Ship scrapping in Ghent:

This week a monstrous natural gas ship arrived in the port of Ghent to be scrapped by the biggest ship scrapping concern in Europe, Van Heyghen Recycling.

At its 10-hectare scrap yard with its mountains of steel and iron, enormous cranes move scrap from one mountain to the next. In the background lies the Tellier, a 200-metre natural gas tanker weighing 11 000 tons which transported natural gas between Algeria and France for years before owner GDF Suez decided last year that it’s journeys have come to an end and Van Heyghen was awarded the contract. CEO Bernard Beyne hopes to gain about 10 000 tons of steel, 500 tons of inox, 100 tons of non-ferrous materials and 400 tons of timber. “Ship dismantling is a division of our business which has grown enormously during the past ten years,” says Beyne. “This is primarily due to our unique location along the Ghent-Terneurzen channel, our 800-metre quay and 38-metre wide slipway to remove ships from the water.” India alone takes 3 million tons a year of the total of 8 million global scrapping capacity while Bangadesh stands at 1.7 million.

Most large ships are sold to phantom companies and end up in scrap yards or beaches in India and Bangladesh, where environmental demands and labour conditions are negligible.  It comes as no surprise that only 2% of oceangoing ships are scrapped in Europe. In India a scrap yard pays 20 000 dollars in labour to scrap a ship weighing 10 000 tons. In Belgium the price tag is 250 000 dollars. This trend has however changed during the past five years, with Western authorities and major listed companies like GDF Suez pressurized by shareholders and action groups to opt for European or American scrap yards which honour environmental laws. Van Heyghen has the asbestos on  old ships removed by specialists contractors before  other toxic and non-toxic waste, ‘precious’ objects and reusable components sloops, anchors, chains are removed and the hull  dismantled from the top. The scrapping of the Tellier will take one year, of which eight to ten months will be on the quay and the rest at the dry dock.

Profit margins in this industry are hardly above 5%, as scrapping companies often have to resort to guesswork when estimating the amount of steel, precious metals and toxic components on a ship. The price has nevertheless doubled from 100 – 200 to 300 – 400 dollars per ton since 2005.

Low margins cause Van Heyghen to focus on volume. Says Beyne: “We currently remove 20 000 tons of scrap per annum, but need to increase that to 40 000.” Van Heyghen scraps about 50 ships each year, of which 40 are small vessels and about 10 are bigger ships weighing more than 1 000 tons. The Ghent-based scrapping company recently started to specialize in larger vessels such as dredgers, frigates and naval minesweepers, focusing on clients who fall under the stricter European legislation.

Source: Expatica. 7 May 2012

http://www.expatica.com/be/news/belgian-news/ship-scrapping-in-ghent_225743.html

Ship Scrapping Duo Plead Guilty to Environmental Crimes in Virginia

Boom is placed around a salvaged container ship after an oil leak is discovered on the south branch of the Elizabeth River, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

A Virginia ship scrapping company and 2 of its owners have plead guilty to various environmental crimes stemming from their activities in the ship scrapping business.

According to court documents, Steven Avery, 56, of Bohannon, VA, and Billy Avery, 81, of Virginia Beach, VA, operated Sea Solutions, Inc., a VA-based ship scrapping business, and in February 2010 purchased the vessel M/V Snow Bird for the purpose of scrapping with the knowledge that it contained a quantity of petroleum products and other pollutants. Despite knowing that these waste products were onboard the vessel and needed to be removed, the men commenced scrapping operations with the pollutants onboard. Over the course of several months, witnesses complained of pollutants emanating from the M/V Snow Bird and finally, in October of 2010, the defendants caused a major spill of oil, oily water, and other pollutants from the operation into the Elizabeth River. The cleanup operation removed several thousand gallons of oily waste from the Elizabeth River and the shoreline at the cost to the United States of over $66,000.

“America’s waterways must be protected from companies that look to cut corners by discharging oily waste water illegally,” said David G. McLeod, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) criminal enforcement program in Virginia. “Improper waste disposal endangers not only the environment but human health.  EPA is committed to making sure criminal violations of environmental laws are not tolerated.”

Steven and Billy Avery each face a minimum 30 days and a maximum of 1 year in prison and, through Sea Solutions, Inc., could be forced to pay a fine of up to a $500,000 and 5 years of probation. The sentencing will take place on July 12, 2012.

Source: GCaptain. 18 April 2012

http://gcaptain.com/ship-scrapping-plead-guilty-environmental/?44833

More ships to be scrapped this year:

Ship scrapping will rise 19 per cent to a record this year as stricter environmental rules prompt owners to sideline older vessels in favour of newer, more fuel-efficient designs, said Clarkson Plc.

