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Australasia News

08 Mar 2023

DP World to Install Innovative BOXBAY Container Storage System in Busan

The signing took place in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, and was signed by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World and Burkhard Dahmen, Chairman and CEO of SMS group, the partners behind BOXBAY. (Photo: DP World)

UAE-based logistics giant DP World announced its BOXBAY high-bay storage system will be installed to boost container handling efficiency at its terminal in Busan, South Korea.BOXBAY was developed by DP World in a joint venture with German plant technology supplier SMS group, who first created and proved the system for handling heavy metal coils. Refined for port logistics, the fully automated rack-like container storage system allows direct access to each container at any time…

13 Jan 2022

MMA Offshore Upgrades Vessel to Support Taiwanese Offshore Wind Market

Credit: MMA Offshore

Australian offshore support vessel operator MMA Offshore has completed a subsea conversion program on the MMA Crystal vessel to support the Taiwanese offshore wind market.The new additions to the vessel feature subsea equipment including a work-class ROV, a 50Te A-frame, and a survey and positioning system.Following the conversion, the 70.5 meters long MMA Crystal is set to begin its journey to Taiwan where she will be engaged in supporting the offshore wind market.The offshore…

08 Dec 2021

Auckland’s First High-speed Plug-in Electric Hybrid Ferry Announced

(Image: Fullers360)

Aukland ferry operator Fullers360 announced a new electric hybrid fast ferry will join its fleet in 2023.The new electric vessel with hybrid capabilities will have capacity to transport approximately 300 passengers servicing the company’s Devonport route, with capacity to travel to other destinations as needed. Designed by Incat Crowther, the vessel is a modular metro-level with overflow to the upper deck optimized to be up to 100% electric on the Devonport route.Fullers360’s CEO…

06 Nov 2020

Austal's Vietnam Yard Delivers Its First Newbuild

(Photo: Austal Vietnam)

Shipbuilding group Austal announced Friday that its Vietnam yard opened in 2018 has delivered its first vessel fully constructed at the Vung Tau shipyard.The 94-meter high-speed catamaran A.P.T James was officially handed over from Austal Vietnam to the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCo), to be used for maritime transport services on the Trinidad and Tobago ‘sea bridge’ route between the islands.The Auto Express 94 vehicle-passenger ferry was designed at Austal Australia and features the company’s signature raked bow and optimized hull design.

18 Mar 2020

HTL Australasia Receives NATA Accreditation

Photo: HTL Australasia

HTL Australasia announced it has received accreditation from the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA). The national accreditation body for Australia has approved HTL Group in Western Australia for the calibration of torque equipment.HTL Australasia offers a range of controlled bolting, flange working and portable machine equipment. Having the NATA accreditation confirms HTL Australasia’s competency in providing a high-quality service. The scope covers two classifications of testing…

09 Dec 2019

WiseTech Global Acquires Ready Korea

Global logistics software group, WiseTech Global has announced the acquisition of Ready Korea, a customs, bonded warehouse and trade compliance solutions provider in South Korea.Headquartered in Seoul, Ready Korea offers a cross-border compliance solution, which facilitates the lodgement of electronic transactions to the Korean Customs Service, including customs brokerage and refunds and Free Trade Agreement verification, along with bonded warehouse management.Ready Korea also provides a trade administration solution to facilitate the generation and submission of electronic import/export documentation. Customers of Ready Korea include FedEx…

30 Oct 2019

Viva Energy Fuels the Future of Shipping

Photo: Viva Energy

Viva Energy Australia announced the launch of its new very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), developed to meet the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) new regulations on fuel sulphur content.The new regulations will limit the sulphur content in marine fuels to 0.5% from the current level of 3.5%, in a move to reduce sulphur oxide emissions globally. Vessels worldwide will be required to comply by January 1, 2020.The introduction of the IMO’s new sulphur cap on fuels is one…

07 Aug 2019

Shanghai Ports Tops in Connectivity

The Shanghai port has topped UNCTAD’s 2019 ranking of the world’s best-connected ports, released yesterday (7 August).The Chinese port garnered a connectivity score of 134 points, followed by the ports of Singapore (124.63 points), Pusan (114.45 points) in Korea and Ningbo (114.35 points), also in China. The index is set at 100 for the best-connected port in 2006, which was Hong Kong, China.Besides the Asian ports, the other ports on the top 10 list are those of Antwerp (94 points) in Belgium and Rotterdam (93 points) in the Netherlands. None of the ports in the top 20 list are from Africa, Latin America, North America or Australasia.“A container port’s performance is a critical factor that can determine transport costs and…

