the Cargo Handling Cooperative Program and evaluated the operation of four selected radio frequency (RF) based e-seals and one non-RF e-seal. The goal was to develop a technical baseline that could help stakeholders select appropriate solutions to security, operational, and economic requirements

Seatel: Part Barge, Part Hotel

Svitzer UK and Sanderson Maritime have launched Seatel, a North Sea barge with a 70 bedroom hotel module offering a comfortable, stable platform and high quality accommodation at half the cost of current market alternatives. Designed for anchorage in deep-sea locations, Seatel covers twenty five thousand square feet and has been designed to offer the space and feel of an equivalent land based motel. It was developed to be self sufficient, with onboard generators, an infield maintenance workshop

New Online Maritime Mareketplace Set For Launch

Equilinx, a business-to-business e-commerce hub for the marine industry, will launch the world's first international online marketplace for ship repair and replacement parts, equipment and services in the second quarter of 2000. This new global maritime procurement gateway will combine comprehensive databases of catalogs with a sophisticated search engine that allows buyers to locate parts for ship repairs and maintenance

Wärtsilä and BW Gas Sign Training Contract

Wärtsilä Corporation and the Norwegian gas transportation company BW Gas ASA of Oslo signed a contract in January 2007 for the training of BW Gas personnel. The contract is for two years. The training courses provided under this contract are tailored to the specific requirements of BW Gas to cover the specific operational and performance aspects of the ships in the BW Gas fleet. The objective is to give ships' personnel and shore management a sound basis for cost-efficient

Pakhoed Delays Refinancing of Fleet

Pakhoed NV has reportedly postponed the refinancing of part of its Pakhoed Shipping division fleet.

Multraship Orders Two Damen ASD 2810 Tugboats

Multraship confirms its purchase of the two tugs now being constructed in Romania for delivery in June/July 2013. Contracts for the two tugs, to be named Multratug 26 and Multratug 27, were signed during the course of Multraship’s recent annual client gathering in Terneuzen. Multraship managing director Leendert Muller said, “The new tugs will be mostly engaged in harbour towage activities in the Zeeland Seaports and Antwerp areas