© International Marine Consultancy

On 21-23 March 2007, BIMCO, in collaboration with Ince & Co, London, will be holding its twenty-fifth Masterclass Workshop, a series of innovative BIMCO Courses focusing on key aspects of maritime commerce. The topic of this particular workshop is Sale & Purchase, and the event will be held in Istanbul, Turkey.

The BIMCO Masterclass Workshops have been designed for participants who already have some shipping experience and who wish to broaden their knowledge of a particular topic within the shipping industry. Each workshop in the series consists of three days of presentations by the finest experts, combined with group discussions and case studies. Participants are expected and will be encouraged to contribute actively to both the group discussions and case studies. At the end of each workshop, participants may take an “open book” exam to assess their level of understanding of the subject matter. This assessment, which leads to the award of a BIMCO diploma, will be of value to employers and employees alike in demonstrating the effectiveness of the training and knowledge attained.

Course overview:

- Norwegian Saleform 1987 and 1993
- Nipponsale 1993 and 1999
- Arbitration Disputes
- Newbuilding Contracts
- Ship Registrations
- Remedies for Breach of Contract
- Ship Recycling
- The Shipbroker’s Role

For more information about the course, please contact:
BIMCO Courses and Events
Tel: +45 44 36 68 00
Fax: +45 44 36 68 68
E-mail: courses [at] bimco.org

Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Start Date: 21 March 2007
End Date: 23 March 2007

Course program can be downloaded here.
Registration form can be viewed here.

One of our brokers, Remco de Zeeuw, will be attending the S&P Workshop. Feel free to contact him at +32 478 466077 to get in touch.

Svitzer Salvage has been awarded the contract to salvage the container ship “Repubblica di Genova” which capsized last week in the Verrebroek Dock during loading.

Many containers and cars fell overboard and got stuck between quay and ship. The salvage operation will probably take several months. Meanwhile, the turned ship has become a big attraction in the port of Antwerp.

© International Marine Consultancy

Does anyone know what this vessel is doing in Antwerp? She has been here for about three weeks now and very little seems to happen (apart from the odd paint job). Did a little search on the Internet Ships Register and according to their info the vessel is currently owned by P Dohle. Is she changing ownership or maybe waiting for cargo?

Fast facts:
Building yard: J.J. Sietas
Yardtype: Sietas Typ 170 B, ICE E3
Type: cells ice-class
Built: 2006
DWAT: 22200 t
Intake 20″: 1853 TEU
Intake 40″: 870 FEU
Homog 14: 1285 TEU
Reefer: 385 plugs
Gear: 3 cr x 45 tons
Speed: 21.0 kn
Consumption: 67.2 ts if 380

Who can provide more information!

© International Marine Consultancy

© International Marine Consultancy

On Saturday 24 March 2007 DEME organises a Job Day specially for engineers and technology talents. During this event, which will take place at the DEME headquarters in Zwijndrecht, you can get to know the company and talk to a number of young engineers about their job and their experiences. You will also have the opportunity to get on board of one of the dredgers for an exclusive visit and you can apply for a job.

Register for the Job Day at the DEME stand at the job fairs, or via e-mail. Send your CV and motivation letter to jobs [at] dredging.com, quoting “Inschrijving Job Day 24/03″.

Early this morning a containership capsized in the port of Antwerp. According to local sources it is the Repubblica di Genova owned by Grimaldi Lines.

The cause of the accident is being investigated. Antwerp port authorities reports all crew evacuated in time and there are no casualties.

The vessel was lying in the Verrebroekdok and was loaded with containers and cars. Karel Verbeke, head of Grimaldi Belgium, told the VRT radio network that about 100 containers and cars had fallen overboard and that retrieving them “will take a few days.”

Port of Antwerp Captain Jan Persi said the 216-meter long vessel slowly rolled onto its starboard side in a dead end dock early in the morning. He said the ship began taking on water and that the captain ordered the crew to evacuate. The white-and-yellow vessel lay resting on its side, part of its hull above the waterline in the dock.

Fast facts ‘Repubblica di Genova’
built: 1988 at Fincantieri C. Mare(NA) Italy
216.08m LOA
30.4m beam
Cargo capacity: 3.400 cars and 1.316 TEU

Update: 09 March 2007

Traffic in the Verrebroek Dock resumed yesterday afternoon after a survey vessel sent out to look for sunken containers and other obstacles finished its search.

Around the capsized ship a security zone of approximately 800m stays in force. The three other vessels that were lying in the Dock at the time of the accident have now been given permission to sail.

The Italian vessel had just completed the loading of containers and cars and was about to sail for Luanda, the capital of Angola.

The cause of the accident is still unclear. No environmental damage was reported.

All pictures © International Marine Consultancy

Eyefortransport would like to give you one of the first chances to apply for a FREE ticket (worth upto $1595) at either the 9th eyefortransport North American Technology Forum taking place in Chicago on May 30-31, 2007 or the European Technology Forum taking place in Amsterdam on May 22-23, 2007. Plus, as an extra bonus we will also cover your hotel room for one night during the Forum.

To see if you qualify for a free ticket at the North American Forum please visit http://www.eyefortransport.com/techforum/attending.shtml, and for the European Forum visit http://www.eyefortransport.com/eutechforum/attending.shtml. At each event there are only 100 free tickets available for senior executives who work for a transport or logistics provider who are actively involved in IT decision-making - and these tickets will all go very quickly, so please act now.

