Future of ship recycling hotly debated in Singapore:

Yuichi Sonoda, Secretary General of the Asian Shipowners' Forum opened the 4th TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum with the message that The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC) must be entered into force as soon as possible in order for the ship recycling industry to be considered truly safe and sustainable.

The Forum being held in Singapore got off to a fiery start with representatives from the Indian sub-continent asking keynote speakers and panelists if breaking ships on beaches would ever meet the conditions set out by the HKC.

Dr Nikos Mikelis, Head of the Marine Pollution Prevention and Ship Recycling Section of the International Marine Organisation (IMO) made a clear statement that it was "neither logical nor ethical to stop sending ships to South Asia" in spite of the current inability of many recyclers in the region to adhere to standards set out in the HKC.

Merijn Hougee of the environmental pressure group NGO Platform on Shipbreaking told delegates about a new drive to put pressure onto charterers and cargo owners to seek out shipping companies that engage in safe and environmentally sound ship recycling. Citing negative news coverage, Hougee claimed the strategy of “naming and shaming” to be highly effective in forcing the issue onto shipowners’ board room agendas.

Rounding off the morning’s discussions, Soledad Blanco, Director for Sustainable Resources Management, Industry and Air at the DG Environment’s Office of the European Commission sent a powerful video message to the participants outlining plans for a new EU Regulation currently being finalised in Brussels which draws on key elements of the HKC, and was described by delegates as potentially ‘revolutionary’. Eyes are now on Brussels for details of how the new regulations will affect shipowners and recyclers.

Source: NHST Events. 13 March 2012

http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/pressroom/nhst-events/pressrelease/view/future-of-ship-recycling-hotly-debated-in-singapore-740933

TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum: 12 - 13 March 2012

Programme Schedule:

12 MARCH (technical)

15.00 Registration & welcome coffee

Session moderator:

Henning Gramann

Managing Director, GSR Services

Side effects of raised awareness on HazMats: how can ship owners and operators deal with the risks?

• Asbestos surveys on Chinese newbuildings and getting the ship you contracted.

• Cleaning up the supply chain Hazmat reports - ensuring quality.

• Potential consequences of noncompliant reporting.

• Assuring compliance.

• Creating a chain of liability and already available tools.

• Selecting the most appropriate certifiers, for ship owners and recyclers.

• Web-based software for managing your fleet IHM.

• Reliability of inventories and upstream supply information (including repairs and regular maintenance).

• Issues arising from Certification of people giving inventory services – either compiling the inventories or sampling and testing for asbestos and other hazardous materials.

• Costs, risks and relevance of inventories and hazards.

• Software tools, complication, relevance and cost.

• How to avoid operational risks and liability (e.g. Australia and Netherlands) - Practical examples.

Web-based software for managing your fleet IHM:

Gerhard Aulbert. Global Head of Practice Ship Recycling, Germanischer Lloyd

Dr Alexander Berg. Haz Mat Expert

Junichi Hirata. Project Manager, ClassNK

Robin Townsend. Lead Specialist, Lloyd’s Register

18.00 – 19.30 Welcome reception kindly hosted by ClassNK

13 MARCH

8.30 Welcome coffee & croissants

9.00 SESSION 1

Welcome remarks:

Rakesh Khetan (Billu). CEO, WIRANA

Priorities, challenges and obligations when scrapping.

Session moderator-

John Stawpert

Senior Adviser (Environment & Trade), International Chamber of Shipping

Forum keynote address:

The shipowners’ role in recycling

Yuichi Sonoda. 

Secretary General. Asian Shipowners’ Forum (ASF)

Ship recycling - will the burden be shared equitably?

Dr Nikos Mikelis

Head, Marine Pollution Prevention and Ship Recycling Section, IMO

Piling on the pressure: how are ship owners and charterers being targeted?

Merijn Hougee

NGO Platform on Shipbreaking

Q&A (15 minutes)

10.15 Coffee break

10.30 SESSION 2

Finding a workable way forward – getting to grips with global ship recycling legislation. 

Session moderator -

Dr Nikos Mikelis

Head, Marine Pollution Prevention and Ship Recycling Section, IMO

Session keynote -

Soledad Blanco

Director for Sustainable Resources Management, Industry and Air, 

DG Environment, European Commission

Panel discussion on keynote:

What does the future hold - outlook for the Hong Kong Convention after COP10? 

Are new regulations creating commercial opportunities? 

Where does it leave ship owners looking to stay on the right side of the law and environmental pressure groups?

