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Basic Services News

28 Apr 2022

Seafarer Satisfaction at Eight-year Low, Report Says

©Igor Kardasov/AdobeStock

The latest Seafarers Happiness Index report, published today by The Mission to Seafarers, reveals the lowest levels of seafarer satisfaction for eight years, with the Index’s measure of overall happiness decreasing from 6.41 to 5.85 and levels dropping across all categories.The survey, undertaken with the support of the Standard Club and Idwal, reports on Q1 2022 and shows that a turbulent start to 2022 on many fronts has severely impacted seafarer happiness. From the COVID-19 Omicron variant to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and concerns over contractual issues…

28 Sep 2020

Tankers Carrying Iranian Fuel Enter Venezuelan Waters

The first of a group of three tankers carrying Iranian fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela entered the waters of the South American nation on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, in the most recent sign of the countries' expanding trade.The two OPEC members have increased cooperation this year by exchanging crude, fuel, food, equipment for refineries and other industrial goods. Many details about the transactions are not available, however.The Iran-flagged tanker Forest, transporting some 270,000 barrels of fuel loaded in the Middle East, entered Venezuela's exclusive economic zone around 8:05 a.m. local time (1205 GMT) without any disturbances…

11 Apr 2019

IMO Maritime Single Window Progress

A successful International Maritime Organization (IMO) project promoted by Norway to establish a maritime "single window" in Antigua and Barbuda has been completed – and the source code for the system will now be made available to other countries who need it.A maritime single window enables all information required by public authorities in connection with the arrival, stay and departure of ships, people and cargo, to be submitted electronically via a single portal, without duplication. This type of system is recommended by IMO's Facilitation Convention, the treaty which aims to reduce administrative burdens and make shipping and trade…

12 Feb 2018

How Much is That Superyacht Worth?

© jon11/AdobeStock

Sam Tucker Will Tell You! There’s a new name in Superyacht valuation, and the name is VesselsValue.com. Last month we spoke with VesselsValue.com’s Sam Tucker for insights on its new Superyachts report. Many of our readers know VessselsValue, but for those who do not, please provide a brief description of the organization and its offering. Launched in 2011 by Richard Rivlin, a ship broker with 40 years of buying and selling experience, VesselsValue provides daily and automated Market…

14 Oct 2017

UTLC Launches Service from China to Europe

Russia's JSC United Transport and Logistics Company (UTLC) jointly with KTZ-Express launched a new transport product for the delivery of non-hazardous chemical goods in tank containers from China to Europe as part of the regular container service U West (Dostyk-Brest). The first train, consisting of 82 twenty-foot tank containers, loaded with butylene glycol produced by XINJIANG MARKOR CHEMICAL INDUSTRY, departed from Korla Station (China). The cargo transited through the territories of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus and further through Poland through the territories of the EU countries to the terminal at the station Duisburg (Germany). UTLC provided a service on a track of 1520 mm at the section Dostyk - Brest.

17 Oct 2016

Sailing into the Arctic’s Future

Randall Luthi (Photo: NOIA)

Last month, a large cruise ship completed its inaugural cruise through the Northwest Passage. The historic journey brought nearly 1,700 passengers from Seward, Alaska, past the rugged wilderness and isolated villages of the Arctic, to the concrete jungle of New York City. Along the way, passengers and crew were treated to a stunning contrast of climates, geography and culture. While understandable, concerns over passenger safety, wildlife disruptions and water pollution went unrealized during the historic cruise through the passage.

08 May 2016

Mozambique's Tuna Fleet Rusts as an African Success Story Fades

The 24 fishing boats rusting in the harbour of Mozambique's capital were meant to be a modern tuna fleet that would rake in hard currency, create jobs and provide a cheap source of protein for one of the world's poorest countries. Instead, they have become monuments to government mismanagement and heavy lending by Western banks that have buried a promising African economy in a deep debt crisis. The boats, moored in the harbour of Maputo, were paid for out of an $850-million loan arranged in 2013 by Credit Suisse and Russia's VTB to finance "fishing infrastructure". The cash came in the form of a government-backed bond to state tuna-fishing company Ematum.

01 Nov 2015

Huge Saudi Sadara Project Signs Deals for Storage, Port Services

Saudi Arabia's Sadara Basic Services, fully owned by Sadara Chemical Co, has signed agreements covering storage facilities and port services, it said on Sunday as the firm prepares to start producing petrochemicals by the end of this year. Sadara Chemical is a $20 billion petrochemical joint venture between national oil giant Saudi Aramco and U.S. firm Dow Chemical. The partners have said the venture will go ahead on schedule despite slumping global oil and petrochemical prices. Sadara will sell some tank storage facilities to Jubail Chemical and Storage Services Co (JCSSC) at cost for around 1.76 billion riyals ($470 million), it said in a Saudi bourse statement.

01 Nov 2014

Krishnapatnam Port Wins Seatrade CSR Award

Widely recognized for excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility, Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited was declared winner of 2014 Seatrade Maritime Awards in the category Corporate Social Responsibility. The award presentation took place during the  Dubai Maritime Week wherein the annual Seatrade Maritime Awards was hosted on Monday 27 October 2014. In all 14 entrants vied for this prestigious award. Krishnapatnam Port which is just in its seventh year of operations has created a socio-economic atmosphere that has immensely benefitted the surrounding inhabitants. The Krishnapatnam Port's Leadership Team, based on an unequivocal commitment to human values, believes in sustainable development and maintaining harmony with the communities living around the Port.

