Unishipping News

After four groundbreaking years as head of the UK Ship Register (UKSR), Debasis Mazumdar is moving on to become CEO of the London-headquartered St Kitts & Nevis International Ship Registry (SKANReg), with a mission to drive further growth for the ambitious ten-year-old Caribbean flag state. He succeeds Nigel Smith in the role from August 10 and will also take over from him as International Registrar after a familiarization period of three months. Smith, who conceived the SKANReg business plan in 2004 and has led the operation since it became active a year later…

Catamaran builder Brian Hall is too young to remember when ferries plied the route between Florida and Cuba in the 1950s, but he has plans to be among the first to revive the once-popular route. Boosted by President Barack Obama's policy of seeking to normalize relations with the Communist-ruled island after decades of U.S. isolation, Hall hopes to offer a high-speed catamaran service between the Florida Keys and Havana, perhaps as soon as this year. "My partners and I are ready to start operating as soon as we get the go-ahead," said Hall, 49, president of CubaKat, an offshoot of Fort Lauderdale-based catamaran builder, KonaCat. He is not alone. At least half a dozen Florida companies are seriously considering ferry ventures, with plans to seek licenses from the U.S. Treasury Department.

Mexican ferry company Baja Ferries said on Tuesday it hopes to close a deal to buy troubled French ferry operator SNCM before November or December. SNCM (Societé Nationale Corse-Méditerranée), which runs routes from cities on France's Mediterranean coast to Corsica and northern Africa, has accrued losses of about 250 million euros ($340.38 million) from 2001 to 2013. In May, Baja said it was in talks with French transport firm Transdev about buying its 66 percent stake in SNCM.

Shipyards in the major exporting regions all report significant year-on-year drops in new contracting activity. For new-buildings there is no doubt that the market continues to remain challenging, particularly for the larger and more conventionally orientated facilities, observes Clarkson Hellas in its recent bulletin. With conventional demand so far being focused primarily on the mid‐sized segments of the market, those yards geared up for the larger spectrum of asset class have found 2012 a struggle. In dry, it has now finally been reported that clients of Norse Management (UK) Ltd have ordered two option two 82,000 dwt Kamsarmaxes at China’s SWS.