Tag: tankers

None of its crew members was injured A Japanese chemical tanker came under rocket attack from a suspected pirate boat in the Red Sea but none of its crew members was injured, the Japanese transport ministry said Thursday.The Panamanian-registered 16,222-ton Ginga Bobcat was fired upon by the small boat after a 15-minute chase which started at around 3:30 p.m. local time Wednesday, the ministry said.A rocket-propelled grenade left a hole 10 centimeters across, in the bridge of the tanker which was operated by Tokyo Marine Co, the ministry said.The tanker, with a crew from Bangladesh, safely continued its journey, the ministry said. Kyodo news agency said it was carrying phosphoric acid from Morocco to India.About 45 minutes before the incident, another chemical tanker operated by the same Tokyo-based company was chased and fired upon by a small boat in nearby waters close to Yemen, the ministry said.But the earlier attack did not hit the tanker or its crew.The two attacks were believed to have been made by pirates, a ministry official said.Source: Japan Today

Pirates attempted to attack a Japanese-operated chemical tanker Pirates attempted to attack a Japanese-operated chemical tanker in the Strait of Malacca on Friday, a Singapore-based anti-piracy watchdog said Monday.Panama-flagged "Ginga Falcon," a 13,292 gross ton vessel, was anchored in port waters of Indonesia's Pulau Karimun Besar Island when it was attacked by three pirates shortly after midnight.But the pirates fled, taking with them only a life ring, when the ship's crew raised the alarm, the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre said in a statement.The vessel is operated by Tokyo Marine Co. of Japan.It had stopped at Karimun to deliver a cargo of chemicals.No one among its 23-member crew -- all Bangladeshis - was injured and the ship, which had been in the Persian Gulf and India, has already continued its journey to Bangkok, Capt. Amit Jain of Singapore-based Unix Line Ltd., which manages the vessel, said.According to the statement, another vessel, the Singapore-registered tugboat GM Shine, was attacked at night by pirates in the same vicinity on Sunday. The pirates stole the crew's personal belongings and disrupted all the ship's communication system before escaping.The anti-piracy center has advised ships to be vigilant in the vicinity of Pulau Karimun Besar as there ...

Suezmax tankers have a dramatically improved energy efficiency Mrs Rosa José Marie Sumbe, wife of Mr. Baptista Sumbe, Executive Chairman of Sonangol Holdings Ltd, named Stena Bulk's first ultra modern, low consumption and partly in-house designed, Suezmax tanker Stena Superior at a ceremony at Samsung HI, Geoje, Korea.The Stena Superior is the first Suezmax tanker in the series of seven vessels of which most will join the successful Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool. The Pool was formed in 2005 and is controlled by Stena Bulk and the state-owned Angolan oil company Sonangol.These new series of Suezmax tankers have a dramatically improved energy efficiency, which will among other things, reduce bunker consumption by up to 15 percent compared with the most efficient, conventional Suezmax tankers currently on the waters."The Pool has today a total of some 20 Suezmax tankers and there will totally be up to some 30 modern tankers with an average age of only 3.5 years once both Sonangol´s five newbuildings and ours have been delivered," says Ulf G. Ryder, President & CEO of Stena Bulk AB.Technical data:
Deadweight 158,000 tons
Lenght 274 metres
48 metres beamThe next Stena Bulk Suezmax in the series is the Stena Suède which will be delivered already ...

IMO has agreed to include the cubic capacity correction factor A reprieve for chemical tanker operators came with the news that the IMO's MEPC has agreed to include the cubic capacity correction factor proposed by IPTA in the EEDI formula.IPTA general manager Janet Strode said that this was an important inclusion within the EEDI that would allow low density cargoes, such as methanol and MTBE, to continue to be loaded as close to deadweight as possible.The MEPC said; "The (working) group agreed to integrate the correction factor into the EEDI calculation guidelines, and doing so would enhance credibility and confidence in the EEDI formula. However, the group considered that the correction factor presented in document MEPC 62/6/13 would require fine tuning."This fine tuning is due to take place at an intersessional working group meeting due to be held next January, 2012.Addressing propulsion and manoeuvrability in bad weather, the working group said; "The group noted that the guidelines for determining minimum propulsion power and speed to enable safe manoeuvring in adverse weather conditions should be developed in a relatively short time, since the guidelines are referred to in the regulatory framework of the EEDI as being voluntary."The committee summed up by ...

