Tag: Greece

Greek-owned oil tanker has been hijacked Pirates have hijacked a Greek-owned oil tanker carrying 135,000 metric tonnes of crude oil while in the Arabian Sea, the first successful attack on an oil tanker off the Horn of Africa in more than a year.The vessel's manager, Dynacom Tankers Management, said it had lost contact with the crew of the MT Smyrni, a Suezmax-class tanker, following the attack off Oman at 1115 GMT (12.15 p.m. British time) on Thursday."The Liberian-flagged Tanker, the M/T SMYRNI, is carrying a cargo of 135,000 MT of crude oil," it said.Suezmax tankers typically can transport a crude oil cargo of up to 1 million barrels, compared with 2 to 3 million barrels for very large oil tankers.Dynacom gave no further details but Kenya-based piracy expert Andrew Mwangura said the vessel was headed for the Somali coastline. Industry websites said the vessel had sailed from Turkey, but there were mixed reports about its destination."Aboard are nine Indians and about eight Filipinos," Mwangura, who is maritime editor of Somalia Report, said."It is headed to Somalia," he added.OceanUSlive.Org, a social networking site for the maritime industry, said the attack was one of four to have taken place in the Arabian ...

A reliable cost effective solution onboard its fleet Vizada and its partner SRH Marine Electronics report that they have signed a 24-month agreement with Danaos Shipping Co. Ltd to equip the company's fleet of 63 vessels with a broadband communications system.The agreement includes the provision of 1 GB of connectivity to the fleet over Inmarsat FleetBroadband terminals, to be managed via Vizada's XChange and Crew PC services.Greece-based Danaos Shipping provides ship management services to one of the world's largest fleets of containerships, with a number of additional diverse shipbuilding projects in the pipeline.SRH will provide the Thrane & Thrane Sailor FleetBroadband terminals, while Vizada will provide its XChange platform, a piece of hardware installed onboard offering a user interface that will allow Danaos IT managers or captains to choose settings and configurations to make the best use of the FleetBroadband connectivity.The XChange system also includes web compression and filtering capabilities, and optimised connectivity switching features.The Crew PC system which will also be installed onboard the vessels is a computer that comes preconfigured to match the communication needs of the Danaos crew.This will include elements such as web browsing and options for chatting with loved ones onshore during downtime aboard."In this ...

Aeolos in supreme court win The court has overturned a ruling in favour of charterer Petrobras and found for the owner of the 306,000-dwt Kos (built 2001) in a long running dispute over payment for charter hire.But in May 2008 Petrobras failed to make a required payment of hire with the consequence that the ship was withdrawn in June of that year although the failure to pay did not amount to a repudiatory breach of contract.At the time of the withdrawal the Kos was loading cargo at Angra dos Reis in Brazil so there was a delay of 2.64 days while the ship was discharged.The tanker owner claimed on various grounds for the daily hire of the vessel at the market rate and bunkers consumed over the days in question with a major legal battle ensuing.The shipowner won in a London high court but the judgment was overturned on appeal.But there has now been a definitive final ruling in favour of ENE Kos 1, a single ship company that is the legal owner of the VLCC.The five supreme court judges delivered a detailed ruling on the Shelltime 3 charterparty and unanimously agreed the appeal should be allowed although there was ...

Thursday 31 May 2012 - Divani Apollon Palace, Athens The 2nd Blue Shipping Summit is once again gathering the leading policy makers, shipowners, shipoperators, shipbuilders, marine equipment manufacturers, financiers, investors, charterers, ship brokers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, journalists, and other members of the international maritime community in order to learn, discuss and debate all contemporary and urgent environmental themes, which are of vital importance to the future of the maritime industry.To view the updated programme (as of 2 May ) click on:http://www.mareforum.com/Blue_Shipping_Summit_Programme_2012.htmAmong the speakers and discussion panelists are (updated list by 2 May):Nicky Pappadakis, Chairman, INTERCARGO and Chairman, A.G. Pappadakis & Co. George Gratsos, President, Chamber of Shipping, Greece Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman & CEO, Paragon Shipping Leonidas Dimitriades Eugenides, Chairman, Eugenides Group Harris Vafias, President & CEO, StealthGas Inc Fotis Karamitsos, Director Logistics, Maritime & Land Transport and Passenger Rights and Innovative & sustainable Mobility (Acting)DG Mobility and Transport, European Commission Christopher Wiernicki, President and CEO, ABS Apostolos Poulovassilis, Regional Marine Manager, Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), Lloyd's Register Yannis Xylas, ARISTON Navigation Corp. George Tsavliris, Principal, Tsavliris Salvage Akis Tsirigakis, Founder & CEO, Nautilus Marine Acquisition Corp Michalis Dalacouras, Director, Dalex Shipping Co, S.A. George Gourdomichalis, President and Managing Director, ...

Greek shipping company remains optimistic about the global containership market, Greek shipping company Costamare Inc. (CMRE) will probably continue to grow through new builds and acquisitions and it remains optimistic about the global containership market, a company executive said Thursday."We've recently done some acquisitions and will continue to seek opportunistic buys," Chief Financial Officer Gregory Zikos said, adding that the company has enough cash to buy more ships in future.At Dec. 31, Costamare's cash balances was about $144 million while its undrawn credit facilities were about $153 million. Costamare also issued a public offering of its common stock in March that raised about $100 million."We'll look at everything as long as returns are forthcoming," Zikos said, noting that, historically, the company's return on equity has been close to 30%. The preferred rate of return for shareholders is normally 15%-20%.The company would consider vessels that are much older and have a greater capacity than its existing average fleet, he said. He added that, for new builds, it is important the vessel be debt free towards the end of its charter license as this will help reduce financial risks resulting from volatility in charter rates.Zikos said the outlook for Europe's containership business ...

