A NewsLink service for Dole Chile

Monday, November 3, 2014

SAFETY STUDY
SHORE WORKER DIES IN ONBOARD
'BASE OIL' FIRE

Investment market up as shipowners'

confidence returns

A tank cleaner died because of

miscommunication that led to a base oil fire.

Shipowners' renewed confidence prompted the

investment marker to rebound in September.
In its latest report, Golden Destiny said that
NARRATIVE
following a slowdown in market activity in the
An offshore supply vessel was in port for tank summer, shipowners were again active not only
cleaning of its mud and base oil tanks prior to in placing more newbuilding orders but in the
taking on board a fresh cargo. The base oil
secondhand market as well. September's
was a combustible liquid with a flash point of
75C.
newbuilding activity was up eight percent
A specialist tank cleaning team arrived with
on-year while secondhand vessel purchases
tank cleaning, vacuum and storage
equipment. A cargo surveyor outlined the work soared also by eight percent compared to last
required and one of the team arranged a work year.
permit with the authorising ship's officer.
The dry bulk segment is seen to rebound over
Tank entry for the tank cleaners and the
the coming months but oversupply is still a key
suction hose was through a manhole located
concern.
in the engine room at an upper level. After
oxygen levels were checked, three team
And as more vessels are sent to scrapyards,
members entered the base oil tank with the
freight
rates somewhat stabilize although asset
suction hose, while other members operated
prices remained unpredictable, according to the
the vacuum equipment ashore.
When all of the base oil had been sucked
out of the tank, one team member climbed out
and the three started to remove the hose from
the tank. One of the hose connections
became jammed and a second member
climbed out of the tank to assist. He
subsequently went ashore to the storage
tanker. To facilitate the hose removal, the
hose end section in the engine room was
removed.
The team members who were ashore with
the vacuum and storage equipment stopped
the pumping operation and closed the storage
tanker valves. A misunderstanding about the
correct sequence of operations apparently
occurred, and this allowed the residual
vacuum in the suction hose to be lost.
With the hose partially disconnected in the
engine room, the base oil remaining in the
hose flowed out under gravity and splashed
over the running engine. The base oil ignited
and a sheet of flame and dense smoke
enveloped the area.
The tank cleaner who disconnected the
hose in the engine room and a crew member
escaped out to deck and raised the alarm.
The body of the remaining tank cleaner, who
had still been in the base oil tank when the fire
started, was found at the bottom of the engine
room stairs.

EU, China officials hold

shipping policy talks

Officials from the European Union and China

have held discussions on shipping policy
developments between the two parties in
Haikou.
Delegates from the Chinese Ministry of
Transport,
the
European
Commission's
Directorate-General for Transport and Mobility,
EU member states, China Shipowners'
Association and the European Community
Shipowners Association (ECSA) took part in the
meeting, which is held for the 11th time.
During the event, European officials called for
China to open up market access barriers for
international shipping.
According to ECSA secretary-general Patrick
Verhoeven, China needs to lift the restriction on
their ports to reduce transit times and
transportation costs, increased revenue and
efficient utilisation of the facilities.
Verhoeven noted that since the Chinese
government promised to launch a free-trade
zone pilot project in Shanghai, foreign-owned
CONCLUSION
shipping companies are still not allowed to
transport international cargo between Chinese
- An investigation of the accident concluded
that the parties involved failed to have a safe
ports.
system of work in place. A poor appreciation,
European shipowners also talked about
by all involved, of the risks of transferring base
concerns on taxation, trade practices, port
oil was also apparent. The Permit to Work
charges, navigational rules and vessel traffic
system was not fully understood and the
permit issued was inadequate for the planned services as well as procedures for exit and transit
activity. Source: UK MAIB
visas. The next implementation meeting will be
held in Poland in September 2015.

shipbroker.
"Overall the outlook of freight market
environment is fragile and follows the
challenging economic conditions of economic
environment as China's weakest expansion
during this year puts in danger the global
economic recovery combined with the high
volume geopolitical tensions and recent pace of
decrease of bunker prices," the shipbroker said.
In its report, Golden Destiny disclosed that
secondhand vessel purchases were up 74% in
September compared to the previous month but
was 13% down year-on-year. As for the
newbuilding market, the shipbroker noted that
orders were up 22% in September than in the
previous month although the figure marked a
49% drop compared to last year.

