Burma News

The trade war continues to rage in the shade of the headline-grabbing supply chain disruptions. The tariffs are still in place and are unlikely to go anywhere despite the change of administration in the United States. While higher exports from the US to China under the Phase One Agreement have added volumes for tanker and dry bulk shipping, containerized imports to the US have shifted from China to other countries in the region. Despite an increase in exports, the commitments made in the Phase One Agreement are a long way off and unlikely to be met…

Begun in 1918 by British troops, Basra's shipyard is surviving into old age with little maintenance, relying on its vintage machinery and the skill of its workers to keep going.Thousands of ships, including former dictator Saddam Hussein's yacht, have passed through the Iraqi shipyard's three docks, where a giant steam engine hauls them out of the water and up the century-old wooden tracks.There are no spare parts and no written manuals.Mohammed Adnan, who has been operating the huge steam engine for six years now, says it is not easy. It requires expertise and intuition to maintain the right pressure in the boilers, and to prevent the engine from overheating."British manufacturing is great quality ...

A total of 40 passengers have been rescued after two vessels collided in Pathein, southwestern Myanmar's Ayeyawaddy region Friday night, in which 20 others have been confirmed killed, Xinhua reported quoting Pathein Water Transport Police. With about 60 passengers aboard, a passenger vessel named Ngwe Kyal Pwint (Silver Star) sank after it collided with another ship loaded with stones near Pathein Taman Creek at 8 p.m. local time on Friday night. Of the dead, officials said 16 were women and four were men. The victims include three children. AP reports that fatal boat accidents are common in Myanmar, a poor country with rudimentary transport and weakly-enforced safety regulations.

Virginia-based company Lumber Liquidators was sentenced today to $13.2 million in fines and forfeitures for importing illegal wood and submitting false declarations under the Lacey Act, a conservation law that makes it a crime to import plants and animals taken in violation of state and foreign law. In addition, the company has been placed on a five-year probation, during which it must implement a strict environmental compliance plan. In October 2015, after a two-year investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the flooring retailer pleaded guilty to smuggling illegal wood, including one criminal felony of entry of goods by means of false statements and four misdemeanor counts of violating the Lacey Act.

Myanmar lands 727 migrants after boat kept offshore for days. Myanmar brought ashore more than 700 "boat people" it had kept at sea for days aboard a seized vessel, as the United States on Wednesday called on the country to help solve a migrant crisis by recognising the rights of its Muslim Rohingya minority. U.S. President Barack Obama has sought to make Myanmar's transition to democracy a legacy of his presidency, and Washington is stepping up pressure on the Southeast Asian nation to tackle what it sees as the root causes of an exodus of migrants across the Bay of Bengal that the region has struggled to cope with. The 727 migrants were found drifting in the Andaman Sea on Friday in an overloaded fishing boat that was taking on water.

Evergreen Line announced it will partner with Mariana Express in launching a joint South China- East Malaysia (SEM) Service. The new initiative will give a boost to the service offered to shippers on this important sector of the Intra-Asian trade, the liner company said. The SEM service will employ two ships with around 1,000 TEU capacity each. Sailings will be weekly and follow the port rotation: Shekou - Hong Kong - Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia) - Muara (Brunei) - Bintulu (Malaysia) - Shekou. The first sailing is planned to depart from Shekou on September 10. As part of its ongoing efforts to improve network connections in this region, Evergreen Line will also take space on Interasia Lines' Singapore - Yangon (Burma) - Malaysia (SYM) service based on a slot swap arrangement.

A surge of tensions in the South China Sea threatens to widen divisions between Southeast Asian nations at a summit this weekend, posing a severe test for host Myanmar as the newly democratic country seeks to manage the region's growing alarm over China. The routine annual meeting of Southeast Asian leaders has been given a jolt of urgency by a series of collisions this week between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels after China stationed a giant oil rig near the disputed Paracel islands, off Vietnam's coast. Both sides have blamed the other, and dozens of coastguard and patrol vessels are in the area. Tensions also spiked in another part of the oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, with Beijing demanding that U.S.