Demolitions will increase to 49.1 million deadweight tonnes, surpassing the current all-time high of 41.2 million tonnes reached last year, London-based Clarkson, the world's largest shipbroker, said yesterday.

Ship fuel, or bunkers, almost tripled in price since January 2009, lowering returns for older vessels with higher consumption, Clarkson said.

Reduced new-ship prices and tougher regulations aimed at curbing emissions may also encourage owners to renew their fleets, according to the shipbroker's monthly World Shipyard Monitor.

"Older vessels will face increased competition from tonnage delivered in 2011, with increases on bunker prices pressuring earnings," the shipbroker said.

Scrapping of tankers and containers will increase this year, Clarkson forecast. Fifty-four per cent of all ships demolished last year were dry-bulk carriers that transported minerals and grains, spurred by a slump in hire costs to the lowest level since 2002.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News. 24 March 2012

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/News.aspx?ElementId=3ae43066-b6e0-4400-8b99-51bd3f0dd20a

Braemar Predicts Peak Year for Ship Scrapping:

As the Baltic Dry Index plumbs all-time depths, those with long memories are recalling the dark days of the 1980s for the shipping markets. However, steel traders can look forward to a bumper year of supply of vessels for recycling this year, if previous experience offers a guide for the 2012 outlook. Bets are now being taken about how many vessels will be forced by the weak freight markets into the arms of recyclers.

Globally, ship scrapping capacity has very big limits being a simple business of driving ships onto beaches and cutting them up with oxyacetylene torches. Theoretically, great numbers of ships could be sold for scrap and held as inventory by the scrap dealers, to be pushed up the beach as and when required. Scrap prices for ships of around US$500 per light displacement tonne (LDT) remain, suggesting that demand for the steel content in ships remains strong.

Meanwhile, ship recycling capacity could grow further in coming years. The China State Shipbuilding Corporation President said recently that half of China's shipyards could go bust in the next two to three years. Many of these yards could switch to recycling as, theoretically, could European shipyards, though the economics of recycling in Europe are currently not encouraging.

Braemar Seascope estimates that, in 2011, 24.2 million deadweight-tons of bulk carriers were sold for scrap, surpassing the 12.0 million deadweight-tons scrapped in 2009 during the credit crunch, and the 11.5 million deadweight-tons scrapped in 1998 after the Asian financial crisis, as well as the 15.0 million deadweight-tons scrapped in 1986, the year the BIFFEX bottomed out at 554 points on July 31. 

2011 was not a record-breaking year for tanker recycling despite the poor freight markets. For four years from 1982 to 1985 over 20 million deadweight-tons of tankers were recycled while 14 million deadweight-tons were sold for demolition in 2010. Last year saw 8.4 million deadweight-tons of tankers recycled, with the figure for January 2012 maintaining the trend.

Scrapping of all types reached 41m dwt in 2011, making it the third biggest year for demolition ever. The second biggest 1986 when 43m dwt was scrapped, and the biggest ever was 1985 with 44m dwt sent to the beaches.

Mark Williams, Braemar Seascope research director in London, said: "If macro-economic conditions in 2012 continue to underwhelm and if scrap prices stay at their recent high levels, this year could easily surpass 1985 as a peak year for demolition." 

Source: BreakBulk. 3 February 2012

http://www.breakbulk.com/press-release/braemar-predicts-peak-year-ship-scrapping

Russian ship to leave St. John's for the scrap heap:

The Lyubov Orlova, which has accrued more than $200,000 in unpaid berthing fees, lists badly. (John Rieti/CBC)

A Russian ship that's been tied up in St. John's for more than a year and a half will be in Newfoundland for a little while longer as its new owners prepare it for its last trip.

The Lyubov Orlova was finally sold last month but the vessel, which has operated as a cruise ship and a research vessel in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, will not be carrying passengers again.

The 35-year-old ship is destined for the Dominican Republic where it will be broken up and sold as scrap.

Its new owner Hussein Humayuni – who hopes the Orlova will ready to leave in mid-March — said he took a chance when he paid $275,000 for the ship.

"Gambling, you know, If the price of scrap comes up, we can get some profit, If it goes down, we are losers... this is my business…for 45 years," said the Iranian man, who is now living in Toronto.

Many people, especially St. John’s Port Authority officials, will be glad to see the Orlova stern limp out The Narrows.

The Lyubov Orlova was seized by Canadian authorities in 2010. Since then, the ship has accrued more than $200,000 in unpaid berthing fees and deteriorated into a rust bucket that lists badly.