If you are a solutions provider to the industry and your customers are transport or logistics providers then please visit either http://www.eyefortransport.com/techforum/sponsoring.shtml for the North American Forum or http://www.eyefortransport.com/eutechforum/sponsoring.shtml for the European Forum for further information on how you can get involved.

The program and speaker list for both Forums are currently being developed, and should be finalized by the end of this month. If you are interested in speaking at either event then please contact Chris Saynor at csaynor [at] eyefortransport . com.

Foss Maritime Company announced that it plans to build the world’s first true hybrid tug boat, a “green” vessel that will significantly reduce harmful nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and carbon emissions. It will also consume less fuel and be quieter than its conventional predecessors.

Officials of the Seattle-based marine services company, which specializes in worldwide marine transportation and logistics, say the project must still gain final board approval.

But the decision to move forward with the hybrid tug got a boost earlier this week as the Port of Los Angeles pledged $850,000 to the project, in association with the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners preliminarily approved a $500,000 contribution to the vessel’s construction.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach , the nation’s no. 1 and no. 2 container ports, have expressed interest in funding Foss’ innovative hybrid tug as part of their San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, a sweeping proposal aimed at significantly reducing the health risks posed by air pollution from port-related ships, trains, trucks, terminal equipment and harbor craft.

In exchange for funding, Foss would agree to homeport the new hybrid tug in Southern California for five years.

“Foss is proud to be working with the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles on such an important project as the hybrid tug,” said Gary C. Faber, president and COO of Foss. “This is just the latest example of how Foss sits at the leading edge of maritime technology, engineering and shipbuilding. As a company, we’re committed to maintaining our natural environment. Foss anticipates there will be a growing market for our ‘green’ tugs in the years to come.”

The Foss hybrid tug is scheduled to go into production later this year and will be delivered to Foss’ Southern California operations in 2008. It is a new-build project, a continuation of the Dolphin-class tug boat series built at Foss’ Rainier, Oregon shipyard.

The Foss hybrid tug will look almost identical to its sister Dolphin-class tug boats, but will be quieter, cleaner and more fuel efficient, using proven hybrid technology. The hybrid tug’s drive units will be powered by batteries coupled with diesel generators and feature a modified engine room accommodating two 670 horsepower battery packs and two 335 horsepower generators. Although the main engines in the hybrid tug will have lower horsepower than the existing Dolphin engines, overall the tug will have the same total horsepower as its sister tugs.

The 5,000 horsepower Foss hybrid tug will be primarily used for harbor assist services—moving vessels such as tankers and container ships in and out of the harbor and into their berths.

“This is exactly what the Clean Air Action Plan was intended to do – challenge companies operating in the ports to come up with better, cleaner ways of doing business. And Foss has come up with a great plan that benefits all of us,” said Geraldine Knatz Ph.D. executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

There are many environmental and health-related benefits to building a hybrid tug, including:

- Reduced Emissions: The hybrid tug will reduce all emissions (nitrogen oxide, particulate emissions, sulphur dioxide and carbon emissions) due to design efficiencies and lower fuel consumption. Initial estimates show a 44 percent reduction in PM and NOx emissions for the same duty as the current Dolphin tugs in Los Angeles/Long Beach.

- Lower Fuel Consumption: The hybrid tug design minimizes fuel consumption by using a power management system to match the required power to the most efficient combination of batteries, generators and main engines for that particular power level. For example, instead of idling the main engines while in standby mode when alongside a customer vessel awaiting orders from the pilot, the hybrid tug will run on battery power with the main engines shut down. The lower fuel consumption results in reductions of carbon emissions, a contributor to greenhouse gas, as well as sulfur emissions.

- Noise Reduction: Overall, the hybrid tug will be much quieter than traditional tugs, running on battery power in standby mode and only bringing the generators and main engines online when higher power is required. This will reduce noise exposure, protecting crews from hearing loss and reducing noise pollution.

“The introduction of the hybrid tug reflects our company-wide commitment to safety and safeguarding the environment. We wanted to make a proactive move to introduce technology into the market that would reduce air emissions and help protect the health and safety of our employees and the communities in which we operate,” said Susan Hayman, Foss’ Vice President of Health, Safety, Quality and Environment.

The hybrid tug will be introduced in the Los Angeles/Long Beach market, as hybrid tug technology is best suited for harbor tugs that need high amounts of power for short periods of time. While performing tug assist jobs in this Californian harbor, tug boats spend little time at peak RPM, rarely utilizing each tug’s full horsepower. Tugs at the Los Angeles/Long Beach spend up to 50 percent of their time idling, with the main engines on and ready to respond, but with no power actually being used for propulsion. With Foss’ hybrid tug, energy is produced only on demand, so that idling of the main engines will no longer be necessary.

The hybrid tug design will make it adaptable for retrofit of existing harbor tugs. The flexible design of the tug also has the ability to take advantage of emerging technologies such as improved battery and fuel advances. This tug could also take advantage of cleaner, less expensive shore power to charge the batteries.

Founded in 1889, Seattle-based Foss Maritime offers a complete range of maritime services and project management to customers across the Pacific Rim, Europe, South America and around the globe. The company has harbor services and transportation operations in all major U.S. West Coast ports, including the Columbia and Snake River system. With one of the largest fleets of tugs and barges on the American West Coast, Foss is Always Ready, operating two shipyards and offering worldwide marine transportation, emphasizing safety and high-quality service.

source: Yahoo Finance!