Tim Wilkins

Regional Manager Asia-Pacific, Senior Manager – Environment, INTERTANKO

Ingvild Jenssen. Co-ordinator, NGO Platform on Shipbreaking

Stephen Drury. Partner, Holman Fenwick Willan

Claude Wohrer

Secretariat General for the Sea, Prime Minister’s Office, France

Hideaki Saito

Director for International Regulations, Safety Standards Division, 

Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Japan

12.45 Delegate luncheon

13.45 SESSION 3

Who’s paying? Panel discussion with Nisha Pillai

All agree on the need for higher standards, but who is willing to pay? 

Is it unrealistic to expect the change to happen over-night and does scrapping enjoy the image it deserves?

Discussion panel:

Henning Gramann

Managing Director, GSR Services 

John Stawpert

Senior Adviser (Environment & Trade), International Chamber of Shipping

Dr Nikos Mikelis

Head, Marine Pollution Prevention and Ship Recycling Section, IMO

Tom Peter Blankestijn

Managing Director, Sea2cradle

Syeda Rizwana Hasan

Executive Director, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association 

15.30 Afternoon tea break

15.45 SESSION 4

Supply and Demand – where are prices going?

Session moderator

Jon Chaplin

Managing Director, NHST Events

What market dynamics are in play? 

What’s happening in the steel demand sector – India, Bangladesh and China?

What are the drivers and market dynamics for scrap steel demand? 

Are bans on single hulls, low freight rates and tonnage oversupply pushing more 

ships towards the beaches? 

What are market measurement challenges of unreported sales?

2 X 10 minutes market snapshots followed by discussion

Factors affecting steel demand and the correlation with scrap prices.

Dr Ahmed Firoz

Chief Economist, Economic Research Unit, Ministry of Steel, India

Supply – factors contributing to the rise in scrapping candidates and volume – what can be expected in the next 12-18 months?

Bart Lawrence

Founding Partner, Compass Maritime Services

Panelists:

Darren Lepper

S&P, Clarksons

Steve Wansell

General Manager, Mideast Shipping and Trading

Rakesh Khetan (Billu)

CEO, WIRANA

Thomson Kam

General Manager, Airmington Holding

Nicholas C Dean

General Manager, Dubai Trading Agency

Harry Malandreniotis

Managing Director, Headway (London)

17.00 Forum concludes

17.00 – 18.00 Cocktail reception kindly hosted by Sea2Cradle

Source:

http://www.nhstevents.com/assets/Events/ship-recycling-forum-2012/SRF12-Brochure9.pdf

Tradewinds Ship Recycling Forum:

Lucion Marine are pleased to announce that not only are we attending the Tradewinds Ship Recycling Forum held in Singapore, we’re sponsoring the technical meeting on 12th March, addressing how ship owners can manage the risk of hazardous materials.

You’ll be able to find us at our exhibition space throughout the conference. The technical meeting itself is where our expertise lies. The workshop covers the side effects of raised awareness on HazMats, asking ‘how can ship owners deal with the risks?’ with speakers including Robin Townsend, Lead Specialist at Lloyds Register; Gerhard Aulbert, Global Head of Practice Ship Recycling - Germanischer Lloyd; Junichi Hirata, Project Manager – Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK).

“The tradewinds recycling forum is a premier event covering the industry with the active participation of all its significant players. Here, the debates and dialogues result in an impetus for progression in the industry. We are delighted to be supporting this important event and welcome the shipping industry to the Lion City Singapore!” – Rakesh Khetan (Billu) CEO Wirana.

Lucion Marine are Lloyds Register accredited for the provision of inventory of hazardous materials (IHMs) for vessels internationally. We provide expert advice, consultancy and management of asbestos and other hazardous materials. To find out more, or to request a quotation, please contact us at marine@lucion.co.uk

Source: Lucion Marine. 26th Jan 2012

http://www.greenpassport.net/ship-recycling-forum/

Chinese yard picks up Hoegh car carrier for green recycling:

Chinese ship recyclers hope the sale of Norwegian owner Hoegh Autoliners’ 3,700-car-equivalent-unit (ceu) Hoegh Trotter (1983) to Jiangmen Zhongxin Ship Recycling Yard in South China on Monday marks the growing importance of green recycling facilities on the mainland, particularly to European owners for whom being environmentally responsible is not an option but a necessity.

Mr. Liang, majority owner and General Manager of Jiangmen Zhongxin Shipyard reflects on the sale as an addition to their ongoing commitment to green recycling.