The ship was arrested in St. John's in Sept. 2010 after a creditor put a lien on the vessel. A Russian company, Locso Shipping, owned the 90-metre Orlova.

At the time of the ship's arrest, the Russian-based company owed Cruise North Expeditions $250,000. The Russian company also owed 51 crewmembers on the vessel more than $300,000 in wages.

Before it was seized, the Lyubov Orlova was used for adventure tourism trips to northern Labrador. No passengers were on the ship when it was seized.

Source: CBC News. By Mark Quinn. 5 March 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2012/03/04/nl-orlova-scrapped-304.html

Carrier disposal proves a challenge for Navy:

The aircraft carrier Coral Sea, seen in 1994 being dismantled in Baltimore, is the largest warship ever to be scrapped by any nation. Its disposal took more than seven years and was beset by numerous problems.

The flight decks that once thundered and boomed with jet aircraft are silent. The passageways and compartments where thousands of sailors worked, ate and slept are empty. The once meticulously swept and kept decks are worn and torn, some covered in bird droppings.

The names of the Navy’s 7 decommissioned non-nuclear aircraft carriers conjure up well-earned reputations as Cold War bulwarks. And while at least some are the objects of preservation efforts, chances are slim more than one will survive as a museum ship. The rest are taking up valuable pier space, and the only thing the Navy wants now is to get rid of them.

But that could prove a real challenge, if history is any guide. Breaking up the carriers presents unique industrial and security issues, and estimates of the cost to scrap them ranges from nearly nothing — according to the Navy — to as much as a half-billion dollars per ship.

The cost will depend on the price of scrap steel; the worst-case scenario for the Navy would be $2 billion to $3 billion to make all the ships go away. But with scrap steel trading at almost historically high levels, the government’s disposal costs could be far less.

One carrier, Saratoga, already has been offered for scrap. Bids for the work closed in August, and a contract award announcement was initially expected in a month or two. But the Navy has yet to make a decision, although Chris Johnson, a Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman, said Feb. 9 the award would be made “soon.”

In the meantime, the Navy on Jan. 27 announced that three more ships would soon be offered to bidders. Forrestal, Independence and Constellation are “supercarriers” of the same 1950s/1960s vintage and size as Saratoga, and each contains about 59,000 tons of scrap metal.

Saratoga would be the first supercarrier to be scrapped. Two other ships, Ranger and John F. Kennedy, are on donation hold, a status meaning the Navy will hold off on getting rid of the flattops while preservation groups strive to raise funds and strike a deal for a location to display the ships.

Only one old carrier, Kitty Hawk, is on standby in case it needs to be used again.

The cost to maintain and keep secure each ship is about $100,000 a year, NAVSEA said.

FIGURING THE COST:

The service also is gearing up to dispose of the nuclear-powered carrier Enterprise, a 50-year-old ship similar in most ways to conventional carriers, save for its nuclear reactors. Enterprise is to begin its decommissioning process in 2013 after one more deployment.

Navy and government analysts estimate it will cost $1.1 billion to $1.7 billion to dispose of Enterprise and its eight reactors, spread over 10 years; as reported in May by the Congressional Budget Office, the Navy estimated that the reactors accounted for about $730 million of a $1.1 billion price tag.

But until a contract is awarded to dispose of Saratoga, the cost to ditch the non-nuclear ships remains unclear. This may be the best time in years to get rid of the ships.

“The supply of scrap steel now is tight,” Bryan Berry, a veteran reporter with MetalPrices.com, said Feb. 9. “These are the second-highest prices in history.”

Prices peaked during the summer of 2008, he said, when scrap steel traded at more than $800 per gross ton.

“That was ridiculous,” Berry said. “It was a bubble, and fell after only a few months.”

But prices have crept steadily back up to about $400 per ton for many scrap metals.

“Heavy metal scrap — obsolete metal, often from demolition jobs — right now is selling in Chicago for about $417 per gross ton [PGT] delivered to a steel mill,” he noted. “In the 1980s, it was below $100.”

No. 1 busheling steel — clean scrap steel in pieces less than a foot long — is trading for about $482 PGT, he said, with shredded scrap going for about $440 PGT.

The service already has taken advantage of the high scrap prices, if only on a few ships.

“The Navy’s cost of ship dismantling in 2010 and 2011 was just pennies per ship,” NAVSEA’s Johnson said. Although specific prices weren’t provided, he added that the recent contract awards were for less than 10 cents each.

SCRAPPERS READY TO GO:

At least two scrap companies have acknowledged bidding on the Saratoga job. Both are based in Brownsville, Texas, where about half the ship breaking operations in the U.S. are concentrated.

