Russia to Use Force Against Pirates [source: Television New Zealand]: Somali authorities have given Russia's navy the go-ahead to use force against pirates holding a Ukrainian ship hijacked with 33 tanks on board, a maritime official said on Wednesday. Russia has sent a warship, but it has yet to arrive off lawless Somalia, where gunmen demanding $20 million seized the MV Faina last week. US naval ships are watching the vessel, hijacked near one of the world's busiest shipping routes. continue reading

Shipping Firm Sets Date to Retrieve Bodies [source: BusinessWorld Online]: Operations to remove bodies trapped inside an ill-fated ferry will start on Oct. 24. Retrieval operations for toxic chemicals that also went down with M/V Princess of the Stars should have been finished at that time, said Jordan L. Go, vice-president for freight of shipowner Sulpicio Lines, Inc. continue reading

Boskalis Raises Stake in Smit to 20% [source: Lloyd's List]: Royal Boskalis Westminster is continuing to stalk Smit Internationale as it ups its shareholding again to more than 20%. A filing at the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets showed that Boskalis now holds a 20.01% stake. This has climbed from a 10.5% share held on September 17. continue reading

New Tug JV at Antwerp [source: Maritime Gloobal Net]: Hamburg-based Fairplay Towage and Dutch towage and salvage specialist Multraship have jointly launched a new company to provide towage services in Antwerp. Antwerp Towage NV, a 50/50 joint venture between Fairplay and Multraship, is the first new initiative launched by the two companies following the signing of an agreement in August this year by which Fairplay Towage took a 50 per cent stake in Multraship. continue reading

Dredging Corporation Declares 150% Dividend [source: SteelGuru]: It is reported that the Dredging Corporation of India has declared dividend of 150% for the third time including interim dividend of 75% paid in March for 2007-08 involving an amount of INR 42 crore. The release said that the dividend was declared at its AGM in New Delhi and a sum of INR 15.50 crore was transferred to the general reserve during the year. continue reading

Technorati tags: piracy salvage SMIT Boskalis Fairplay Multraship towage dredging