A NewsLink service for Dole Chile

Friday, September 5, 2014

SAFETY STUDY
A CROSSING SITUATION
The crew of a fishing vessel did not keep a
proper lookout, which prevented it from
fulfilling its obligations as give-way vessel.

Ship-owners shying away

from new investments

Financial analysts have reported that

ship-owners started shying away from making
fresh investments in the first 20 days of the
NARRATIVE
month. They think that the slowdown in the
A 5,46tGT cargo ship loaded with scrap iron
market is an outcome of the recent slump in the
left port with a crew of 23. The captain took
dry bulk market.
over the bridge watch from the chief officer at
According to a shipbroker, there was a 13%
2000H. Also on the bridge were a deck cadet
decrease in average value of the Baltic Dry
and a helmsman. The weather was good, the
Index in July compared to June and a 29%
sea moderate and visibility was two to three
miles. The ship's two radars and AIS were
decrease compared to the corresponding month
functioning as the vessel proceeded at 10.5
in 2013.
knots.
However, a Piraeus-based shipbroker said in
At 2140H, the master observed a fishing
its
latest monthly report that the second week of
boat visually on the port bow at a distance of
August brought some hope, although no change
2.2 miles using the AIS. He could not detect
the vessel by radar. The 60GT fishing boat
in ship-owners' purchasing plans is apparent.
was fully lit with deck lights as its two-person
Ship-owners appear to have decided to await the
crew was busy sorting the catchfor the day.
exact trend of the freight market environment
The skipper checked the wheelhouse every 15
for the next few days before making a final
to 20 minutes for traffic. He detected the cargo
decision on purchasing new ships.
ship at three miles distance but thought that
According to the report, bulk carriers have
he would safely pass astern. The boat was
kept at automatic steering and proceeded
already lost their strength with potential
homeward at five to 5.5 knots. The captain
investors slowing their new-building plans. In
called the fishing vessel "many times" on VHF the first seven months of the year, shipbrokers
ch16 but received no response. He also used
an Aldis lamp and the ship's whistle. The
fishing boat crew observed the cargo ship
visually, but they did not hear any whistle
signals nor did they see any light signals. At
the last moment, the cargo ship initiated a
starboard turn. At 2157H the fishing boat hit
the larger vessel on the port side nearly
head-on. The cargo vessel suffered only a few
scratches, however the fishing boat was
damaged and started to take on water.
However, it was possible to keep the water
level steady by the ship's pump and the boat
managed to make it back to port.

Bigger ships offer more 'cargo

cruise' options

With the number of people looking for a unique

experience of cargo cruising growing constantly,
a French company has announced that one of its
largest vessels (16,000TEUs) would also be able
to carry passengers.
CMA CGM said in a statement that its cargo
cruises would allow passengers to enjoy better
facilities compared to traditional cruise ships.
Apart from getting an opportunity to stay in
CONCLUSIONS
five-passenger cabins - each with its own bath
and living room area - and to enjoy access to an
The fishing boat skipper did not keep the
audiovisual salon, library, gym and swimming
cargo ship under keen observation, nor did he
pool, passengers will experience the diversity of
use the plotting facilities to determine if a risk
ports and the flexibility by travelling in a cargo
of collision existed.
ship.
The fishing crew were working on the day's
The French company announced that it would
catch on deck, which prevented them from
keeping a proper look-out.
offer a tailor-made trip through New York
The fishing boat did not fulfil its obligation as Harbour or the Panama Canal to travellers. The
the give-way vessel.
company is also planning to combine different
The cargo ship, as the stand-on vessel, kept shipping lines to create new trips of a few days
its course and speed and used every means
or a few months to attract travellers. The average
to attract the attention of the smaller boat.
price of such a trip will be around USD 135 per
person per day, including meals.

have received less than 50 new-building orders.

The second-hand market, too, has recorded less
than 90 transactions as far as sales/purchases of
vessels are concerned. Scrapping activity also
slowed down to less than 70 vessel disposals
due to a sharp downward movement in container
volumes. Only bulk carriers have managed to
keep a steady pace of activity.
The Piraeus-based shipbroker explained that
despite the decrease in second-hand purchases in
July, the first seven months of the year recorded
a 20% yearly increase in the average number of
weekly reported S&P transactions compared the
first seven months of 2013. It stressed: "In the
new-building market, the ordering levels remain
excessive at 93% higher levels than the volume
of second-hand purchases. New-building
activity represents 29% higher levels than last
year (58 new orders on average reported per
week in January-July 2014 compared with 45 in
2013) and up by 132% from 2012 levels. (25
new orders on average reported per week in
January-July 2012)".

