M L Sang News

Shipowner Naftomar Shipping announced an order for four very large ammonia carriers, to be built by South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean (formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) for scheduled delivery from 2026. With a capacity of 93,000 m3, the ships are among the world’s largest ammonia carriers ordered to date.The Bureau Veritas (BV) classed ships will be fitted with a ME-LGIP LPG dual-fuel engine, ready to be converted to use ammonia as fuel when the MAN ES ammonia engine retrofit kit is made available.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Vice Chairman Ga Sam-hyeon has received the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for his contribution to national industrial development.The award was made in recognition of his achievements as a manager who contributed to the development and take-off of Korea's shipbuilding industry.The award was presented at the 20th Shipbuilding and Maritime Day Ceremony held in Seoul on September 20.Ka joined the ship sales division of HD…

Maritime classification society ABS has joined a pioneering joint industry project (JIP) to collaborate on the development of a detailed design of a 40K cbm liquified carbon dioxide (LCO2) carrier that meets Class and statutory requirements with Ecolog Services Ltd. (ECOLOG), Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. and Babcock International Liquid Gas Equipment (LGE).According to ABS, the ultimate design will maximize energy integration and minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while being cargo versatile and capable of offshore offloading…

China launched its third aircraft carrier on Friday, the Fujian, named after the province opposite self-ruled Taiwan, sending a statement of intent to rivals as it modernizes its military.President Xi Jinping has made overhauling the world's largest armed forces a central part of his agenda, seeking to project power well beyond China's shores, though the government says it has no hostile intent.Champagne, colorful ribbons, water cannons and smoke were deployed to celebrate the carrier's launch and official naming at a ceremony at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai…

POSCO, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Lloyd’s Register and the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry have set out to jointly develop liquid carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers to meet the demands of increased global carbon storage and utilization technology.Through their recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU), POSCO will develop new steel material and relevant technology for storage tank, which are core technologies for the large size of LCO2 carrier…

Korean engine manufacturer HSD Engine is to offer ABB’s diagnostics and advisory software Tekomar XPERT to shipowners operating its two-stroke and four-stroke marine engines.Tekomar XPERT is a digital performance optimization platform applicable to any engine that is designed to help shipping companies achieve substantial fuel savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions. Under the agreement, HSD Engine will offer the software as an option to shipowners.“In response to market demand, HSD Engine reviewed various solutions for engine performance optimization and evaluation.

Unable to get a slot on a container vessel, Lee Sang-hoon is considering using fishing trawlers docked for repair in the South Korean port of Busan to meet surging export orders for the car engine oil he sells to Russia."China is the black hole in this shipping crisis, all the carriers are headed there," said Lee, owner of Dongkwang International Co. in Busan which makes about 20 billion won ($17.60 million) in annual revenue."Those fishing boats out there could be an answer for us because we're already one month behind schedule.

“Fill her up, son; unleaded. I need a full tank of gas where I'm headed,” former Police-front man, Sting, sang back in 1999 on his solo album Brand New Day. This country-inspired song could be the anthem for what is coming around next week, as Monday. May 31  is Memorial Day in the U.S., the day that kicks off “the U.S. driving season”. The season runs for about three months from Memorial Day to Labor Day on September 6, during which the Americans take to the road, and demand for motor gasoline reaches a seasonal peak.On 26 May, the U.S.

South Korean exports fell the slowest in four months and beat market expectations, data showed on Saturday, a further sign a recovery in Asia’s fourth-largest economy is gaining traction, although threats loom from global flare-ups in the COVID-19 pandemic.Overseas sales fell 7.0% in July from a year earlier, the trade ministry said, the fifth month of decline but much less than June’s 10.9% fall and the 9.7% drop tipped in a Reuters survey.South Korea is the first major exporting economy to release monthly trade data…

Divers found a body in the wreckage of a pleasure boat on Wednesday a week after the vessel capsized and sank on the River Danube in Budapest, officials said, as crews prepared for salvage operations.An estimated 28 people died when the Mermaid boat, carrying 33 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew, went down on Wednesday last week after colliding with a cruise liner.Divers found one body in the wreckage on Wednesday morning, authorities said, hours after police found the remains of one of the Korean tourists 60km (37 miles) downstream - underlining the scale of the recovery operation.South Korean and Hungarian crews would start trying to secure the vessel to prevent the loss of bodies and prepare for a possible salvage…

Workers at South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) voted on February 19 to strike to oppose Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI)’ proposed takeover.According to labour union, the approval for the proposed strike heralds a bumpy road for a mega deal between HHI and the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB).The decision to go on strike was supported by a majority of DSME workers in a meeting on February 19, Yonhap reported citing the workers’ 5,600-member union. The union said the precise date for the strike would be determined at a later point in time.Reports of potential strikes emerged earlier this month after Hyundai’s plans to acquire DSME were revealed in January 2019. KDB, a state policy lender which has a controlling 55.7 percent stake in the Daewoo shipyard.

Hyundai has outsized influence over town's economy, population; Ulsan could be South Korea's Rust Belt in the making.When Lee Dong-hee came to Ulsan to work for Hyundai Heavy Industries five years ago, shipyards in the city known as Hyundai Town operated day and night and workers could make triple South Korea's annual average salary.But the 52-year-old was laid off in January, joining some 27,000 workers and subcontractors who lost their jobs at Hyundai Heavy between 2015 and 2017 as ship orders plunged.To support their family, Lee's wife took a minimum wage job at a Hyundai Motor supplier.