Work underway to assess

damage on grounded barge
A damage assessment is being done by the US
Coast Guard (USCG) on a barge that ran
aground off Kodiak, Alaska, over the weekend.
According to officials, a USCG helicopter will
conduct an aerial survey. The barge, which was
being towed by a motor vessel while
transporting some 2.2 million gallons of fuel
products prior to its grounding, had been
directed to anchor until the damage is assessed.
The barge has already been refloated and all of
its crew members are safe, authorities said, but
an environmental assessment is still needed to
be completed.
"The Coast Guard is deploying resources to
the scene and has directed the vessel's owners to
anchor until a thorough damage assessment can
be made," said Capt Paul Mehler, commander of
the Sector Anchorage. Our priority is to ensure
the safety of the public and the environment," he
added.
The incident followed the grounding of a
134-foot barge in the Beaufort Sea after
breaking free from its tow amid a strong storm
last week. As of Friday, the authorities have yet
to locate the unmanned barge. Officials believe
that the barge may not have entered Alaskan
waters because of ice coverage that now
stretches up to ten miles offshore.
"It is unclear what level of future effort will be
applied to locating the barge and dealing with
the fuel that was known to be on board," Pacific
Environment spokeswoman Sue Libenson said.

PAGE 2 - Monday, November 3, 2014

He was one of the favourites for the tenth

edition of the race, which takes competitors
from Saint-Malo in northern France to
Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe, AFP reported.

SHIPPING DATA

BALTIC EXCHANGE
Market snapshot: October 31
Dry Index
BDI
1428
Capesize Index
BCI
3552
Panamax Index
BPI
1233
Supramax Index
BSI
892
Handysize Index
BHSI
467

+4
+18
+11
+1
-5

EXCHANGE RATES
New York (Fri Cls)
Fgn Currency
in USD
Britain (Pound)
1.5991
Canada (Dollar)
0.8869
China (Yuan)
0.1636
Euro
1.2527
India (Rupee)
0.0163
Indonesia (Rupiah) 0.000083
Japan (Yen)
0.008906
Norway (Krone)
0.1481
Philippines (Peso)
0.0223
Poland (Zloty)
0.2967
Russia (Ruble)
0.0232
Singapore (Dollar)
0.7779
Ukraine (Hryvnia)
0.0772

USD in Fgn
Currency
0.6254
1.1275
6.1129
0.7982
61.4800
12085.00
112.2900
6.7526
44.9300
3.3700
43.0328
1.2854
12.9555

UK logistics confidence remains

high amid challenges
Logistics sector confidence is still high but more
controlled in the United Kingdom over the past
six months despite facing usual challenges in the
industry.
According to the latest UK Logistics
Confidence Index, optimism in the sector went
up by about 36% since it plunged to its lowest
point in late 2012.
The rating was achieved amid a slight
decrease in confidence compared to last year.
The bi-annual index, which surveyed over one
hundred senior decision-makers in logistics
businesses in July and August 2014, disclosed
that almost 75% of the operators are looking to
increase capital over the coming months.
More than 76% of the officials estimate their
turnover to rise in 2015, the report said.
It also noted that logistics operators are
concerned over margin pressure. Another key
issue for the sector is attracting and retaining
high-quality staff, according to the index.
Meanwhile, 81% of the operators believed that
the logistics industry is better compared to
pre-recession era and almost 50% of the sector
expect conditions will improve over the next six
months.