"Having an important Norwegian owner like Hoegh place their trust in us is a big achievement and we will continue to carry out responsible, safe and environmentally conscious ship recycling here at our yard. We are also happy to be working closely with the cash buyer, Grieg Green, for the successful closing of this deal", he said.

NHST Events, organiser of the annual Ship Recycling Forum, was on-site to witness the handover of the vessel as well as inspect the yard and its facilities as part of its on-going commitment to covering the ship recycling market. The 2012 edition of the event takes place in Singapore from 12 - 13 March and has attracted a record level of support. The visit  to South China’s Guangdong province follows on from NHST Events' trip to Chittagong last month alongside a delegation from IMO and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) during which a new project providing financial support to Bangladesh’s ship breakers was agreed.  With the ship import ban in Bangladesh set to extend into the New Year, Chinese yards like Zhongxin are keen to handle any surplus demand.

During the yard visit, NHST Events also spotted the 16,270 DWT Xiang Jiang, reported by demo broker EBM as being sold this week for USD 495 per ldt.

When asked about current demand and plans for expansion at the yard, Mr. Liang alluded to a possible takeover of the neighbouring plot of land but that the capacity at the yard would not increase because "it has always been our wish to provide quality rather than quantity", he said.

Grieg Green, the cash buyer and recycling consultant in the Hoegh deal is relatively new to the scene and Hoegh Trotter represents an important milestone. The Norwegian family-owned company, which sources say paid just over USD 450 per ldt for the vessel, entered the recycling market 12 months ago. A spokesperson said "We are very pleased to be working with Zhongxin and are confident our superintendent who will be on-site for the duration of the project will have positive reports".

Senior representatives from Zhongxin Ship Recycling Yard and Grieg Green are set to attend TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum in Singapore, which encompasses the International Ship Recycling Association (ISRA) AGM at which Mr. Liang will be a participant.

The 4th TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum is sponsored by WIRANA, ClassNK, Lloyd's Register, Sea2cradle, Germanischer Lloyd, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Ship Recycling Co, ISRA, Al Salam Insurance Services, Rotar, Wilhelmsen Ship Management and St Kitts & Nevis. The event is supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

NHST Events AS is part of the Norwegian news organisation NHST Media Group with operational headquarters in London.

NHST Events global reach extends to the most traditional and the most dynamic shipping centres of the world, with events running in Singapore, Athens, Oslo, London, Istanbul and Shanghai.

Source: NHST Press Release. 6 December 2011

http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/pressroom/nhst-events/pressrelease/view/chinese-yard-picks-up-hoegh-car-carrier-for-green-recycling-712293

Scrap to improve profits in OSV sector:

Calls for more scrapping of older offshore support vessels (OSVs) were welcomed from operators and builders alike during the opening session of TradeWinds Offshore Marine conference in Singapore on Thursday.

Speaking to more than 140 delegates, Hallin Marine’s business development director John Payne suggested that supply would continue to outstrip demand as long as a market remained for older tonnage. Payne welcomed the development of new designs from fellow panelist Torgeir Haugan of STX OSV but questioned whether the market ‘could afford’ the new designs in a market where ‘price comes first, technology second’.

Highlighting a long-term shift from AHTS to PSVs in Asia, Fearnley’s broker Harald Paulsen Lovik told delegates during the Q&A session that European vessel designs incorporating greater fuel efficiencies, carrying capacities and lower emissions were gaining ground in Asian markets.

But despite predictions of growing demand for OSVs to service deepwater E&P activity in China, Malaysia and Indonesia, Lovik predicted that day rates would remain flat for the next 9-12 months, giving rise to questions of whether charterers would be prepared to pay for more expensive and technically advanced boats.

Wärtsilä VP, Riku-Pekka Hägg noted that while there was interest in high tech vessels in Asia, the enthusiasm was not reflected in the charter rates. He added that ‘modest steps’ towards high end vessels were being driven by legislation in market characterized by an ‘extreme focus on cost.’

NHST Events global reach extends to the most traditional and the most dynamic shipping centres of the world, with events now running in Shanghai, Singapore, Copenhagen, Athens,Oslo, Istanbul and Bermuda.

Our mission is simply to deliver exceptional value for time for our speakers, delegates and sponsors through a combination of informative presentations and lively social functions.

NHST Events AS is part of the Norwegian news organisation NHST Media Group with operational headquarters in London.

Source: NHST Events Press Release. 24 November 2011

http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/pressroom/nhst-events/pressrelease/view/scrap-to-improve-profits-in-osv-sector-708372