Scrapping an aircraft carrier is a “big, big job,” said Richard Jaross, president of Esco Marine. “There’s tremendous oversight and costs. It’s not the same as other ships.”

Jaross has been in the ship scrapping business for decades, and broke up the World War II Essex-class carrier Bon Homme Richard in 1992 at Long Beach, Calif. That ship, he said, contained about 20,000 tons of steel. Jaross noted the industry is vastly different after the turmoil of the 1990s, brought on in large part by the problems with the Coral Sea.

Strict regulations were slapped on the Navy and the industry in the late 1990s after Coral Sea, a 50,000-ton 1940s aircraft carrier, was scrapped in Baltimore. One generation earlier than the supercarriers that began with the Forrestal, Coral Sea remains the largest warship ever scrapped — and it wasn’t easy.

The carrier’s disposal stretched over 7 years, bankrupted the original scrapper — who was sent to jail for environmental violations — exposed problems with the ship-scrapping industry, prompted several congressional hearings and led to federal regulations prohibiting the disposal of U.S. government ships to foreign countries.

A lasting effect of the fiasco — the Coral Sea was the last Navy ship sold for scrap. Since then, the Navy has had to pay to dispose of all its old vessels.

“It’s a totally different industry now,” Jaross said. “We’ve transformed into a very disciplined business, with strict safety and environmental programs.”

Those changes “didn’t come overnight,” he noted. “It took a lot of rules and time to convince people how to deal with it.”

Bob Berry, head of International Shipbreaking in Brownsville, handled the largest Navy ship breaking job in recent years, the 1970s-era amphibious assault ship Saipan. Work on that 24,000-ton ship was completed in February 2011. He was more sanguine about the prospect of scrapping Saratoga.

“Is it a bigger job? That’s just not so,” Berry said. “All of the same challenges in the Saratoga are no different than what we dealt with on the Saipan.”

Berry is looking for work for his yard, having just finished scrapping the Ticonderoga-class Aegis cruiser Vincennes in November. Getting the carrier, he said, would “probably create close to 400 jobs.”

Both Jaross and Berry expressed strong interest in bidding on the next 3 carriers to be offered, and were perplexed by the delay in awarding a contract for Saratoga.

“They move so slow, it’s very secret, it’s not transparent,” Jaross said of the Navy. “I don’t know what the reason is behind it, I really don’t.”

“I haven’t got a clue,” Berry said.

The Navy Inactive Ships Program Office declined numerous requests for an interview about the ship disposal situation, its plans to dispose of the carrier fleet, or how the Navy changed its mind in recent years about a decision to sink most of the ships as artificial reefs. The office based its refusal on the fact that a contract award had yet to be made.

“This is the first carrier scrapping procurement and as such contains unique terms, conditions and requirements,” Johnson wrote in a Feb. 2 email. “The procurement process has been longer than expected, but announcement of the apparent successful offer or is expected shortly.”

DECOMMISSIONED CARRIERS

Carriers awaiting disposal:

Shown are the carriers’ current locations and the planned disposal option for each.

• Forrestal (AVT 59, ex-CV 59), stricken Sept. 11, 1993. In Philadelphia. Scrap.

• Saratoga (CV 60), stricken Aug. 20, 1994. In Newport, R.I. Scrap (changed from donation hold).

• Ranger (CV 61), stricken March 8, 1994. In Bremerton, Wash. Donation hold.

• Independence (CV 62), stricken March 8, 2004. In Bremerton. Scrap.

• Kitty Hawk (CV 63), decommissioned May 12, 2009, and placed in Mobilization Category B, or “mothballs,” for preservation and possible future use. In Bremerton. Unstated disposal option.

• Constellation (CV 64), stricken Dec. 2, 2003. In Bremerton. Scrap.

• John F. Kennedy (CV 67), stricken Oct. 16, 2009. In Philadelphia. Donation hold.

Source: Naval Sea Systems Command.

Previous disposals

• Coral Sea (CV 43) was scrapped in the 1990s in Baltimore. The scrap job took more than seven years and was declared finished Sept. 8, 2000. Coral Sea remains the largest warship ever scrapped.

• America (CV 66) was sunk by explosives May 14, 2005, as a fleet training and design study exercise. No photos of the ship sinking have ever been made public, save for one image of the swirl of water from the ship’s descent into the ocean.

Source: Staff research.

Source: Navy Times. By Christopher P. Cavas. 19 February 2012

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/02/navy-carrier-disposal-proves-challenge-navy-021912w/

Ship scrapping industry coming to historic dock:

APPLEDORE'S historic Richmond Dock is to be put back to use for scrapping ships.

The move comes after controversial proposals to build homes on the site were rejected last year.