21 Jan 2019

Newcastle Port Becomes First EcoPort in Australasia

Port of Newcastle has become the first port in Australia or New Zealand to commit to meeting global environmental and sustainability standards as set by EcoPorts.The port was this month granted membership of the International EcoPorts network, having completed rigorous assessments to benchmark its environmental and sustainability practices against 120 major ports across Europe, Asia, North America and South America.Developed in 1997, EcoPorts remains the only Environmental Management Standard (EMS) specific to the global port sector.Port of Newcastle environmental adviser Jackie Spiteri said the organisation had chosen to be a pioneer…

13 Nov 2018

OMV, Sapura Energy Sign Pact

Malaysia’s Sapura Energy has entered into a heads of agreement with Austria’s OMV to form a strategic partnership and acquire half of Sapura Upstream for $1.6 billion."Under the agreements, OMV Exploration and Production GmbH (OMV E&P), a wholly-owned subsidiary of OMV Aktiengesellschaft, will buy a 50 per cent stake of the enlarged issued share capital in a newly-formed joint venture company, SEB Upstream Sdn Bhd (SUP), based on an enterprise value of up to USD1.6 billion comprising an equity value of up to USD1,250 million and debt of USD350 million," said a statement from Sapura Energy Berhad.The integrated oil and gas services company based in Selangor…

16 Oct 2018

Interferry Names New Chairman and Board Members

Interferry chairman John Steen-Mikkelsen (Photo: Interferry)

Interferry, the trade association representing the worldwide ferry industry, has announced that the new chairman of its board of directors is John Steen-Mikkelsen, CEO of Danish ferry operator Danske Faerger.Steen-Mikkelsen was elected together with three new board members at the annual general meeting held last week in Cancun, Mexico, during the association’s 43rd annual conference.The Interferry board is drawn from all types of large and small ferry operations - including ro-pax, ro-ro, cruise ferries, fast ferries and passenger-only ferries - as well as industry suppliers.

04 Oct 2018

Asia Maritime Pacific Merges with Fenwick Shipping Services

Asia Maritime Pacific and Fenwick Shipping Services announced Thursday that the two companies have merged their operations.Asia Maritime Pacific is a Handysize and minibulker owner and operator, headquartered in Hong Kong, with a fleet of over 40 modern dry bulk vessels operating worldwide. It has a network of nine offices and more than 100 employees spread across the globe, including Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Melbourne, London, Austin, Douala and Santos.Fenwick Shipping Services was first established in 1973 as Wheelock Marine Chartering, and changed its name in 1985. Like Asia Maritime Pacific, the company has a long-established relationship with Hong Kong.Fenwick’s four Handysize vessels will join the AMP fleet…

03 Oct 2018

Babcock Wins Newcastle Helicopter Marine Pilot Contract

(Photo: Babcock International Group)

Babcock Australasia announced it has been awarded a further contract for helicopter marine pilot transfer services at the Newcastle Port, following a competitive tender process.Under the contract, Babcock will provide aircraft, pilots, engineering personnel and maintenance staff to ensure the safe transportation of marine pilots to ships located 3 to 8 nautical miles offshore. This continues the services that Babcock has provided at the Port since 1999.“This new contract reinforces…

04 Sep 2018

Partners Aim to Enhance LNG Transfer Efficiency

(Photo: Trelleborg)

Trelleborg’s marine systems operation and Australasian engineering consultancy Synertec have formed a strategic partnership to meet demand for more accurate and efficient liquefied natural gas (LNG) custody transfer. Under the new agreement, Trelleborg will distribute Synertec’s LNG custody transfer system across its global sales network.LNG custody transfer, the transfer of the ownership of LNG from one organization to other, has long involved fiscal risk given significant uncertainties in traditional tank measurement.

26 Jul 2018

Norwegian Joy is US Bound

Norwegian Joy (Photo: Port of Los Angeles)

Norwegian Cruise Line’s first ship custom-designed specifically for the Chinese cruise market will be repositioned to sail from the United States starting in 2019.The nearly 4,000 passenger cruise ship Norwegian Joy is slated to sail seasonally from Seattle to Alaska in summer 2019 before making voyages to the Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal from Los Angeles in winter 2019/2020.Built by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in 2017, the 1,094-foot-long, 167,725 gt Norwegian Joy was designed with finishes and amenities tailored specifically to the tastes of Chinese guests.

