Steamship Co News

Angad Banga of the Caravel Group was elected as new Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association (HKSOA). He succeeded Wellington Koo, of Valles Steamship Co., Ltd, who stepped down after completing his two-year term as Chairman of the HKSOA.Banga has also taken over the Chairmanship of Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) at the same time. Banga’s tenure as Chairman of ASA will come to an end on the day of ASA’s next AGM to be held in Hong Kong on 28 May 2024.

MV Mito, a general cargo vessel owned by NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers Ltd. and managed by Hachiuma Steamship Co. Ltd., rescued two people in an inflatable rubber boat in distress off the coast of Guam on July 30.While sailing from Port Kembla in Australia to Naoshima in Kagawa prefecture, Japan, the ship discovered two people in an inflatable boat in distress due to engine failure about 80 nautical miles north of Guam and immediately rescued them. The two were in good health and handed over to the United States Coast Guard off the coast of Saipan on July 31. MV Mito.

A bulk carrier picked up four fishermen stranded at sea on June 12 off the coast of Manila, the ship's operated NYK said.The Singapore-flagged CSK Zephyr, owned by Tai Chong Cheang Steamship Co. (Shanghai) Ltd., was sailing from Port Hedland, Australia, to Caofeidian, Tangshan in China, when its crew spotted four fishermen clinging to their boat, which had reportedly capsized in bad weather.The master of the 108,362-gross-ton bulker immediately informed shore management, the Philippine Coast Guard…

An NYK-operated ore carrier Owari Maru was awarded the Meteorological Agency's Director-General Award on June 1 for the contribution the ship has made to meteorological business development by observing marine weather conditions and transmitting observation results over an extended period of time.Every year, Japan’s minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT), together with the director-general of the Japan Meteorological Agency, commend vessels that have participated in observing and reporting marine weather conditions…

Wärtsilä announced it will include Japanese-designed gate rudders as part of it propulsion offering for newbuild vessels and retrofit.The Finnish-based firm said it signed a license and cooperation agreement with Kuribayashi Steamship Co for future development, sales and servicing of the gate rudders. As an authorized license holder and partner, Wärtsilä intends to fully integrate gate rudders within its propulsion product designs for all vessel classes and focus on global markets outside Japan.

Norway based dry bulk shipping company Golden Ocean Group Limited IGOGL) has announced that Ulrika Laurin and James O'Shaughnessy have been elected as new board members.Ulrika Laurin has been the Executive Chairman of ship-owning company Anglo-Atlantic Steamship Co. Ltd. and the Chairman of Laurin Shipping AB, an international ship-management company.She has served as the CFO of Anglo-Atlantic Steamship Co. Ltd. and as Commercial Manager of Laurin Maritime (UK) Ltd. Prior to that, she worked with fund manager Tufton Oceanic Ltd. and with management consultant Karlöf & Partners. She holds a Master of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics.James O'Shaughnessy has been an Executive Vice President…

The ideal solution for the tightening regulatory noose also brings a different (and welcome) shade of ‘green’ for workboat operators.As the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ramps up enforcement of regulations that mandate that all vessels over 24 meters (78 feet) operating in US waters must switch over to EALs in all oil-to-sea interfaces before their next drydocking, it is an arguably good time to be in the lubricants business. At the same time, Thordon Bearings, a manufacturer of seawater lubricated bearings for the marine industry has its own thoughts on that very topic. Specifically, Craig Carter, Thordon Bearings’ Director of Marketing and Customer Service, asks, “What is the point in shipowners investing in costly bio-lubricants when seawater is widely available and 100% free?