The news emerged at a meeting of the Bideford Harbour Board Working Group last week. The meeting at Bideford Town Hall heard a five-year-lease has been secured by FTD Marine to use the dock to scrap ships.

The company, from Cooper Street, Bideford, will lease the dock from owner Simon Maunder.

FTD Marine's Gareth Evans, said work to clean up the dock would begin soon.

Mr Maunder had previously wanted to convert the grade two listed dock into 24 flats, a post office, shop and café.

The multi-million pound housing development was rejected by Torridge District Council and again on appeal in August 2011.

The dock, constructed in 1859, once played a major role in the shipping industry for Appledore.

Vice-chairman of the harbour board working group, Councillor Peter Christie, said: "The luxury flats were initially rejected in the hope that Richmond Dock would one day become a working dock again.

"It will be great for industry to get the dock up and running again and will provide jobs for local people.

"It is very interesting that in the 19th century the dock was used for scrapping down ships and will once again be used for the purpose it was built for.

"This is not a new industry and it is fantastic that it will be restored." 

The meeting was told the dock would be used for dismantling boats  recks for resources such as steel.

Appledore resident Terry Bailey, 57, a telephone engineer, said: "I think it is great. Ship building has been the heart of the village and it is great news that industry will be brought back to Appledore.

"Some residents will not like the change. But they must remember that Appledore was always a working dock until the early 1980s and we have always pushed to return it back to industry."

Mr Bailey, who has run historical tours of the dock since its 150th birthday in 2006, said: "The MS Oldenburg for Lundy Island currently has to dry dock in Penzance or Gloucester because there are no other dry docks in Devon.

"By opening the dock up for work again this alone will generate income and jobs for Appledore."

However in the town hall's public gallery some residents were less enthusiastic.

One said: "Imagine the noise of scrapping down ships.

"They will make as much noise as they can until we give in to what Mr Maunder wants."

Source: North Devon Journal. 2 February 2012

http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Ship-scrapping-industry-coming-historic-dock/story-15109263-detail/story.html

Pacific Basin Surges on Dry-Bulk Rates Optimism: Hong Kong Mover

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest operator of commodity vessels, rose to the highest in 3 months on speculation an increase in vessel scrapping may spur a recovery in rates.

The carrier climbed as much as 6.9% to HK$3.90 in Hong Kong trading, the highest intraday price since Oct. 17. It was up 3.6 percent at HK$3.78 as of the midday trading break. China Shipping Development Co Ltd., part of the nation’s second- largest shipping group, advanced for a fifth day, jumping as much as 9.1%.

Dry-bulk operators may accelerate ship-scrapping this year after a global glut helped push the Baltic Dry Index, a benchmark for rates, to the lowest in three years, according to Samsung Securities Co. analyst Timothy Ross. Rates may also rebound following the end of this week’s Lunar New Year holidays in China, the biggest customer for ships used to haul iron ore, coal and other commodities, he said.

“Expectations of an index recovery on a rebound in demand post the Chinese New Year and a scrapping-led moderation in supply have encouraged investors to take risks on high beta stocks like the dry-bulk sector,” he said.

Ross raised his ratings on Pacific Basin and Shanghai-based China Shipping Development to ‘buy’ from ‘sell’ in a Jan. 18 note. Pacific Basin has gained 13 % since the close of trading the day before the note, while China Shipping Development has jumped 22%.

The Baltic Dry Index has fallen 52% this year to 784 because of the Chinese holidays, poor weather in export markets such as Australia and acceleration of vessel deliveries, Ross said. Steel mills and other Chinese factories close for at least a week around the Lunar New Year holidays, which started Jan. 23.

The index may rebound to 2,000 by the beginning of the second half of the year as declining rates, rising fuel costs and scrap metal prices at a decade-high may prompt shipowners to retire vessels, Ross said in the Jan. 18 note. About 25% of the global dry-bulk fleet is also more than 20 years old, he said.

--Editors: Neil Denslow, Garry Smith

To contact the reporter on this story: Jasmine Wang in Hong Kong at Jwang513@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Neil Denslow at ndenslow@bloomberg.net

Source: Bloomberg Business Week. By Jasmine Wang. 26 January 2012

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-26/pacific-basin-surges-on-dry-bulk-rates-optimism-hong-kong-mover.html

Prampram residents in danger over scrapping of old ship:

The old ship at Prampram

National Security officials are said to have moved in to stop the scrapping of an old ship off the shores of Prampram in the Greater Accra Region.

The move follows a Joy FM report yesterday about the ship which is said to be containing toxic substances.

Residents say these substances are likely to be dumped into the ocean and could pollute the environment.