23 Jul 2018

Asian Cruise Market Growth Continues -Report

© napa74 / Adobe Stock

Cruise vacations are growing increasingly popular in Asian markets, according to the latest report from trade association Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).Asian-sourced ocean cruise passenger numbers hit another record high in 2017 with more than 4 million taking an ocean cruise (up 20.6 percent), CLIA’s 2018 Asia Cruise Trends report revealed.Asia accounted for about 15 percent of total global ocean passenger volume in 2017 as mainland China maintained its dominance as a key source market…

02 May 2018

OOCL Reports Higher Revenues for 1Q

Hong Kong-based container shipping and logistics service company Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) reported revenues for the first quarter of 2018 at $1.38 billion, up 16.3 percent from the first quarter of 2017. OOCL carried 1,579,578 TEUs in the same period 7.5 percent more than in the same 2017 period. A press briefing said that the loadable capacity increased by 16.0% and the overall load factor was 6.4% lower than the same period in 2017. Overall average revenue per teu increased by 8.3% compared to the first quarter of last year. OOCL’s volumes were up 16.3 in the transpacific, up 20.5 percent in the Asia-Europe trade lane and up 2.2 percent in the transatlantic but down 1.1 percent in the intraAsia/Australasia trade lanes.

09 Oct 2017

SGMF, LNG MFI to Pomote LNG as Fuel

The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) signed a memorandum of understanding with Australia’s LNG MFI to jointly promote the use of liquefied natural gas as fuel. SGMF is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) established since 2013 to promote safety and industry best practice in the use of gas as a marine fuel. Governed by a representative Board and driven by two principal Committees, SGMF has several working groups at any one time solving issues and producing outputs such as Guidelines and checklists for the industry. The Society has produced four ISBN publications in the past two years alone and now has over 120 international members ranging from oil majors, port authorities, fuel suppliers through to equipment manufacturers and classification societies.

26 Sep 2017

Container Lines Speed up Their Assault on Reefer Cargo

Container shipping lines are increasing their share of the seaborne reefer market and are forecast to accelerate their assault over the coming years, according to the latest edition of the Reefer Shipping Market Review and Forecast 2017/18 published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. In 2016, the estimated perishable reefer cargo split was 79% in reefer containerships and 21% in specialised reefers. By 2021 this modal split is forecast to have changed to nearer 85% and 15% in reefer containerships and specialised reefers respectively. One interesting development in 2017 saw specialised reefer operator Seatrade team-up with CMA CGM to provide a 13-vessel reefer container service offering a weekly sailing between Europe and Australasia.

23 Aug 2017

Prelude FLNG Enters into Lloyd’s Register Class

Prelude being towed to Australia  (Photo: Lloyd's Register)

Shell’s floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility Prelude has officially entered into Lloyd's Register (LR) class. At 488 meters long, 74 meters wide and displacing about 600,000 tonnes of water, Prelude is the largest floating offshore facility in the world. Last month Prelude arrived at its operating location in the Browse Basin, offshore northwest Australia. It will be moored at a depth of 250 meters and will not be dry-docked for the first 25 years of its expected 50-year operational life.

04 Jul 2017

The Impact of Future Global Tides on Energy

The first comprehensive study of the impact of global sea-level rise on tides has implications for future coastal flood risk, harbour management, and the long term planning of tidal energy sites. This research, published in Continental Shelf Research by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), University of Southampton and Deltares, shows that sea-level rise can significantly alter tides across the world in many different ways in both space and time. The change will be most pronounced in shelf seas on the east coast of the Americas, northwest Europe, north coast of Russia, across Asia and Australasia. This study was conducted by feeding a range of ‘plausible’ estimates of global sea level rise…

28 Jun 2016

Charting the Shift of Oceanic Boundary Currents

Global warming results in fundamental changes to important ocean currents. As scientists from the Alfred-Wegener-Institute show in a new study, wind-driven subtropical boundary currents in the northern and southern hemisphere are not only going to increase in strength by the end of this century. The Kuroshio Current, the Agulhas Current and other oceanic currents are shifting their paths towards the pole and thus carry higher temperatures and thus the risk of storms to temperate latitudes. For this study, researchers evaluated a wealth of independent observational data and climate simulations. They showed the same pattern for all boundary currents, with the Gulf Stream as the only exception. According to the data, the latter will weaken over the next decades.

20 Apr 2016

Anticipating Market Change Crucial for Industry - Braemar

Being in a position to accurately anticipate change in the shipping markets is becoming ever more crucial for maritime service providers, as owning principals demand more solutions to the problems created by over-ordering, according to Braemar Group Asia President Denis Petropoulos. Speaking at a press conference during Singapore Maritime Week, Mr Petropoulos said this need for in-depth industry knowledge and experience in understanding how to deal with market downturns means that shipping service clusters like Singapore would find themselves in a strong position when the times start to improve. “Owners and charterers rely on these services…