Taichung News

The Norwegian offshore vessel company Solstad Offshore has agreed to sell its 2013-built construction support vessel Normand Jarl.Sold through Solstad's subsidiary Normand Ships, the CSV will be delivered to an unnamed buyer outside of the offshore industry. The delivery of the vessel to the new owner is expected to take place during the first quarter of 2023. "Solstad Offshore will recognize a gain on the sale of approximately MNOK 420 [~$43 million currently] to be reflected in the Q1 2023 accounts." Solstad Offshore said.According to Normand Jarl's AIS info as found on MarineTraffic.com…

Global shipping and logistics provider GAC Group is expanding its presence in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region by establishing a new office in Taiwan’s second-largest port, Taichung.The port has constructed several tailor-made wharves to serve the offshore wind energy industry as the country looks to become the leading provider of offshore wind power in the Asia-Pacific region. “By opening an office at Taichung Port, we can now be closer to our project sites and respond more quickly to the growing needs of our customers…

Offshore wind developer Ørsted and Taiwanese vessel company Ta San Shang Marine Co. Ltd. held a ceremony in Taichung on Tuesday to christen and name the first-ever purpose-built Service Operation Vessel (SOV) "TSS Pioneer" in the Asia-Pacific region. The vessel, built in Vietnam, will be used to service the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind farms in Taiwan. "TSS Pioneer” is the first Taiwan-flagged SOV customized to meet the specific requirements of the Greater Changhua offshore wind farms and Taiwan Strait conditions.Andreas Munk-Janson…

Danish offshore wind farm developer Ørsted has signed a 15-year contract with Ta San Shang Marine, chartering the shipping company to build the world's first-ever Taiwan-flagged service operation vessel (SOV) for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of Ørsted's Greater Changhua offshore wind farms.Ta San Shang Marine is a joint venture of Taiwan's Ta Tong Marine Group (TTM) and Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL),"This charter contract represents the first-ever bespoke SOV in Taiwan and in Asia Pacific.

Orsted Taiwan Ltd announced that it has signed a 20-year wharf lease with Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC) for the development of its offshore wind farms (OWF) off Changhua County.The global offshore wind leader announced the signing of a wharf lease and a 20-year operations and maintenance (O&M) lease with the Port of Taichung, managed by Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC) and TIPC Marine Construction, respectively.The Ørsted leased wharfs at the Port of Taichung will be upgraded and utilized for the construction of the Greater Changhua offshore wind farms, and the O&M site will serve as the O&M base for Ørsted‘s Changhua offshore wind farms from 2022 onwards.Ørsted’s Greater Changhua wind farms are located approximately 35-60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County.

Spanish global renewable energy company Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has been selected as the preferred supplier of turbines for the 300MW Hai Long 2 offshore wind project in Taiwan.The agreement is subject to contract and final investment decision from the consortium partners, Canadian independent power producer Northland Power Inc. and Taiwan-based developer Yushan Energy.The 300 MW Hai Long 2 offshore wind power plant project was awarded through the 2018 grid allocation mechanism in Taiwan. The project site is located approximately 50 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County. The project will utilize SGRE’s existing footprint and supply base in Taiwan in order to fulfil localization requirements on the project.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has held a groundbreaking ceremony for a nacelle assembly facility in the Port of Taichung in Taiwan that will be its first offshore  assembly facility outside Europe.Construction is due to begin in 2020 at the site located in the port of Taichung. This represents an important milestone for the company in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. Siemens Gamesa currently has offshore nacelle assembly and manufacturing facilities in Germany and Denmark.The parcel of land being developed in Taiwan measures over 30,000 square meters, and will be used for nacelle assembly, testing, warehousing, office buildings, and outdoor storage.