A scrap contractor is said to have bought the ship but officials of the Environmental Protection Agency say it poses a serious health hazard.

Fiifi Koomson was at the site on Monday and reported the ship and its content represent looming threat to the residents.

He said the ship, the length of a football field, is ready to be cut into pieces.

One of the residents named only as Ivy said she has had to breathe in gas and iron dumped from the ship into the ocean daily which can only be poisonous to herself and her unborn baby.

Fishermen however are unaware of the threat the ship and its content pose to their health and are going about their fishing expedition daily.

Officials of the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA has meanwhile promised to deal with the situation.

The Tema Zone of the EPA has since been coordinating the operation.

Source: My Joy Online. 30 November 2011

http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201111/77347.php

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

2 men, Chesapeake company face polluting charges:

A Chesapeake-based ship-scrapping company and 2 of its officers have been indicted on charges of conspiring to illegally discharge pollutants into the Elizabeth River.

Steven E. Avery, 55, of Bohannon in Mathews County; his father, William J. Avery, 80, of Virginia Beach; and S.E.A. Solutions Corp. all were charged with 7 violations of the Clean Water Act and one count of making false statements to an Environmental Protection Agency investigator, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Steven Avery is the vice president of the company, and William Avery is the treasurer.

According to the indictment, pollutants were discharged into the water from the motor vessel Snow Bird, which was being scrapped on a site on the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake.

Contaminated water was pumped overboard to keep the ship afloat and remove excess contaminated water and fluids.

The spill on Oct. 5, 2010 was discovered during a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality compliance inspection at an adjacent facility, according to a consent order from DEQ dated Aug. 5, 2011. The DEQ staffer spotted an oil sheen in the Southern Branch between the shoreline and the Snow Bird. The Coast Guard reported about 4,000 gallons of oil was discharged.

S.E.A. Solutions was ordered to pay a civil charge of $29,430 in settlement of the violations, the DEQ consent order said.

The company had also previously been cited by DEQ for operating without a permit. In October 2008, S.E.A. Solutions agreed to pay a $10,400 civil charge.

The federal counts related to the Clean Water Act carry a maximum term of three years in prison and $50,000 fine for each day the violations occurred. The counts related to the conspiracy and false statements carry a maximum of 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to the U.S. attorney's office news release.

Source: The Virginian-Pilot. By Lauren King (lauren.king@pilotonline.com). 17 November 2011

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/11/2-men-chesapeake-company-face-federal-charges


Related News:

More than 1,000 gallons of oil spills into Elizabeth River:

Oil spill in Elizabeth River (Source: Associated Press)

More than 1,000 gallons of oil spilled into the southern branch of Elizabeth River on Tuesday, according to a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard.

The incident occurred at a ship dismantling facility in Chesapeake owned by Sea Solutions Corp. Workers had been cutting apart a container ship for its steel and pumping oil towards the stern when oil from the remainder of the ship leaked into a cove, the Coast Guard said.

Sea Solutions called the Coast Guard and hired Coastal Solutions, which removed more than 1,000 gallons of oil from the water. A containment boom prevented the oil from spreading beyond the cove, the Coast Guard said.

An undetermined amount of oil remains aboard the ship.

Source: The Daily Press. By Cory Nealon. 7 October 2010

http://weblogs.dailypress.com/news/science/dead_rise/2010/10/more_than_1000_gallons_of_oil_spills_into_elizabeth_river.html

Tugboat continues to remain beached at Miramar:

PANAJI: A tug boat which had run aground at Miramar beach continues to lie in the same position for nearly a fortnight as efforts to salvage it proved difficult, sources said.The vessel was stranded on the beach on November 2.

Port administration department sources said the vessel may have navigated on the wrong side and got stuck in shallow depths.The tug boat belonging to a Mumbai-based firm is part of infrastructure, including barges and other vessels, being used for scrapping the grounded ship River Princess at Candolim.

The tug boat is used for barges moving up and down the river with scrap from Candolim to the scrapyard at Bainguinim. "The vessel owners have informed that they are trying to pull it out," said Capt James Braganza, Captain of Ports.

The draft for the movement of the vessel will be available only at the highest tide on November 21.Stating that grounding of vessels is common due to shallow depths, Braganza said, "Digging on the stern side will be done to float the tug." This will help create a gradient at the highest tide for vessel to be pulled into the water, he added.