The oil-to-water lubricated tailshaft conversion Thordon Bearings carried out last year to the 26,260dwt Great Lakes Fleet-managed bulk carrier SS John G. Munson has successfully completed its first season as a diesel-powered ship.The shaft conversion of the 1952-built self-unloader formed a key part of the mammoth 12-month power conversion project completed last year by Fincantieri’s Bay Shipbuilding yard, in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.The vessel’s steam propulsion plant was replaced with an energy efficient medium-speed diesel arrangement.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced that on October 27, a naming ceremony for the Shinzan Maru, a newbuilding iron ore carrier that will sail under a long-term transport contract with Kobe Steel, Ltd., was held at the Hiroshima Shipyard of Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Among those on at the ceremony were Kobe Steel Chairman, President, CEO, and Representative Director Mr. Hiroya Kawasaki, who named the new vessel. Thereafter his wife cut the rope. Shinzan Maru is an established name for vessels transporting raw materials to Kobe Steel that dates back to the era of Yamashita-Shinnihon Steamship Co., Ltd. (YSL), one of MOL’s predecessors. The new vessel is the third generation to sail under the Shinzan Maru name, and will ensure a stable transportation of iron ore for Kobe Steel.

NYK and Agua Japan Co. Ltd. have jointly developed an innovative anti-rust agent to prevent iron and steel rust on vessels. The new agent, Marine Guard 100 (MG 100), has rust conversion properties, and paint containing the agent can be applied to metal surfaces. The anti-rust efficacy of MG 100 was verified during two and half years of testing on the deck, ballast tank,* piping, and other metal surfaces of an oceangoing coal carrier. The coal carrier used for the test is owned by NYK and its ship manager is Hachiuma Steamship Co. Ltd. Conventionally, when crew members engage in paint maintenance on board, rust removal and cleaning is first required before anti-rust paint can be applied.

Leading Hong Kong ship-owner Tai Chong Cheang Steamship Co. (TCC) and the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering (USC) announced a significant research breakthrough aimed at tackling harmful ship-source emissions today. The research was conducted as part of a research program focused on improving marine diesel combustion efficiency and the reduction of exhaust gases via the application of nanosecond pulsed generation technology. With the support of TCC, researchers at USC Viterbi’s Pulsed Power Research and Combustion and Fuels Research Laboratories have for the past five years focused upon improving combustion efficiency in vessel diesel engines.

The Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), the U.S.-based manager of the Liberian Registry, has appointed Kostas Ladas as general manager of its London office. Ladas joins LISCR from London-based ship and insurance broker and agent Victoria Steamship Co. Ltd., where he was vessel operations manager. Prior to that, he spent over 25 years with Coscon/Cosco (U.K.) Ltd. in London, where he held a variety of executive roles, including Chartering & Shipbroking deputy general manager, commercial manager and company legal adviser.

Even with a blip due to ice coverage in late March and early April, U.S. ports along the Great Lakes-Seaway System are tracking ahead of tonnage moved in April 2014. In fact, most ports are seeing increases in multiple categories. “In 2015 we are excited to continue the momentum from 2014 when we finished the season with a 20 percent increase in overall tonnage,” said Paul Toth, President and CEO of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. “There has been a good mix of marine cargo traffic early on in 2015,” said Joe Cappel, Vice President of Business Development for the Port Authority.

Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Noly Torato Vidad of the Philippines, the Chief Engineer of the cargo vessel M/V Selene Leader, to eight months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for obstruction of justice and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS). The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division John C. Cruden; and Coast Guard Captain Kevin Kiefer, Captain of the Port of Baltimore.

The Hachiuma Steamship Co., LTD pleaded guilty January 30 to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), arising from the failure to maintain an accurate oil record book concerning the illegal disposal of oil residue and bilge water overboard the cargo vessel M/V Selene Leader. Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Hachiuma Steamship to pay $1.8 million, and placed it on probation for three years during which it is to develop an environmental compliance program. The plea and sentence were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division John C. Cruden; and Coast Guard Captain Kevin Kiefer, Captain of the Port of Baltimore.

