Taipei Times News

The construction of a 600-tonne Coast Guard Administration (CGA) patrol ship by  the Taiwan-based shipbuilding company Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Corporation (JSSC) began in Kaohsiung.An official statement from Taiwan coast guard said that the ship is the first of a dozen to be produced by the company for the agency.According to Taipei Times, CGA Fleet Branch head Hsieh Ching-chin and JSSC Chairman Han Pi-hsiang presided over the initiation ceremony Friday to mark the start of the ship's construction.The report quoted Hsieh saying that the construction of the patrol ship symbolized a new milestone in the country's shipbuilding capabilities…

Taiwan's shipbuilder CSBC Corp's chairman Cheng Wen-lon said that a home-grown submarine will cost less than NT$100 billion (US$3.29 billion) to build. According to a report in Taipei Times, chairman of the local shipbuilder commissioned to plan and design the vessel  also said that much depends on the Navy’s demands: Planned crew sizes, mission length and strategic and tactical requirements would all determine the eventual size of the submarine. Nationally developed ships would be crucial to the company’s future operations, Cheng said, pledging to place the company’s best personnel on the program. Eariler, all attempts by Taipei to buy a conventional submarine from other countries have been thwarted by a litany of threats from China.

Evergreen Marine Corp, which has been battered by falling freight rates due to a prolonged supply glut, may swing into profit this year as market conditions improve in the global shipping industry, reports Taipei Times. The paper quoted  Capital Investment Management Corp as saying that Evergreen is expected to  post profit of NT$689 million (US$22 million) for this year, compared with an estimated loss of NT$5.65 billion for last year. Signs the container shipping industry had bottomed out gradually surfaced toward the end of last year, as rising operating pressures began to force carriers to exit markets or cooperate among them, the report said.

Taiwanese container carrier Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp should merge with state-owned port company Taiwan International Port Corp. (TIPC), report local media quoting a member of Taiwan's parliament. Legislator Chen Ou-po of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposed that Yang Ming, which is 33% government-owned, can merge with state-owned TIPC, Taipei Times reported. Taiwan’s ministry of transportation and communications is working on the possibility of merging container carrier Yang Ming, island’s second largest containerline, and TIPC. The merger is mooted as part of reform measures aimed at helping the weak maritime sector.

Taiwanese government said it will provide 60 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.9 billion) to support the country’s shipping industry, according to Reuters. The package, announced late Tuesday, involves a credit line with preferential interest rates aimed mainly to help Evergreen Marine Corp. and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., two of the world’s biggest container operators, says WSJ. The government wants to to prevent a collapse similar to Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. The Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai explicitly cited the failure of Hanjin Shipping and its knock-on effects for South Korean industry and citizens, according to the Taipei Times.

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp management team has agreed to take steep pay cuts to weather a downturn in the global cargo shipping sector that has strained the company’s earnings. According to a report in Taipei Times, the company’s board of directors approved a plan to cut the salaries of first line managers by 30 percent, while executives’ pay is to be reduced by 50 percent. The pay cuts are estimated to yield annual cost savings of about NT$30 million (US$953,349), Yang Ming said in a statement. Yang Ming’s sales in the first nine months of this year dipped 14.09 percent annually to NT$83.89 billion. The company said its pay cuts reflect the management team’s conviction in effecting operational turnaround plans, and the gesture would boost morale among its staff and line personnel.

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. (YM) inked a partnership agreement with Thailand’s Regional Container Lines (RCL) Group aimed at pooling the companies’ resources to weather a persisting downturn in the sector, according to a report in Taipei Times. The agreement  is expected to improve vessel utilization, reduce operating costs and expand coverage. The companies announced plans to expand bilateral cooperation on terminal operations in Taiwan and Thailand, slot exchange and vessel chartering services, as well as laden trucking and equipment interchange contracts. Due to slowing growth in developed markets, the companies are hoping to further tap the Asian market, where growth has been more resilient.

Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan's largest container shipping company, plans to charter seven new vessels with capacity of 14,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) to upgrade its fleet at lower unit costs, while disposing of smaller and older vessels, reports the Taipei Times, . The seven vessels — owned by Sumitomo Corp, a leading integrated trading company in Japan — are scheduled to be delivered to Evergreen in 2016 and 2017, with a 10-year term of tenancy. Evergreen launched a plan last year to introduce more large vessels…

Wisdom Marine Group signed a two-tranche syndicated loan agreement for $5.92 million (USD) and ￥11.88 billion ($119.43 million, USD) with six domestic banks to finance its orders with three Japanese shipbuilders, Taipei Times reported. The syndicated loan was co-led by First Commercial Bank and Bank of Taiwan, with participating loans from Taiwan Cooperative Bank, Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Bank SinoPac and Bank of Kaohsiung. Wisdom Marine and its subsidiaries placed orders with three Japanese shipbuilders Oshima Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Sasebo Heavy Industries Co Ltd and Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co Ltd to build six bulk vessels. Delivery is anticipated sometime between this year and 2015.