Source: The Times of India. 17 November 2011

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-17/goa/30409987_1_miramar-beach-vessel-river-princess

Chesapeake Virginia Ship Scrapping Company and Its Vice-President and Treasurer Indicted on Federal Charges:

MV Snow Bird

Press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NORFOLK, Va. – Steven E. Avery, 55, of Bohannon, Va., and his father William J. Avery, 80, of Virginia Beach, Va., and their company S.E.A. Solutions Inc., were indicted today by a Norfolk federal grand jury for conspiring to illegally discharge pollutants into the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake, Va., in violation of the Clean Water Act. They were also charged with 7 other Clean Water Act counts and one count of making false statements to an EPA investigator.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the grand jury returned its indictment today. The Clean Water Act counts of the indictment each carry a maximum possible term of three years in prison and a potential $50,000 fine for each day the violations occurred. The conspiracy and false statements counts of the indictment each carry a maximum possible term of 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.   

The indictment alleges a scheme to illegally discharge pollutants from M/V Snow Bird, a vessel being scrapped on a site situated on the Elizabeth River. 

S.E.A. Solutions Vice-President Steven Avery and Treasurer William Avery are alleged to have pumped contaminated water overboard during the scrapping process to keep the ship afloat and remove excess contaminated water and fluids from the ship. The vessel contained petroleum products that leaked into the Elizabeth River because they were not removed before scrapping. 

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Special Agents from the EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Chesapeake Fire Marshal Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph L. Kosky and Melissa E. O’Boyle, of the Eastern District of Virginia.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.

Source: The US Attorney’s Office . 16 November 2011

http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae/news/2011/11/20111116averynr.html

Ship-scrapping sector in scrapS

CHITTAGONG, OCT 20: Lack of expertise and awareness and greed for earning extra profit by owners are the main reasons of the increasing number of accidents in shipbreaking industry, say expert here. In recent years, Bangladesh's shipbreaking industry experienced a rapid growth. According to Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association, there were between 35 and 40 shipbreaking yards in 2001 in the coastal areas of Bhatiary and Sonaichhari unions of Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong. In the last decade, the industry expanded dramatically and stretched in two adjacent unions, leading to the number of shipbreaking yards being nearly doubled.

But the expertise required for smooth operation of the industry has not developed in a significant extent with this expansion, the experts said.

The new ship-breaking yards suffer from lack of expertise and skilled workers, which has increased accidents in recent years. Records say 15 workers died and 30 others sustained injuries in mishaps at shipbreaking yards in the last 10 months alone, the latest being four deaths at Subedar Ship Breaking Yard in Sitakunda on Sunday.

Engineer Emran Hossain, a master mariner and instructor at BSBA Training Institute, said there is no training institute for workers in this sector to develop skills and expertise. Most workers at shipbreaking yards are illiterate and have no knowledge of health and safety measures, he said.

The workers do not even have any idea of how to scrap ships systematically, so accidents take place off and on due to this lack of expertise and awareness, he Emran Hossain said.

According to him, BSBA Training Institute has been working for the last 6 months in this regard and has trained about 600 ship scrap workers, and another 300 are receiving training.

"We are training them on personal protective equipment (PPE) and some other techniques of scrapping ships," he said.

But only training is not sufficient, he warned -- "involvement of marine engineers and experts is required in scrapping ships to avoid accidents."

BSBA president Hefazutur Rahman said even trained workers are not willing to take safety measures and so most accidents take place mainly due to lack of awareness and unwillingness to take safety measures.

Admitting that paucity of awareness is the main reason for accidents at shipbreaking yards, director at the Directorate of Environment (DoE) Zafar Alam said the tendency of minimising cost of operation by owners at these yards is also responsible for mnishaps. Referring to this week's accident at Jiri Subedar Steel Shiprbeaking Yard, which left four workers dead, Zafar Alam said its owner had hurried somewhat in breaking the ship and started scrapping it without the 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) from the Environment Department. Lack of awareness among workers was another cause of the accident, he said.

Zafar said the investigation team had found that no safety measures were taken for the workers while they were trying to clean gas from a gas cylinder in the ship.

Director of Bangladesh Environment Lawyers' Association (BELA) Rezwana Hasan said Industries minister and Environment minister are backing the shipbreaking industry by contending that the industry has developed expertise and skilled workers and is not destroying the environment as much as it did earlier. But she said shipbreakers in Sitakunda are not following directives of the High Court, and many government and non-government agencies are supporting them. She also blamed the lax monitoring of DoE, Explosive Department, Labour Department and Industries Ministry for the increasing number of accidents in the industry.

President of Shipbreaking Yard Sramik Karmachari Federation Safar Ali said, "Most scrap ships got into the country are oil tankers. These tankers are highly hazardous and almost all yards lack the necessary safety measures and skilled workers for scrapping those ships’. The ship breakers must emphasize on developing expertise and skilled workers and ensure all the lawful facilities for the workers to reduce the number of the number of accident in the industry, he added.