The chief engineer of the cargo vessel M/V Selene Leader pleaded guilty in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, to obstruction of justice and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Sam Hirsch and U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland. Noly Torato Vidad was the chief engineer of the vessel, which was operated by Hachiuma Steamship Co LTD, a Japanese company, between August 2013 and the end of January 2014. The M/V Selene Leader According to the plea agreement, in January 2014, engine room crew members of the M/V Selene Leader under the supervision of…

China Supreme Court says Mitsui pays about $29 mln; Ship released about 0030 GMT Thursday. Ship was seized over dispute dating back to 1930s. Advisor to plaintiffs says will likely demand more money. Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd paid about $29 million for the release of a ship seized by China over a dispute that dates back to the 1930s war between the countries, China's Supreme Court said on Thursday. The Chinese government has described the case as a simple business dispute unrelated to wartime compensation claims, but it has become a cause célèbre for activists in China seeking redress from Japan. Mitsui paid about 2.92 billion yen ($28.5 million) in leasing fees, including interest and damages, China's Supreme Court said in a statement on its official microblog.

It all began with a pre-World War II contract between China's then "ship king" and a Japanese company to lease two Chinese freighters. When the one-year lease was up in 1937, the ships were nowhere to be found. That year also marked the start of a full-scale war between China and Japan. And so began a protracted legal case which came to a head last weekend, when a Chinese court ordered the seizure of an iron ore carrier owned by the successor to the original Japanese company in compensation for the loss of the two Chinese vessels. The impoundment has created unease in Japan's government, which warns that the action could affect Japanese businesses in China. It remains unclear whether the sudden ruling by the Shanghai Maritime Court would herald the seizure of more Japanese assets.

The Sanko Steamship Co Ltd and Hellespont Group have entered into a joint venture for manning and/or shipmanagement services to Sanko’s and Hellespont’s offshore fleets through their Singapore subsidiaries. The Singapore-based joint venture company, Sanko-Hellespont Offshore Management Pte Ltd, owned by Sanko Ship Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Hellespont Singapore Pte Ltd on an equal partnership basis, started operations on 7 March, 2011, and is led by Captain Andrew Lidgard of Hellespont, as CEO and Mr Yasushi Hashimoto of Sanko, as Chairman.

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.

Topaz signs over $65 million of new charters and announces the acquisition of two AHTS. Renaissance subsidiary, Topaz Energy and Marine (“Topaz”), a UAE-based oil field services company, has been awarded two new long term charters, totalling over $65 million, in the GCC and the Caspian Sea, two of the company’s major operating areas. It also confirms the acquisition of Topaz Rayyan and Caspian Reliance, two Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessel (AHTS). Topaz Rayyan, will be deployed in Qatar on a seven-year, $50 million charter, for an international oil company (“IOC”). The vessel was built in 2006 and was previously owned by Sanko Steamship Co Ltd in Japan. The second AHTS, Caspian Reliance, is to be deployed in the Caspian Sea with a firm contract value of $13.9 million.

Topaz signs over $65 million of new charters and announces the acquisition of two AHTS. Renaissance subsidiary, Topaz Energy and Marine (“Topaz”), a UAE-based oil field services company, has been awarded two new long term charters, totalling over $65 million, in the GCC and the Caspian Sea, two of the company’s major operating areas. It also confirms the acquisition of Topaz Rayyan and Caspian Reliance, two Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessel (AHTS). Topaz Rayyan, will be deployed in Qatar on a seven-year, $50 million charter, for an international oil company (“IOC”). The vessel was built in 2006 and was previously owned by Sanko Steamship Co Ltd in Japan. The second AHTS, Caspian Reliance, is to be deployed in the Caspian Sea with a firm contract value of $13.9 million.

It all began with a pre-World War Two contract between China's then "ship king" and a Japanese company to lease two Chinese freighters. When the one-year lease was up in 1937, the ships were nowhere to be found. That year also marked the start of a full-scale war between China and Japan. And so began a protracted legal case which came to a head last weekend, when a Chinese court ordered the seizure of an iron ore carrier owned by the successor to the original Japanese company in compensation for the loss of the two Chinese vessels. The impoundment has created unease in Japan's government, which warns that the action could affect Japanese businesses in China. It remains unclear whether the sudden ruling by the Shanghai Maritime Court would herald the seizure of more Japanese assets.