Costamare Inc. in Greece to sell two vessels and purchase two newer Costamare Inc. (the "Company") (CMRE - News) announced today that it has agreed to sell two 1984-built vessels for demolition. At the same time, the Company has agreed to purchase two 1998-built vessels, which will replace the vessels sold in their respective charters.In particular, the Company has agreed the following:(a) To purchase the 1998-built, 3,842 TEU container vessel Bunga Raya Dua (to be renamed Koroni) (b) To purchase the 1998-built, 3,842 TEU container vessel Bunga Raya Satu (to be renamed Kyparissia) (c) To sell the 1984-built, 2,922 TEU container vessel Gifted (d) To sell the 1984-built, 2,922 TEU container vessel Genius IThe total acquisition cost for the two vessels is approximately US $24.9 million and will be partly funded with debt drawn from a currently committed and undrawn credit facility. The total sale price for the Gifted and Genius I is approximately US $12.3 million.The newly acquired vessels are expected to be delivered within May 2012 and will replace the Gifted and Genius I in their respective charter party agreements. At the same time, the Company has agreed to extend these two charters for period of approximately 18 ...

The Marine Lubricants Division will be headquartered in Piraeus OW Bunker, one of the world's leading suppliers and traders of marine fuel, yesterday announced the launching of a new global Marine Lubricants Division. The company has started cooperation with leading brands in Marine Lubricants to provide a full range of lubricant grades to customers, and will look to target further sales to specific target prospects on a worldwide basis. The Marine Lubricants Division will be headquartered in Piraeus, and lead by Stathis Grafakos, who has years of experience in the lubricants business.Further offices will be rolled out on a global basis over the coming months. The company will provide a full range of quality marine lubricant grades in cooperation with leading brands in Marine Lubricants, including products for main engines as well as synthetic products for special on board applications. OW Bunker will use its technical expertise to provide customers with a complete lubricants solution, focusing on reducing the total cost of lubricant spend, and focusing on providing customers with the right quantity and quality of product to ensure that unscheduled downtime is minimised.The company will also provide an advanced after sales support service mainly through an Oil Analysis Programme, ...

Liberia is the leading independent ship register of choice for Greek-controlled shipping companies "Greece is one of a number of countries in which Liberia is now the fastest-growing fleet," says Scott Bergeron, CEO of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), the U.S.-based manager of the Liberian Registry,Figures just released by the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee (GSCC) show that Liberia is the leading independent ship register of choice for Greek-controlled shipping companies, second only to the Greek flag itself.In the year ended March 31, 2012, Liberia saw a net increase of 38 Greek-controlled ships aggregating 4.63 million dwt - more than twice the number of vessels secured by any other ship registry. In deadweight terms, seventeen per cent of Greek-controlled ships are now registered with Liberia, compared to 22 per cent flying the Greek flag."Liberia and Greece share a strong maritime history of co-operation and success dating back to the birth of the Liberian Registry," commented Mr. Bergeron. "It is very gratifying to know that, more than sixty years on, Greek owners still value the efficiency, safety and responsiveness of the Liberian flag so highly.Although the Greek-controlled fleet decreased in terms of ship numbers in the year under review ...

Aegean to establish an initial footprint in some of the world's largest ports Major Greek-based international bunker supplier Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc has signed a memorandum of understanding setting up a strategic alliance with China Changjiang Bunker (Sinopec) Co (CCBC), a Chinese state-owned enterprise jointly owned by Sinopec Sales and Sinotrans.In a statement Aegean notes that CCBC is one of China's five state-certificated bonded bunker suppliers and among the largest bunker supply companies in China. The strategic partnership, which is expected to become effective during the second quarter of 2012 upon completion of final documentation, is intended to enable Aegean to meet the marine fuel needs of its customers in mainland China.Under the terms of the agreement, CCBC will use its position as one of China's largest bunkering companies to provide comprehensive marine fuel services on behalf of Aegean's customers in strategic ports, including all Changjiang River ports and certain coastal ports such as Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Taizhou,Changzhou, Jiangyin, Nantong, Changshu, Zhangjiagang, Taiccang, Shanghai(excluding Yangshan), Ningbo, Tianjin, Qingdao (scheduled to open by the end of 2012), Dalian, and others. Aegean will be responsible for the supply and delivery of marine fuels to CCBC's customers in Aegean's network currently covering ...

20 methane and gas tankers ordered in China and South Korea For months the shipyards of South Korea and China have been besieged by Greek shipping companies expecting to see global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rise sharply and who are therefore looking to diversify their fleets and invest in the acquisition of large methane tankers for LNG and gas ones for LPG. Experts in the shipping agencies sector (as recently noted by the Greek daily Kathimerini) estimate that over the past 10 months Greek shipping companies have ordered over 20 large methane and gas tankers from Chinese and South Korean shipyards for a total cost of about 535 million euros.If one factors in the option for possible extra orders that the shipping companies may make, the number of ships rises to 30 and the overall investment to about 687 million euros. Among the Greek shipping companies who have chosen to boost their fleets with the new carriers of liquefied gases there is the Angelicoussis group, the Logothetidis family and the Vafias group. The orders have for the most part been placed with the South Korean shipyards Hyundai and Daewoo and the Chinese ones ...