According to a report in the Taipei Times, Chinese President Hu Jintao urged the building of a powerful navy that is prepared "at any time" for military struggle, state media reported yesterday. At a meeting of delegates to a Chinese Communist Party navy forum on Wednesday, Hu reportedly said China was a major maritime country whose naval capability must be improved. "We should strive to build a powerful navy that adapts to the needs of our military's historical mission in this new century and at this new stage," he said in comments splashed on the front pages of the party mouthpiece People's Daily and the People's Liberation Army Daily. "We should make sound preparations for military struggles and ensure that the forces can effectively carry out missions at any time," said Hu.

Jade Yachts Shipbuilding Corp will deliver the first made-in-Taiwan steel super yacht. With a glossy mirror finish that reflects waves under the sun, Bandido is the first yacht with a steel and aluminum hull ever made by a Taiwanese company. When the 86-ft. vessel sailed out of the shipyard for the first time, the crew could not help cheering the hard-won result of 12 months of hard work that helped turn a new page in Taiwan's shipbuilding history. The super yacht was built for Drettmann GmbH, a Germany-based boat agent, for delivery on Saturday. The Bandido prototype will be showcased at the 38th International Boat Show in Dusseldorf, Germany, from Jan. 20 to Jan. 28.

Jade Yachts Shipbuilding Corp. is set to deliver the first made-in-Taiwan steel super yacht, a milestone in the nation's shipbuilding sector. "We hope to take the shipbuilding industry in Taiwan to a higher level in terms of quantity and quality," Jade Yachts chairman Han Pi-hsiang said while scrutinizing the 86-ft. yacht Bandido during its first sea trial in Kaohsiung Harbor, according to a report on www.taipeitimes.com. Han is also the chairman of Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Co, the parent company of Jade Yachts and the nation's largest private shipbuilder. Bandido is the first yacht with a steel and aluminum hull ever made by a Taiwanese company.

The Navy on March 22 dispatched a Lafayette-class frigate and two tugboats to escort s warship back to Kaohsiung, after it was damaged in Palau when carrying out a naval friendship tour. According to Taipei Times, no one was hurt in the accident. Another Cheng Kung-class frigate was also ordered to go to sea to replace the damaged warship and continue the mission. The damaged ship was currently around 93km from Palau, escorted by Palauan vessels. The damaged warship, accompanied by a supply ship, left for Palau on March 16. The warship had planned to stay in Palau for two days, and then sail to other diplomatic allies in Oceania. The warship may have hit a coral reef, as these are abundant in Palau.

The China Shipbuilding Corp said in a report that the company currently has orders totaling more than $2.68 billion, according to a report on TaipeiTimes.com The written report was presented by the CSBC to the Science and Technology Committee of the Legislative Yuan which is set to review the CSBC's budget for next year. The CSBC said that it currently has orders for building 51 commercial ships as well as orders for building 30 military vessels. (Source: TaipeiTimes.com)

Somalia's government signed a deal with a US maritime security firm to fight rampant piracy in the waters off its unpatrolled coast, according to a report in the Taipei Times. Waters off the coast of Somalia are considered among the most dangerous in the world. Pirates firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns earlier this month tried to board a US-owned cruise liner about 160km off the Somali coast. New York-based Topcat Marine Security Inc signed a deal worth more than $50 million with the Somali Transitional Federal Government in Nairobi to escort ships plying Somali waters. Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi, who witnessed the deal, said his government recognized the damage caused by pirates and hoped Topcat would help end the piracy menace.

According to the report, the problem began last week when People First Party (PFP) Legislator Sun Ta-chien accused companies involved in the bidding of leaning on officials in order to secure a $446 million contract to build 29 missile boats for the navy. According to the report, Sun further alleged that former presidential adviser Chen Che-nan and Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Hou Ho-hsiung pressured the ministry and the firm that won the contract to divert some work to a second company. The Taipei Times report said that Chen and Hou deny having done so. In the wake of Sun's claims, calls are mounting in the legislature for a thorough investigation of the bidding on the missile-boat contract to uncover the truth…