Jumbo reports completion of a shipment of the "heaviest, tallest and the largest diameter "Transition Pieces (TP’s) it has ever transported.The TP’s were shipped for Jan De Nul Group in cooperation with brokers Multi Marine Chartering B.V. from Laem Chabang to Taichung, where they will form part of Taiwan’s Formosa 1 Phase 2 Offshore Wind Farm (OWF).The Formosa 1 OWF will have a total capacity of 128MW once built and commissioned. Phase 1 of Formosa 1 features two Siemens 4MW demonstration turbines, the first ever wind turbines to be installed off Taiwan.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has received the firm order from the Danish energy company and offshore wind giant Ørsted for their 900MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind power project in Taiwan.The project includes the Asia-Pacific variant of the SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbine and a service agreement. As part of this firm order, Siemens Gamesa will establish a nacelle assembly facility at Taichung Harbor.The facility is expected to be ready in 2021, exceeding the local content creation timeline as set by the Taiwanese government.Wind turbine towers for the project will be supplied locally through the partnership between CS Wind and Chin Fong in Taiwan, meeting the official requirements for local content on wind turbine components.

Taiwanese shipping company Wan Hai Lines announced the enhancement of its Japan service coverage.With effect from early April 2019, the company shall upgrade its existing New Super 1 service and also extend one of its existing Japan Kanto service to cover Malaysia, the provider of full-containerized shipping service said in a press note.Upgrade existing New Super 1 service(NS1) to Panamax vessel size: The service will maintain 4 vessel deployment with WHL deploying 2 x 4250Teu vessels, while IAL and OOCL deploys 1 vessel each. The service adjustment is expected to take effect on 11th April, eta Hong Kong.The service rotation covers…

Incat Crowther will design a 1000-passenger high speed ro-pax ferry to operate between mainland China and Taiwan.To be built by AFAI Southern Shipyard, the Incat Crowther 113 design will be operated by Fujian Strait Shipping Co (CSF) between Pingtan Island and the Taiwanese cities of Taichung, Taipei and Kaohsiung.The high speed ro-pax ferry will have two vehicle decks, capable of carrying 230 cars or 42 containers.The resiliently mounted passenger cabin will have seating for 1000, in a mix of economy and business class.

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, a  joint venture of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Vestas Wind Systems, signed a conditional contract  with CS Wind/Chin Fong the local manufacture of towers, as wind industry veteran takes the reins at newly formed entity in Taipei.MHI Vestas is firming up its localisation plans in Taiwan as the company held a signing ceremony today for the manufacture of wind turbine towers in Taichung Harbour.“Our activities this week underscore our strong commitment to the Taiwan offshore wind market and the buildup of a local supply chain,” said Lars Bondo Krogsgaard, MHI Vestas Co-CEO.“The localisation agreement signed yesterday with CIP…

Taiwan is becoming the next battleground for the world's top offshore wind developers as they seek a foothold in Asia for a technology that has been expanding fast in Europe.Taiwan announced results on Monday of its first major offshore wind farm auction that aims to add 3.8 gigawatts (GW) of capacity to its existing network of just 8 megawatts (MW).The island's offshore wind market is expected to expand to 5.5 GW by 2025, and the government aims to invest $23 billion on onshore and offshore wind projects by 2025…

GAC Taiwan won an agency contract from Donggi Senoro Liquefied Natural Gas (DSLNG), Indonesia’s leading LNG provider, to handle its vessels’ calls and provide discharge agency and husbandry services at the ports of Taichung and Yung An. Managing Director Kenny So says the contract win comes after the steady growth of agency business for all types of vessels, including LNG carriers, since the opening of GAC Taiwan’s shipping office in Kaohsiung in 2017.   “Winning the DSLNG business reinforces our optimism about the future of the LNG agency business in Taiwan, which is the world’s fifth largest LNG buyer. We expect the number of LNG calls to rise, as Taiwan increases its LNG imports to drive power sector growth.”

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.

APL is expanding its Intra-Asia service network with the launch of a new Japan Taiwan 6 (JT6) Service and an upgraded Japan Thailand 2 (JT2) Service. The new JT6 Service links the markets of Japan, Taiwan, South China with the Philippines. The upgraded JT2 Service is enhanced with 7 additional ports of call in the key hubs of Japan, Taiwan, South China and Thailand. “APL is committed to keep levelling up our shipping services and market connectivity so that our customers can better access existing and new markets with ease, reliability and speed. It is noteworthy that the two weekly short sea services will call the major transshipment hubs of Hong Kong and Kaohsiung…

Vessel sales for October 2015 (as of November 1) as prepared by Shipping Intelligence, Inc., New York.