Source: By Mizanur Rahman Yousuf. 21 October 2011

http://www.theindependentbd.com/paper-edition/metropolitan/others/76361-ship-scrapping-sector-in-scraps.html

Dry bulk market projected to remain weak till 2013:

A senior executive of major ship brokerage Braemar Seascope said that the global dry bulk freight market is expected to stay weak throughout 2012 and into 2013 due to an oversupply of ships.

Mr Peter Malpas, Head of Research at Braemar, a unit of Braemar Shipping Services plc, expected the freight market to see signs of recovery in 2013, with the extent of an upturn depending notably on how supply is adjusted. He said that "Scrapping of ships is really key for the recovery."

The industry has been struggling with a supply glut that has outpaced demand for commodities such as coal and iron ore. Shipowners went on an ordering spree before the economic turmoil in 2008 and have been hit this year by the pace of ship deliveries, stepped up in recent months.

He said that the curbing of fleet capacity, whether through scrapping, delivery delays or order cancellations, would allow the market to recover faster in 2013 and benefit from industrial demand being driven by China. He added that "We see strong demand for shipping soaking up supply tonnage returning the market to healthier levels in 2014."

Mr Malpas said that scrapping had already increased significantly this year but an expected 30 million tonnes of scrapped capacity this year in the dry bulk sector would still be outstripped by forecast new capacity. He added that "It's what we scrap next year that will affect 2013."

Source: Steel Guru (Sourced from Exim News Service). 15 October 2011

http://www.steelguru.com/international_news/Dry_bulk_market_projected_to_remain_weak_till_2013/229826.html

Ferries' fate questioned ??

The two old Marine Atlantic ferries, the MV Caribou, left, and MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood, are seen docked in Sydport on Thursday. Steve Wadden - Cape Breton Post

The ferries formerly known as the Caribou and the Joseph and Clara Smallwood both appear to be bound for the scrap heap.

MV Caribou and MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood

While nothing is official, ship watchers who make a hobby of photographing and tracking large vessels say data suggests the ferries are bound for Alang, India, a port infamous for its naval scrap yards and environmental hazards.

According to Greenpeace, ships brought to Alang are run aground on the beach. Workers then go aboard and dismantle the ships for scrap. Environmental groups have condemned the lack of worker safety and the poor environmental practices at Alang.

The MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood departs Port aux Basques for its final passenger crossing. — Photo by Aethne Hinchliffe

Jarrod David is one of the many east-coast ship watchers who have been keeping their eyes on the ferries. The Arichat, N.S. man said he tracked the ships online after they left North Sydney by using the website Marinetraffic.com. The website uses Automatic Identification System numbers to provide near-real time data on ships’ locations.

Mr. David tracked both ships across the Atlantic, but data is not available for the eastern side of the Suez Canal. He lost track of their exact location there.

MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood

Mr. David has also been able to keep tabs on the ferries through their IMO ship identification numbers. These numbers are assigned to ships when they are first registered and do not change.

By plugging the Caribou and Smallwood’s numbers into the website Equasis.org, he has been able to find that both ships are now owned by Best Oasis Ltd., based out of India. That is confirmed on the company’s website.

Best Oasis Ltd. Is a subsidiary of Priya Blue Industries Pvt Ltd. Best Oasis describes itself on its website as a company created to “serve its customers in the ship recycling industry,” while Priya Blue Industries describes itself as “one of the established and leading recycling units in Alang/Sosiya (Gujarat, India).”

MV Caribou

Equasis.org lists both ferries as “to be broken up.”

Both ferries are listed on Best Oasis’ website under the heading “Achievements.”

The ships are numbers eight and nine on a list of 10 ships; ships numbered one though 6 have dates listed for when they were beached, many with Alang listed as the beach.

Attempts to contact Best Oasis Ltd. were unsuccessful.

Another online source, a blog called The Ship Scrapping List, lists the Smallwood as bound for Alang, India, though the website does not provide sources.

MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood 1990-2011

Mr. David said he is somewhat surprised the ships are being sold for scrap so soon, given that the Caribou is about 25 years old and the Smallwood is only about 21 years old.

He said older gulf ferries such as the Nautica and the Atlantic are still being used.

But, he says, there is little doubt the ships are due to be broken up at Alang.

He and other ship watchers have contacts there who will be watching for them and he hopes to get a picture if and when they arrive at the beach.

Source: Gulf News. Brodie Thomas. 11 October 2011

http://www.gulfnews.ca/News/2011-10-11/article-2773414/Ferries-fate-questioned/1