Canada to push Arctic claim in

Europe
Canada's top diplomat will discuss the Arctic
with his Scandinavian counterparts next week.
According to political experts, the diplomat's
trip to Denmark and Norway will certainly raise
suspicions in Russia.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird
will specifically bring up "the challenges and
opportunities facing the Arctic", according to a
statement issued by the ministry. He is
scheduled to visit Norway, Denmark and Austria
from August 22 to 27.
Russia and Canada have overlapping claims to
the North Pole as well as large swathes of the
Arctic that the US Geological Survey thinks
could hold vast amounts of undiscovered oil and
natural gas reserves. All parties agreed to abide
by international law to solve potential
disagreements, but recently Russia and the West
have been mired in an expanding East-West
trade war over a bloody conflict in Ukraine.
Asserting sovereignty over an expansive
Arctic archipelago and surrounding waters has
been a key policy of Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper's government.

PAGE 2 - Friday, September 5, 2014

SHIPPING DATA

UNCTAD MEASURES ANNUAL GLOBAL

COST OF PIRACY IN BILLIONS

BALTIC EXCHANGE
Market snapshot:
Dry Index
Capesize Index
Panamax Index
Supramax Index
Handysize Index

11:30 GMT
BDI
1096
BCI
2578
BPI
818
BSI
925
BHI
406

+35
+198
-10
+13
+7

EXCHANGE RATES
New York (Thu Cls)
Fgn Currency
in USD
Britain (Pound)
1.6586
Canada (Dollar)
0.9136
China (Yuan)
0.1625
Euro
1.3281
India (Rupee)
0.0165
Indonesia (Rupiah) 0.000085
Japan (Yen)
0.009634
Norway (Krone)
0.1627
Philippines (Peso)
0.0228
Poland (Zloty)
0.3172
Russia (Ruble)
0.0278
Singapore (Dollar)
0.8004
Ukraine (Hryvnia)
0.0762

USD in Fgn
Currency
0.6029
1.0945
6.1533
0.7530
60.5250
11714.00
103.8000
6.1481
43.8400
3.1500
36.0206
1.2494
13.1177

"The Arctic is fundamental to Canada's

national identity and will play a role in Canada's
future prosperity," Baird said. He stressed:
"Canada remains committed to working closely
with other Arctic states, such as Norway and
Denmark, to promote and protect its northern
interests and to co-operate on a broader vision
for the region," he added.
The melting of the ice cap also offers shorter
shipping routes between the Pacific and the
Atlantic oceans, which has attracted the interest
of countries far from the Arctic region,
including China. (AFP)

TRADE

Increase in global number of

container ships
Despite a fall in the number of container ships
transporting goods around the world in the first
half of year, the total capacity of the global fleet
increased.
Consulting firm Drewry Maritime Research
has reported that for the first time in the last 20
years, the industry recorded a fall in the number
of container ships on an annual basis in 2014.
According to the report, the container
shipping
industry
is
struggling
with
over-capacity, as there are surplus vessels
because of the economic downturn. However,
the nominal capacity of the global fleet
continues to increase by around 6% per year
because of induction of larger vessels.
The Drewry report said: "This growth in
capacity now comes solely from the increase in
average ship size, not from having more ships."

COMMERCE

Oman to develop Sohar Port

The strategic location of Sohar Port has
encouraged the Omani maritime authorities to
develop theinfrastructure of the port.
A senior official of Sohar Industrial Port
Company says that the main aim of the project is
to make Sohar the region's most preferred port
and free zone.

In its latest report on maritime piracy, the

UNCTAD has said that although the global
cost of piracy remains uncertain, its
estimated costs could range between USD
1 billion and USD 16 billion per year.
According to studies jointly carried out by
RAND Institute and the IMB, it involves
order costs, like the cost of ransoms,
security deterrence equipment, deployment
of naval forces and effects on foreign
investment in the affected and
neighbouring regions.
As far as Somalia, the hotspot of
maritime piracy, is concerned, the total
estimated cost of piracy was estimated to
be USD 7-USD 12 billion in 2010, USD
6.6-USD 6.9 billion in 2011 and USD
5.7-USD 6.1 billion in 2012.