Vince Cook, CEO of Grand Circle Cruise Line, informs that the company has acquired the 'M/V Corinthian', a 98-passenger, ocean-going vessel that currently operates in Antarctica. They had chartered the ship for the past year and intend to expand the Corinthian's operations with the launch of three new small ship cruise itineraries in 2015. The ship was acquired for an undisclosed price from Travel Dynamics International, an operator of educational programs aboard small cruise ships…

The U.S. military carried out freedom of navigation operations challenging the maritime claims of China, Iran and 10 other countries last year, asserting its transit rights in defiance of efforts to restrict passage, a Pentagon report said on Thursday. The Defense Department's annual Freedom of Navigation Report to Congress for the 2013 fiscal year showed the U.S. military targeted not only countries such as Iran, with whom it has no formal relations, but treaty allies such as the Philippines, too. The U.S. military conducted multiple operations targeting China over what Washington believes are "excessive" claims about its maritime boundaries and its effort to force foreign warships to obtain permission before peacefully transiting its territorial seas. U.S.

The Australian Government informs it has re-established a resident Defence Attaché office in Burma with the arrival in Rangoon of Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Captain Jon Dudley who will fill the post left vacant since 1979. The appointment coincides with the arrival at the Port of Rangoon of a RAN Armidale-Class patrol boat, 'HMAS Childers', the first such visit by an Australian warship to Burma for about 50 years. Acting Minister for Defence, Senator George Brandis welcomed the visit by HMAS Childers and her 21 crew, who will stay for four days as part of a good will visit.

The accord reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the United States, China, Russia, Great Britain and France) and Germany (the P5+1) in November 2013, becomes effective Jan. 20, 2014, for a six-month interim period. The accord provides limited sanctions relief for Iran in exchange for a halt to Iran's nuclear development program. While some of the details regarding the specific scope of sanctions relief are not yet public, this alert provides initial information about the scope and impact of these measures. On Nov. 24, 2013, the P5+1 reached an interim accord with Iran called the Joint Plan of Action. This accord is intended to provide an interim compromise to give negotiators an opportunity to conclude a more permanent agreement.

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) has opened its first office in Myanmar (formerly Burma) as part of its global expansion programme. Since Burma has opened up to foreign investment following recent political reform, WSS has made plans on how to offer its customers a direct service from inside the country. The company has concluded the time is right to play a role in shaping Myanmar’s ports, shipping and offshore service sectors. Myanmar is rich in natural resources and activity in the offshore and energy sector is growing rapidly.

The new river cruiser, Orcaella, has joined its sister ship, Road To Mandalay, on the mighty Ayeyarwady River. Plus, say the owners, it is venturing into new waters along the river's more mysterious tributary, the Chindwin. Named after the dolphins unique to the Ayeyarwady, this elegant, four-deck ship takes passengers to the very heart of Myanmar on leisurely seven- and 11-night voyages. Orcaella cruises between Yangon and Bhamo, stopping at key cultural sites and towns, including Bagan and Mandalay, as well as dropping anchor at fascinating, off-the-beaten-track sites.

The UK P&I Club’s Argentinian Correspondents have advised that the local Maritime Workers Union (SOMU) have issued a note stating that they will not allow the entrance of any vessel to the port of Ingeniero White (Bahia Blanca) that does not hold a valid ITF certificate on board. The Union has also demanded that a copy of the ITF certificate is sent by mail in advance. The Club’s Correspondents have spoken to the local representatives of ITF in Argentina to obtain their input but they are not aware of this note issued by the Bahia Blanca section of the SOMU so this action appears to have been taken by the local unions of its own decision. Due to the growing strength of Argentinian unions, this could become a complex issue and has already resulted in delay to a number of vessels.

