Dwt Oil Tanker News

Greek operator Maran Tankers Management (MTM), part of the Angelicoussis Group, has taken delivery of the 157,000 dwt oil tanker Maran Orpheus, built by Daehan Shipbuilding Co. in South Korea. The Suezmax delivery follows the 157,946 dwt Maran Phoebe handed over from Daehan in June. Both ships are Greek-flagged and classed by DNV GL.Daehan is also building the ABS-classed, 157,000 dwt Maran Aspasia and Maran Solon scheduled for delivery to MTM in October and December respectively.

Tanker ship owner Xihe Group of Companies appointed V.Group as the technical manager for 16 of its modern tankers.“This strategic partnership kickstarts Xihe’s engage-ment of independent, world-class professional companies to provide technical and commercial management for our vessels," said Kenny Lim, Interim CEO of Xihe. "Having witnessed the professionalism of the V.Group team in taking over ‘Ocean Queen’ under their technical management, Xihe is confident that our crew and assets are in capable hands.”The vessels are currently anchored off Singapore waters.

A Shipping Corporation of India very large crude carrier (VLCC) has suffered an explosion in one of its cargo tanks while transiting off the coast of Oman, the shipowner confirmed Tuesday.Three crew members of the 316,409 DWT oil tanker Desh Vaibhav are reported missing, and one person with burn injuries has been evacuated by helicopter, according to a press release issued by the shipowner.The 2005-built Desh Vaibhav was sailing toward Fujairah, UAE when the blast occurred around 9:35 a.m. IST, the shipowner said. The resulting fire has reportedly subsided.A firefighting vessel was said to be on its way to the scene, and the shipowner said it was also seeking assistance from the Oman Royal Navy and nearby ships.

The hijacked oil tanker Orkim Harmony has been released by pirates, who fled in the ship's rescue boat, Malaysian navy and maritime officials said on Friday. The Orkim Harmony, hijacked on June 11 off the Malaysian coast by pirates reportedly armed with pistols and machetes, was now being escorted by the navy to Malaysia's Kuantan Port. Officials said only one member of the 22 crew was injured, suffering a gunshot wound to the thigh. Three Malaysian navy ships and two aircraft were hunting the fleeing pirates. The hijacking is the second seizure of a tanker by pirates in Southeast Asia this month, raising further concerns over piracy in the region.

Orkim Harmony located with crew, cargo safe; Malaysian navy negotiating with pirates onboard. A Malaysian naval vessel has made contact with the pirates onboard hijacked tanker Orkim Harmony and is trying to persuade them to surrender, a maritime official said on Thursday. The tanker as of noon (0400 GMT) was in Vietnamese waters headed south with the Malaysian navy vessel KD Terengganu and a maritime ship in pursuit. Both the crew and the cargo onboard the tanker are safe, and the navy is negotiating with the robbers through the captain of the Orkim Harmony, said Vice Admiral Ahmad Puzi, deputy director general of the operations unit of the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), in a press briefing.

While global piracy is constantly changing, modern technology adapts to exploit the weaknesses in the pirates’ mode of operation. Intelligence gained from such technologies enables voyage planners and navigators to steer clear of harm – but what kind of information is required? While the image of the Somalian pirate is still high in the public’s mind as the number one piracy threat, the reality is not as straightforward. Pirates have had to change their tactics in the last few years…

Emirates classification society Tasneef has classed its first commercial vessel. The 96,214 dwt oil tanker Energena is jointly-classed with Italian classification society Rina. Yesterday His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, attended a ceremony to mark the flag raising and the granting of classification by Tasneef-Rina. The vessel is owned by Dubai-based Energena Shipping and managed by Gulf Stolt Ship Management JLT, (GSSM).

Jurong Shipyard, a wholly owned subsidiary of SembCorp Marine, has secured two Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) conversion contracts worth a total of $58m from Tanker Pacific Offshore Terminals Pte Ltd (Tanker Pacific). The first contract involves the conversion of the 92,802 dwt tanker, the M.T. Andaman Sea, which will be renamed FPSO Raroa upon completion in 4Q 2007. Modification works on the FPSO Raroa will commence immediately involving the installation of an internal turret, 3 boilers on deck to generate 20 megawatts of power, renewal of the entire piping and electrical systems and installation of new process facilities, which include crude separation, water injection and chemical injection.

The Dung Quat Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and the Oil and Gas Shipping Investment Joint Stock Co on Tuesday signed a contract to construct ten 54,000-DWT freighters in a deal worth about $200 million. The vessels were designed by the Shipbuilding Science and Technology Institute, and are 190m long and 32m wide. Dung Quat Shipbuilding Industry Corp is expected to complete the first freighter by June 2008, and the remaining nine in four month intervals there after. Last month, Dung Quat Corp began building a 104,000 DWT oil tanker, which will be the largest such vessel ever made in Viet Nam when completed. Christened "Dung Quat 1", the ship will be 245m long and 43m wide, and cost $56 million.

The Pha Rung Shipyard in the northern port city of Hai Phong on August 15 began work on its largest-ever cargo ship of 34,000 DWT and an oil tanker of 6,500 DWT. As part of Pha Rung's contract to build 8 cargo ships for Graig Invetments of the UK, the 34,000 DWT ship, worth 26.5 million USD, is designed utilising state-of-art technology and will meet all international conventions on maritime operation. This is the most modern and largest ship that Pha Rung, a subsidiary of the Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin), has ever built, a company executive said, adding that the ship is expected to be handed over to its owner in 18 months.