According to Executive Commercial Manager

of Sohar Edwin Lammers, the development of
the port will help Oman become a front-runner
for logistics in the region.
Lammers told the local media: "Oman can be a
front-runner for logistics in the region. He
revealed that the concerned authorities also
decided to allow the railway to pass through the
port in the near future. He believes that the
proposed plan can put Sohar port in a better
position than the rival ports, such as Jebel Ali.
Lammers stressed that the railway connections
would further boost the status of the Sohar Port
and positively affect its performance.

ENVIRONMENT

Global warming 'hiatus' means

heat is hiding in ocean
An apparent slowdown in the Earth's surface
warming in the last 15 years could be due to
heat being trapped in the deep Atlantic and
southern Oceans, researchers said on Thursday.
The findings in the 'Science' journal suggest
that such cycles tend to last 20-35 years, and
that global warming will likely pick up again
once that heat returns to surface waters. "Every
week there's a new explanation of the hiatus,"
said co-author Ka-Kit Tung, a University of
Washington Professor of applied mathematics
and adjunct faculty member in atmospheric
sciences. "We looked at observations in the
ocean to try to find the underlying cause," he
added.
Tung and Xianyao Chen of the Ocean
University of China studied deep-sea
temperatures from floats that sample the water
as deep as 2,000m depth. They found that more
heat began to sink around 1999, just when the
rapid warming of the 20th century began to
flat-line. The movement of more heat into the
water explains how surface temperatures could
stay close to the same, even as mounting
greenhouse gases trap more solar heat at the
Earth's surface, researchers said.

KVH Media Group Ltd produces the marketleading KVH SatNews service, incorporating
NEWSlink which provides 75+ titles for
seafarers.
Address: 15 Nafpliou St., 1st Floor, P.O. Box
3627, 3317 Limassol, Cyprus.
Tel: +357 25340360
Email: info@newslink.kvh.com
Copyright 2014 KVH Media Group Ltd is a
KVH company. All rights reserved.

GALLEY
Duck meat is rich in protein and offers
several essential nutrients important for
tissue function. However, it is quite fatty so
trim away any visible fat before cooking.

ROASTED DUCK
Ingredients: 2.5kg of muscovy duck
(cleaned); olive oil (to coat); 6 brandied
cumquats (sliced); 50ml brandy liquid; 2
pieces of cassia bark or 2 cinnamon quills;
6 star anise; roast potatoes and steamed
vegetables (to serve).
Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degree
Celsius. With a paper towel, pat duck dry
inside and out and rub skin and cavity with
olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the duck,
breast side-down, in a roasting pan. Pour
cumquat brandy liquid over the duck and
place cumquats on top of it with the cassia
bark and 3 star anise. Roast it for 40
minutes, turning the duck over. Then,
transfer star anise, cumquats and cassia
bark onto breast side with remaining 3 star
anise. Roast for a further one hour and 20
minutes, basting with pan juices every 20
minutes. Transfer the duck to a serving
plate. Rest it, loosely covered with foil, for
15 minutes. Skim fat from pan and transfer
juices to a jug. Now, serve the duck with
roasted potatoes, vegetables and juices.

ROASTED DUCK LEG WITH PRUNES

Ingredients: 2 duck legs; 1tbsp of olive oil;
tsp of fennel seeds (crushed); tsp of
cracked pepper; salt; 1 large carrot (peeled
and sliced); 1tbsp of butter; 1 shallot (finely
chopped); 2tbsp of red wine; 80ml strong
chicken stock; 10 prunes.
Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degree
Celsius. Brush the duck legs with olive oil
and season the skin with salt, pepper and
crushed fennel seeds. Bake the duck in the
preheated oven, skin-side up, for about 30
minutes, basting from time to time.
Meanwhile, steam the carrots in a little
water. Drain the carrots, blend to a puree,
stir in half the butter and season to taste.
Transfer the duck to a plate and cover it
with a foil. Drain the duck fat from the oven
tray and add the shallots and cook for a
few minutes. Add the red wine, boil and
evaporate most of it. Add the stock and
bring it to a simmer. Add the prunes and
simmer for a few minutes. Stir in the
remaining butter. Add the duck legs to the
sauce and baste them. Serve a little puree
on two plates. Top with the duck, spoon
over the sauce and prunes, and serve.