Iran Continues to Dominate U.S. Since last year’s update appeared in the May 2012 issue of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, Iran has continued to dominate U.S. sanctions headlines. Significant actions by both the U.S. Congress and Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over the past year have increased sanctions against Iran substantially, and further initiatives are pending. Our 2013 update concentrates on these key developments, with particular focus on Iran sanctions of interest to the maritime community.

Evergreen Marine Corp. partnered with  French-based CMA CGM Grou, & Yang Ming Marine both offer new container services. Evergreen's new route, called South Red Sea Service, connects Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and countries near the Red Sea, as well as provide services into landlocked African countries like Ethiopia through the East African country of Djibouti, reports Focus Taiwan. The new Red Sea service will begin May 2 with a container ship departing from Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia. The new route will be served by five 2,200 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels -- three operated by Evergreen Marine and two by CMA CGM. Meanwhile, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.

Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI) says the joint deep sea port will also surge new business & foreign investment into Thailand. BOI believe that the Dawei Deep Sea Port and Industrial Estate in Myanmar (Burma) will become an important drive for economic growth in this region, offering a shortcut for logistics and bringing new business opportunities and foreign investment to Thailand. After conclusion on signing of Memorandum of Understand between Thailand and Myanmar to construct Dawei Deep Sea Port…

Thailand & Burma establish joint committee to facilitate construction of the border Dawei deep-seas port. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra met with Myanmar Vice President Nyan Tun at Government House in Bangkok to discuss the Dawei projects, which have only made little headway and remained in need of an estimated 50 billion U.S. dollars in new funding. The two neighboring countries have formed a high-level joint committee to discuss ways and means to facilitate the construction of the Dawei deep-sea port, an industrial estate, a gas pipeline and other infrastructure such as roads and railway to link the Myanmar coastal town with the Thai border province of Kanchanaburi.

An elite group of men who paved the way for success on D-Day are honoured with an imposing monument on Hayling Island in Hampshire. Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, and Major General Ed Davis, Commandant General Royal Marines and Commander Amphibious Forces, led tributes to veterans of the Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP), who carried out top-secret missions in the run-up to the Normandy invasion, after the recent unveiling of a granite monument by Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

Economic sanctions, imposed by national and international governments for a variety of political reasons, can be snare traps for unsuspecting maritime enterprises. For the maritime industry, port calls in any nation against which sanctions have been imposed should be undertaken with caution. As this article illustrates, there are additional ways to run afoul of economic sanctions, but trading in a prohibited manner with a sanctioned nation is the most common. From the maritime perspective, economic sanctions come in three flavors.

Presidents of Thailand & Mynamar (Burma) agree on port development for deep-sea port to enable Malacca Strait bypass route. Thailand and Myanmar agree to set up a joint committee to follow up on economic cooperation that includes linking Myanmar's future Dawei deep-sea port with the Thai Eastern Seaboard. The deal came at the end of talks between Myanmar President Thein Sein and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra at Government House in Bangkok. Dawei, in southern Myanmar, is a key project for Thailand's economy, especially trade, more than for Myanmar, because it would cut travel time to the West for Thai goods (as well as goods from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam), allowing ships from the Indian Ocean to bypass the Malacca Straits.

On July 20, the hijacked merchant vessel UBT Ocean was released. The UBT Ocean, a Marshall Island flagged chemical tanker with a deadweight of 9,224 tonnes, was hijacked on March 5, 2010 approximately 300 nautical miles from Dar Es Salam.  UBT Ocean has a crew of 21 and they are all from Myanmar/Burma.

On March 8, the chemical tanker Marshall Island flagged UBT Ocean hijacked on March 5, was reported to be in the vicinity off the pirate stronghold east of Haradere. UBT Ocean has a crew of 21 and they are all from Myanmar/Burma. UBT Ocean with deadweight of 9,380 tones was heading from United Arab Emirates to Dar Es Salam when hijacked on Friday morning.