Department Of Trade Industry News

The latest technology can detect the risk of an on board electrical fire – before it ignites. It’s not too late to incorporate this feature into your next workboat design.Fire on board always poses a risk to life, although certain vessels such as passenger ships present a particular danger because they carry a large number of people, and tens of millions around the world use them as a method of transport annually. However, a fire on any type of vessel, including the vast number and array of workboats…

Two Chinese shipbuilding companies have expressed intent to invest in the largest Philippine shipyard, debt-riddled Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines, the Department of Trade Industry (DTI) said.Drowning in debt,  the Philippine business of the Hanjin Group of South Korea, has asked the government for help in search of an investor who would take over the business and save the troubled shipbuilder.Philippines Rodrigo Duterte administration has stepped in to help save the troubled investor in Subic.According to local media reports, which quoted Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments (BOI) Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo, two Chinese firms contacted the Board.“They’re interested in the shipbuilding industry in general ...

Damen will present its new vessel leasing fund, which is specifically designed for African shipowners, at the first Damen Fishing Seminar being held in Cape Town, South Africa on November 22.Damen Finance Manager, Francesco Verschuren, who will speak at the Seminar and is a specialist in financing in Africa, comments: “The new fund is particularly interesting for smaller, private fishing vessel owners. We are using our years of experience to support them with their vessel financing based on a leasing agreement.” Damen has delivered more than 1…

Damen Shipyards will hold its first Fishing Seminar in Cape Town, South Africa on 22 November in recognition of this important industry. To be held at Damen Shipyards Cape Town, the event brings together leading companies, the government and other stakeholders.Damen is aiming to create a platform whereby the industry can come together with the government and exchange information about the latest developments in the sector and the new technologies and innovative ideas driving the growth of a sustainable fishing industry. Other major topics to be addressed include the progress of the fleet renewal programme and available financing vehicles for the industry.Representatives from the Department of Trade & Industry and Department of Agriculture…

Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) said it has received an order from Armscor – the acquisition agency for the South African Department of Defense – for three Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPV), 62 x 11 meters. The new vessels – the first of a Damen Sea Axe design to operate in South Africa – will form part of the South African Navy’s Project Biro. The project aims to develop South Africa’s maritime security, ensuring that the country has the capability to respond effectively, rapidly and cost-efficiently to maritime threats such as illegal trafficking and fishing.

A new study of the worldwide prospects for offshore renewable energy recently commissioned by the U.K.’s Department of Trade & Industry from energy analysts, Douglas-Westwood Associates (DWA), has identified 77 proposed offshore wind power projects totaling over 13,000 MW of generating capacity. In the opening address to delegates at the second annual ‘All-Energy Opportunities’ conference in Aberdeen, DWA partner John Westwood stated that prospects on screen had increased from 22 in 2001, to 77 in 2002 - “a remarkable growth in such a short period”. DWA analyst Katharine Evans said that their models indicated that if realized these projects could require some 4,000 km of underwater power cables.

Cammell Laird gave a cautious response to an improved government aid package to help it win a $500 million pound contract to build two cruise ships. The U.K. Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) said late on Monday it would share an extra $100 million risk with the company to underwrite the risk of the contract falling through. The government had previously offered $300 million in guaranteed loans to cover the contract. A spokesman for Cammell Laird said the next step was for cruise company Luxus to decide on whether or not to accept the government's package, which a DTI spokeswoman described as the highest level of risk-sharing the British government had ever undertaken under its shipbuilding credit guarantee scheme.

Cammell Laird, under threat of losing a key $500 million deal with U.S. cruise ship firm Luxus, said it had won a U.K. Navy contract, helping safeguard 150 jobs at the group. "The work will generate employment security throughout the period (82 days) for some 150 personnel," Cammell Laird Holdings Plc said in a statement. The contract to repair the Fort George ship at Tyneside, northeast England, is worth just under $7.17 million. "It's certainly nowhere near the size of the Luxus contract, but it shows the market that we're out there fighting and winning work," Cammell Laird Managing Director Dave Skentelbery said. The company's stock has fallen more than 90 percent since November…

Trade in the shares and bonds of troubled British shipbuilder Cammell Laird was suspended on Wednesday, leaving investors and workers fearing the worst ahead of an announcement on its financial position. The company, whose main shipyard at Birkenhead near Liverpool in northwest England was established in 1824, has been under threat of losing a key $500 million dollar deal with a cruise ship firm. About 1,500 jobs at the Liverpool yard depend on the contract’s go ahead. Cammell Laird's shares were suspended at their Tuesday closing price of six pence at the company's request. The company has been headed toward a downward spiral for the last few months with its shares having fallen by more than 90 percent since November…