Almost three-quarters of all cruise passengers in the future could be Chinese, according to research by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). The study reveals a potential 83 million cruise passengers in seven source markets within Greater China. This figure is four times the current number of cruise passengers world-wide. Hong Kong, with its connectivity to the Pearl River Delta, Central China and Taiwan by air, high speed rail and land transportation via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, is looking at a cruise potential of 54 million passengers. The study also reveals that the make-up of these passengers is younger and more family-oriented than cruise passengers in traditional source markets such as North America and Europe, where they tend to be older, retired achievers.

A Taiwanese company has withdrawn notice to use Chinese vessels on a renewable energy project off the island, the port authority said on Thursday, after opposition lawmakers cited security concerns about the joint operation. The last-minute decision to drop the vessels underscores the island's concerns about possible surveillance by Beijing, and comes a day after the Taiwan government said it was making security checks on a Chinese smartphone company. The "Huadian 1001", a Chinese platform vessel, and a towing vessel, departed China's Nantong in Jiangsu Province earlier this month for Taichung port, after getting the all-clear from Taiwan's Maritime and Port Bureau to ply Taiwan waters. The Chinese-registered vessels had been contracted to work on Taiwan's first offshore wind project.

In view of the development of intra-Asia waterborne trade, Evergreen Line will realign its fleet deployment and launch new services, effective November 2011. Two new service loops will replace the existing Japan- Taiwan - South China Sea (JTS) service. The new South China Sea - Hong Kong (SCH) loop will serve the southern leg of JTS service while the northern leg will be covered by the carrier's existing service network. One ship released from JTS's reshuffle will be deployed in its new Taiwan - China - Indonesia (TCI) service, which is jointly operated and dubbed as TPI service by Wan Hai Lines. According to Evergreen Line, the free trade agreement between China and ASEAN has significantly boosted the bilateral trade.

MCC Transport launched of a new weekly Indonesia - Japan Service (TS4) that links the ports of Indonesia directly with those in Japan, Taiwan and South China. The TS4 service goes on a 28 days rotation, covering the following ports: Tokyo (Japan), Yokohama (Japan), Nagoya (Japan), Osaka (Japan), Kobe (Japan), Keelung (Taiwan), Taichung (Taiwan), Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Hong Kong (China), Shekou (China), Jakarta (Indonesia), Surabaya (Indonesia), Shekou (China), Hong Kong (China), Xiamen (China) and Tokyo (Japan). The first sailing will be on the TS Nagoya, which is scheduled to depart Tokyo on 23 June 2010. www.mcc.com.sg

Evergreen Line has reached an agreement with Wan Hai Lines to exchange slots on Evergreen's NSA/NSB services, as well as Wan Hai's KSS/KVS services with effect from Feb. 22, 2009. The agreement between the two Taiwanese ocean carriers will enhance Evergreen's service network in the intra-Asia trade. The impacted services have the following port rotations:The NSA service rotation is as follows: Osaka - Kobe - Iwakuni - Moji - Hakata - Taipei - Taichung - Kaohsiung - Nansha - Shekou - Hong Kong. The KSS service rotation is as follows: Penang - Port Klang - Pasir Gudang - Singapore - Hong Kong - Kaohsiung - Keelung - Inchon - Kwangyang - Pusan- Keelung- Kaohsiung- Hong Kong- Singapore- Port Klang-Penang.

Taiwan's Chinese Petroleum Corp. (CPC) has cut spot bunker fuel oil prices to $171 per ton from $181 effective from Tuesday. The posted prices were for spot 180 and 380-centistoke bunker fuel delivered to ships at the ports of Kaohsiung, Keelung, Hualien, Taichung and Suao. Its term price was $3.00 lower at $168 for both grades at the same ports. Spot and term prices of marine gas oil (MGO) were reduced to $312 and $309 per ton, down from last week's $314 and $311, respectively. Marine diesel oil (MDO) was set at $306 and $303, for spot and term respectively.