New Century Shipbuilding News

Lemissoler Navigation Co. Ltd., the Cyprus-based owner and operator, has selected the MAN Alpha Kappel propeller design for a new series of 8 × 58,500 DWT bulk carriers planned for delivery during 2015 and 2016. The 6.8-meter, slow-running, four-bladed Kappel fixed-pitch propellers will be tailored to the SDARI-designed bulk carriers and a drivetrain powered by an MAN B&W 5S60ME-C engine, economy-rated at 8,050 kW and 89 r/min. The new Lemissoler vessels will be characterized…

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology  reports that orders in first half 2012 are down by 50.3% year-on-year. The volume of handling orders was a mere 125.87 million DWT by the end of June, down 30.7 percent year-on-year, which can easily lead to the assumption that some shipbuilders will not be able to keep operating in the following months. "We have not received any new orders. If the situation continues, we will have only one ship to build in the second half of this year," says Pan Haiwei, general manager of Wu Zhou Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd in central Zhejiang. Shipbuilders in neighboring Jiangsu province are also barely staying afloat.

At the 150th Annual Meeting of the Members of ABS, three industry leaders were elected to the ABS Council. Following the Annual Meeting, the ABS Council met and elected industry leaders to both its Marine and Offshore Technical Committees. Individuals serving on the ABS Council and the Technical Committees help guide the class society in fulfilling its mission of promoting the security of life, property and the natural environment. “Classification represents the concept of self-regulation for the marine and offshore industry,” said ABS President and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki.

According to a report from Dow Jones, Chinese shipbuilder New Century Shipbuilding Ltd. plans to raise $500m - $800m in an initial public offering ahead of a listing in Hong Kong in the first half, Dow Jones sources said. New Century submitted an application for the listing earlier this month and will have a listing hearing at the Hong Kong stock exchange in February, according to those sources. (Source: Dow Jones)

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected to supply the bridge navigation systems for three new bulk carriers being built in China for Italian shipowner Deiulemar Shipping. Each of the ships is to be fitted with the company’s Sperry Marine VisionMaster FT S- and X-band radars, gyrocompass, autopilot, steering control, speed log, echosounder, voyage data recorder and other navigation systems. The equipment is being supplied through Telemar, the sales and service representative for Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine products and systems in Italy. Telemar will oversee the installations and provide technical support and service for the shipboard navigation systems.

According to a May 3 report from The Straits Times, Chinese shipbuilder New Century Shipbuilding has launched its initial public offering (IPO) with plans to raise $666.4m, which will make it the largest listing in the market since CapitaMalls Asia's debut late last year. (Source: The Straits Times)

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Sperry Marine has received orders to supply navigation and bridge systems for 12 new tankers to be built for Italian ship owners at shipyards in South Korea and China. The value of the contract was not disclosed. The ships include four 46,000 dead-weight tons (dwt) product tankers for D'Amico Soc Di Nav, six 51,000 dwt product tankers for Pietro Barbaro SpA at the STX Shipbuilding Co. in Chinhae, South Korea, and two 74,500 dwt product tankers for Fratelli D'Amato SpA at the New Century Shipbuilding Co. in Jianjiang, China. The new ships are scheduled for delivery by Northrop Grumman's Sperry Marine business unit over the next two years.

Hellespont has officially named the last two of six panamax tankers constructed for the company at the New Century Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Jingjiang, China. The product carrier Hellespont Providence was named by Mrs. Daphne Papachristidis-Bove, wife of Alexander Papachristidis-Bove, President of Seatramp Tankers Inc. The Hellespont Protector, meanwhile, was named by Mrs. Andrea Meyer, wife of Kai-Kristian Meyer, Managing Director of HCI Capital, organizers of the financing of the vessels. Both vessels will begin long-term charters with The Sanko Steamship Co. Ltd. of Japan on delivery later this year. Hellespont operates four further panamax product carriers, one aframax tanker and four suezmax tankers. There will be a fifth suezmax tanker under operation shortly.

The second in the series of six panamax product carriers under construction for Hellespont Hammonia was named at New Century Shipbuilding Co Ltd (NCS) in Jingjiang, China. Hellespont Progress follows the first in the series, Hellespont Pride, named in July. The sponsor of the Hellespont Progress was M Matsui, wife of the President and CEO of The Sanko Steamship Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan, charterers of the vessel. The ceremony was attended by representatives of HCI Capital AG and their placement partners EFC AG, the lending bank Hypovereinsbank, Hamburg shipowner Peter Doehle Schiffahrts-KG, and the classification society, ABS. The 73,400 dwt Hellespont Progress is 750 ft. (228.6 m) and is 38,000 grt on a scantling draft of 46.9 ft.

Hellespont Hammonia completed the naming of the Hellespont Pride, one of six tankers under construction for the company at New Century Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Jingjiang, China. The panamax product carrier, the first in the series originally ordered by Seatramp Tankers Inc. in 2004, was named by Nathalie Baroness von Oldershausen, wife of the managing director of the Hamburg-based KG house, Hanseatische Capital Invest (HCI), which is financing this series of vessels for the owners. The mortgagee is HSH Nordbank. Charterers of the Hellespont Pride are The Sanko Steamship Co Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan. The vessel will be managed by Hellespont Hammonia GmbH & Co KG. The 38,000 grt Hellespont Pride has an LOA of 228.60 m and a deadweight of 73,400 tonnes at a scantling draft of 14.3 m.

According to reports, South Korea fell behind China and Japan in the number of shipyards ranking in the world's top 50 in terms of order backlogs as of the end of May, although seven South Korean companies were No 1 through No 7, a London-based market research firm said. Fifteen Japanese shipyards and the same number of Chinese companies were included in the world's top 50 list, while only nine South Korean shipyards made it, Clarkson Plc. said. South Korea boasts the world's top seven shipyards - Hyundai Heavy Industries Co, Samsung Heavy Industries Co, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., STX Shipbuilding Co and Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co.

AVEVA, a supplier of engineering IT solutions for the process, power, and marine industries, signed a contract to provide its design and production solutions to New Century Shipbuilding (NCS). The contract means that two of the fastest-developing, non state-owned, local shipbuilding forces in China have now signed up to and are benefitting from AVEVA’s marine solutions. NCS, located southeast of Jingjiang, will utilise AVEVA’s software to enhance its shipbuilding capabilities on its latest project – the design and manufacture of a 4250TEU Container Ship prototype, for which delivery is expected in 2007. The software will enable NCS to improve its design processes, precision management, and coordination between hull, outfitting, design and fabrication. Mr.

As an endorsement of a commercially circumspect approach to double-hull bulk carrier design and construction, UK-based Graig Group has generated a tranche of orders for its cost-competitive Diamond ultra-handymax type. Although a letter of intent signed with China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. (CSIC) during the SMM Exhibition in Hamburg last September had put four newbuilds and four options in the frame, recently confirmed transactions open the way to a 16-ship program. New Century Shipbuilding has been entrusted with four examples of the robust 53,000-dwt Diamond class, and Chengxi Shipyard has been awarded three vessels, and a total of nine options have been taken out at the two yards.