Australia’s Woodside Petroleum has signed a Cooperation Agreement with Chinese private sector gas distribution firm ENN Group under which the two companies will work together to explore a broad range of potential business opportunities.The Cooperation Agreement was signed at a ceremony in Zhoushan on behalf of Woodside by Executive Vice President Marketing Trading & Shipping Reinhardt Matisons and by ENN Group CEO Cheung Yip Sang.“Woodside’s aim is to grow our relationship with ENN Group, and we now plan to jointly investigate opportunities for cooperation in LNG marketing, trading and shipping,” Matisons said.“Other potential areas for cooperation include oil and gas exploration and production…

When Lee Dong-hee came to Ulsan to work for Hyundai Heavy Industries five years ago, shipyards in the city known as Hyundai Town operated day and night and workers could make triple South Korea's annual average salary.But the 52-year-old was laid off in January, joining some 27,000 workers and subcontractors who lost their jobs at Hyundai Heavy between 2015 and 2017 as ship orders plunged.To support their family, Lee's wife took a minimum wage job at a Hyundai Motor supplier.

On July 11-12, 2018, Maritime Administrator Mark Buzby met with ‎the Vietnam Maritime Administration\\'s (VINAMARINE) Administrator Dr. Nguyen Xuan Sang and Deputy Administrator Dr. Bui Thien Thu in Hanoi, Vietnam. This meeting, under the implementation of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Agreement, included discussions on the topics of maritime policy, vessels safety and security, port infrastructure development, maritime workforce and mariner training. On July 12th, Administrator Buzby visited the ports of Hai Phong and Lach Huyen. The US Coast Guard and US Department of State also participated.

South Korean exports declined in April for the first time in 18 months, unable to keep up with 2017’s brisk pace as global demand softened, adding to worries about the country’s trade outlook amid the risk of a deepening U.S-China trade conflict.Exports fell 1.5 percent to $50.1 billion from a year earlier, marking the first decline since October 2016 when shipments fell 3.2 percent, government data showed on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 4.1 percent growth.Imports increased 14.5 percent to $43.4 billion…

The U.S. Coast Guard posted a list of vessels that are prohibited from entering the navigable waters of the U.S. or transferring cargo in the U.S., absent a specific determination from the U.S. Secretary of State or other limited provisional entry allowed by law. This list, which is published pursuant to the North Korea Sanction and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 and the Ports and Waterways Safety Act (PWSA) as amended by the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), was last updated on February 2, 2018. DONG NAM NO. HIYOSHI MARU No.

Former Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering  (DSME) boss Nam Sang-tae sentenced to six years in prison by Korean court for embezzlement and bribery, Yonhap reported. The report said that the Seoul Central District Court handed down the guilty verdict to Nam Sang-tae, 67, convicting him of accounting fraud, embezzlement, breach of duty and bribery. The court ordered him to forfeit 880 million won (US$806,000). Prosecutors have demanded an eight-year prison term. The court said in the ruling: "The defendant neglected his responsibility as the chief of Daewoo Shipbuilding and sought his personal gains using his authority and power. Daewoo Shipbuilding is 57 percent owned by the state-run lender Korea Development Bank (KDB).

Two workers lost their lives at the Chittagong shipbreaking yards in the last two weeks, bringing the total death toll this year to six workers, reports NGO Shipbreaking Platform. On 6 May, 26-year-old Shahinoor died at Jamuna Shipbreaking yard. He fell from a great height when he was breaking the Hanjin Rome, which was the first vessel arrested after the collapse of one of the largest container ship companies last year – the Korean company Hanjin Shipping. The Hanjin Rome was put up for auction by the High Court in Singapore to be sold to the highest bidder early this year. Unsurprisingly, the highest bids for buying ships for scrap come from cash buyers that sell to the South Asian beaching yards who can offer higher steel prices with minimal disposal and labour costs and safeguards.

The chief executive of struggling Korean shipbuilder Daewoo was questioned by state prosecutors on Tuesday over allegations that the yard tried to cover a major deficit in 2015 by underreporting losses. According to a report in Yonhap, Jung Sung-leep, 66, appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as a suspect on charges of violating the Act on External Audit of Stock Companies. Jung Sung-leep, DSME’s President and CEO since May 2015, has been reportedly charged with underreporting some KRW 120 billion (USD 101 million) in business losses in 2015. Ko Jae-ho, who headed the company from 2012 to 2015, is awaiting a court's ruling Wednesday over allegations he overreported some 5.7 trillion won in net assets between 2012 and 2014.

Every year, the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) performs flag State inspections of ships abroad that are flying the Danish flag. In 2017, the number of control inspections will be increased to 60. Just before the 2016 Christmas and New Year's holidays, the Danish Maritime Authority carried out a two-week campaign in the USA to promote Danish quality shipping. The campaign took place in Houston and New York, respectively. The purpose of the campaign was to promote quality shipping under the Danish flag, inter alia to create good relations with the Port State Control authorities in the USA and with other players who are in contact with Danish shipping. The campaign also covered surveys of Danish ships calling at the two port areas during the said period.

Shipping confidence, notably on the part of charterers and managers, improved for the second successive quarter in the three months to end-August 2016, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. In August 2016, the average confidence level expressed by respondents was 5.4 on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high). This is an improvement on the 5.1 recorded in May 2016, and the highest rating for the past nine months of the survey, which was launched in May 2008 with a confidence rating of 6.8.

Cash from top shareholder, executives should cover offload costs. South Korea's government said cash held by Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd and funds pledged by its parent group should meet the costs of unloading some $14 billion in cargo stranded on vessels operated by the troubled container line. The collapse of South Korea's biggest shipping operator late last month has plunged the shipping industry into chaos ahead of the crucial year-end holiday shopping season as dozens of vessels and their crews wait for money needed to pay for port and handling fees. The government said a 60 billion won ($54 million) loan pledged by Korean Air Lines Co…