29 Sep 2014

DW: Local Content Key in Foreign Offshore Deals

In many of the key deepwater markets, estimated to be worth $72bn by 2018, E&P and OFS companies alike are exposed to challenging local content requirements, remarks Douglas-Westwood in their 'DW Monday'. Local content agreements are typically are motivated by a desire to stimulate industrial development, and promote technology transfer. A typical local content agreement stipulates that E&P companies must procure a minimum percentage of equipment and services from local contractors. Recent examples can be seen in countries such as Brazil (Petrobras new-build FPSO units to use domestically-built hulls), Angola (BP partnering with Sonangol) and Nigeria (Total utilising a 90% local work force for the AKPO FPSO).

04 Apr 2014

Chile Port City Still Shut Following 8.2 Quake

Iquique Port Crest: Image CCL

As the aftershocks from a massive 8.2 magnitude quake that rattled northern Chile entered a third day, basic services were still out in the port city Iquique nearest the epicenter and residents fearful of tsunamis were fleeing into the hills. Iquique, an important port for freight travelling between Asia and South America, is shut for now. Even when ships are allowed to resume docking, it may struggle with a labor shortage, as many of its workers are holed up in Alto Hospicio, the port head told Reuters on Thursday.

20 Nov 2013

KVH Sponsors Event Highlighting Seafarer Welfare

The private ISWAN event on 21 November will take place in an appropriately maritime venue: The Ward Room of the HMS "President", a former Royal Navy warship docked in London and converted to a club and event space. George, the author of the acclaimed book, "Deep Sea and Foreign Going: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry that Brings You 90% of Everything," published in September 2013, is a lecturer and former ship master who received the MBE in 2000 for services to maritime safety. George spent five weeks on a containership while researching "Deep Sea and Foreign Going," which describes the challenging working conditions onboard commercial ships. Her book has received attention both inside and outside the shipping industry for raising awareness of seafarers' welfare.

28 Feb 2013

President Addresses Sequester at Newport News

Photo: Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

On February 6, 2013, President Obama traveled to Newport News, Virginia to tour the shipbuilding site and address the impact of the looming sequester. The President:  Hello, Newport News! Well, it is good to see all of you here today. I want to thank your CEO, Mike Petters, for showing me around. I usually don’t get a chance to hang out with nuclear submarines, especially submarines that my wife has sponsored. (Applause.)  So right there, that was worth the trip. But most importantly…

09 Oct 2012

Pirates Beware as Somalia State-building Begins

“There is definitely unimaginable change in Somalia from a war situation to an increasing peaceful situation,” says UN top envoy. “It may be more difficult, it may be more challenging, [but] we have moved from transition to transformation which entails peacebuilding [and] around it is state-building,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, told a news conference in Nairobi, in neighbouring Kenya, of the UN’s future role in a country that had been torn apart by more than 20 years of internecine warfare. The UN envoy paid tribute to the UN-backed African Union force in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali forces…

25 Oct 2009

SNAME 2009: New Safe Return to Port

On the Annual Meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) Germanischer Lloyd (GL), will present a new Guideline for Safe Return to Port. The presentation by Andreas Ullrich, Dr. Daniel Povel and Dr. Urs Vogler "Safe Return to Port - Challenges Ahead for Passenger Ship Design" will give an overview about SOLAS regulations to Safe Return to Port and demonstrates influence on the design of future passenger ships. A software tool supporting the Safe Return to Port assessment is demonstrated. The new SOLAS regulations are a pro-active action of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regarding the increasing size of passenger ships and the difficulties in safely evacuation of passengers.

04 Mar 2009

Largest Ferry in the English Channel

The production of the first of the two huge ferries ordered by P& O Ferries started on the 3rd of March 2009 by cutting its first steel plate on STX Europe’s yard in Rauma, Finland. The roro-passenger ferries to carry freight and cars are scheduled for delivery in 2010 and 2011 for entering into Dover-Calais service. Becoming the largest ferry in the English Channel means a 49,000 GT vessel with the length of 689 ft and having 2,700 lane metres of vehicle space. There will be space for more than 180 freight vehicles and additionally for up to 195 tourist vehicles.

07 Nov 2003

LISCR Calls for UN Audit

the government from Liberia's shipping registry. funds from the Registry income. has confused LISCR with the former Bureau of Maritime Affairs in Liberia. not LISCR or the Registry. presentation to the UN Sanctions Committee. open register propaganda do not help Liberia at all. cooperative and have given the UN full disclosure. report. publicly reported auditing scheme to international standards. very highest standards of safety and security. corporate program. Commissioner-designate of Maritime Affairs, J. corporate registry being managed by LISCR. Liberia in 1999 and find it completely satisfactory and fair. agent of the maritime and corporate program. nation. prosper under the management of LISCR. Mr. relationship with LISCR. maritime program. humanitarian purposes.

23 Sep 1999

Todd Pacific Shipyards Launches Margarita

Todd Pacific Shipyards launched Margarita, a 70 mw power barge, that will provide Nicaraguan communities with much needed electricity. In the wake of devastation from Hurricane Mitch, many communities in Nicaragua do not have basic services and still suffer enormous public health challenges. Todd built Margarita for MAN B&W Diesel of Augsberg, Germany. MAN is building the vessel for Empresa Energetica de Corinto, Ltd., a consortium of Enron International of Houston and Centrans International of Guatemala. Margarita is the result of a 15-year power purchase agreement entered into by the consortium in July 1998. The power plant's capacity will represent 15 percent of Nicaragua's electricity generation.