INCIDENTS

Route du Rhum yachting

favourite crashes into cargo ship
One of the favourites in the Route du Rhum
yacht race from France to Guadeloupe crashed
into a cargo ship just hours after setting off,
organisers said on Monday.
Thomas Coville, 46, was not hurt in the
incident but his boat, the maxi trimaran Sodebo
Ultim, lost the front of its starboard float and
there appeared to be damage to its central hull.
The boat was forced to limp off towards
Roscoff on the northwestern tip of France.
Coville won the Route du Rhum, held every
four years, in a monohull in 1998 and finished
third in trimarans in 2006 and 2010.

One dead, 4 missing after boat

sinks in South China Sea
One person has been confirmed dead and four
others are still missing after a fishing boat sank
on sea off China's southernmost Hainan
Province on Monday morning.
The provincial maritime affairs bureau
confirmed that 12 of the 16 people on board the
fishing boat were salvaged by the crew of an
Italian cruise ship that was passing through the
sea area 36 nautical miles east of Qinglan Port
in Wenchang City in Hainan.
But one of them died and two others are still
in critical condition.
The bureau has ordered air and sea search for
the four missing.
The fishing boat with 100 tonnes of gross
tonnage belongs to a sea fishing firm in
Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong
Province.
The boat went offshore from Qinglan Port on
Friday and started to returned to the port from
10pm Sunday.
It is not immediately known what caused the
boat to sink, Xinhua reported.

CO-OPERATION

China eyes 'new maritime silk

road' partnership with RI
Chinese President Xi Jinping will push for
closer trade and maritime co-operation with
Indonesia under the establishment of the 21st
Century Maritime Silk Road, a reference to the
ancient trade and cultural route between China
and other parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle
East.
Only weeks after the inauguration of President
Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Xi has sent his foreign
minister Wang Yi to Jakarta to discuss bilateral
and regional issues.
The Chinese foreign minister is scheduled to
meet with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno LP
Marsudi, at the Pancasila Building in Pejambon,
Central Jakarta, on Monday.
The Chinese embassy's head of press and
public affairs, Zhang Yongchao, said that the
two chief diplomats would discuss anarray of
topics including the forthcoming visit of
President Jokowi to Beijing to attend the APEC
summit and to meet with Xi.
"They may touch upon important bilateral,
regional and international issues of common
interest with the aim of further strengthening the
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership under the
new circumstances," Zhang told The Jakarta
Post on Sunday.
After Jokowi's inauguration, Xi congratulated
the newly sworn-in President on his assumption
of office, Jakarta Post reported.

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PORT OF THE WEEK

PORT OF SAVANNAH
The Port of Savannah is a major seaport
located at Savannah, Georgia. Its
extensive facilities for oceangoing vessels
line both sides of the Savannah River
approximately 29 kilometres from the
Atlantic Ocean.
Operated by the Georgia Ports Authority
(GPA), the Port of Savannah competes
primarily with the Port of Charleston in
Charleston, South Carolina to the
northeast, and the Port of Jacksonville in
Jacksonville, Florida to the south.
It is comprised of two modern, deepwater
terminals: Garden City Terminal and Ocean
Terminal.
The GPA operates one other Atlantic
seaport in Georgia, the Port of Brunswick,
located at Brunswick, Georgia, as well as
two interior ports linked to the Gulf of
Mexico, Port Bainbridge and Port
Columbus.
The complex is home to the largest
single-terminal container facility of its kind
in North America.
Garden City Terminal is the fourth busiest
container handling facilities in the country,
encompassing more than 1,200 acres and
moving millions of tons of containerised
cargo annually.
Between 2000 and 2005 alone, the Port
of Savannah was the fastest-growing
seaport in the United States, with a
compounded annual growth rate of 16.5%.
The US national average is 9.7%.
On July 30, 2007, the GPA announced
that the Port of Savannah had a record
year in fiscal 2007, becoming the
fourth-busiest and fastest-growing
container terminal in the nation.
The authority handled more than 2.3
million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of
container traffic during fiscal 2007 - a
14.5% increase and a new record for
containers handled at the Port of
Savannah.
In five years, the port's container traffic
has jumped 55% from 1.5 million TEU
handled in fiscal 2003 to 2.3 million TEU in
fiscal 2007.