For the first time such a large Suezmax tanker is navigating along this route On 20 August 2011 the tanker Vladimir Tikhonov, owned by SCF Group (Sovcomflot), started her Arctic voyage from Murmansk along the seaways of the Northern Sea Route (NSR).The voyage marks the first time in the history of the NSR that such a large Suezmax tanker (more than 160,000 dwt, enhanced ice class 1A (Arc 4)) is navigating along this route.The tanker is laden with more than 120,000 tonnes of gas condensate, belonging to the Charterer Novatek. The cargo of hydrocarbons will be delivered from the port of Murmansk to a port of discharge in one of the countries of South-East Asia. The estimated length of the voyage is less than a month. The preparation for the voyage was undertaken in coordination with Novatek.SCF Group continues the series of Arctic voyages from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the Northern Sea Route. In August 2010 the Aframax tanker SCF Baltica, of more than 100,000 tonnesdwt, followed the same route and became the largest ship in history to navigate along the NSR.The present voyage is aimed at studying the potential for transporting the largest possible consignment of gas ...

MT Widawati bares the international classification of IMO II/III The management of PT Berlian Laju Tanker Tbk announces that the Company has successfully taken delivery of MT Widawati, a state of the art chemical tankerwith a total capacity of 26,197 DWT.MT Widawati is made of the highest quality of stainless steel and bares the international classification of IMO II/III. She was built and delivered to the Company from Shinkurushima Dockyard on 29 July 2011.Source: Shipbuilding Tribune

Two sailors had to be rescued from the water The first day of racing in Cowes Week was disrupted on Saturday when the 124,000-ton Hanne Knutsen encountered a fleet of yachts.One of the racing vessels, Atalanta, was in collision with the 870ft-long Norwegian-owned tanker as it proceeded to the oil refinery at Fawley, near Southampton.The yacht, which normally has nine crew members on board, became entangled in the larger vessel's anchor and had its sails torn off and mast snapped.The force of the collision sent two of its crew overboard. They were picked up by a rescue boat and a coastguard patrol boat from Southampton.One crew member was taken to St Mary's Hospital on the Isle of Wight and treated for a head injury. Organisers said the regatta would continue as normal.Source: The Telegraph

IMO Fire Protection Sub-committee (FP 55) Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The IMO's Fire Protection Sub-committee (FP 55) this week set up a Working Group (WG) which reviewed the following issues:Operational phases when inerting media should be applied.It was agreed that the inerting of tanks may take place after a cargo tank has been loaded but before commencement of unloading, and must continue to be applied until that cargo tank is gas-free. This would help reduce the probability of congestion at the port(s) of loading and will also allow for tanks to be available for inspection prior to loading.Inerting agents to be used in relation with the draft amendments to SOLAS regulation II-2/4.5.5.The WG considered the type of inerting agents to be used. Considering the Assembly resolution on the adoption of the Revised Recommendation for entering enclosed spaces aboard the ships as well as the Guidelines on tank entry for tankers using nitrogen as an inerting medium, (MSC.1/Circ.1401), and taking into account the human element, the WG was of the view that the use of nitrogen is only a simplification of the process.The WG also recognised that the existing chemical tanker inerting systems use nitrogen as the inerting medium, ...

IBS offers Green Award certificate holders services at a 10% discount Rotterdam-based Green Award is developing certification specifically aimed at the chemical tanker sector.This move follows the launch of certification programmes for LNGCs and inland shipping. The organisation is also working on a programme for containerships.The new certificates will be available this Summer, the Green Award said.In addition, the organisation has increased the number of incentive providers with Regs4Ships and IBS Marine Consulting group joining the scheme.Regs4Ships specialises in providing digital regulations, technical information and IMO material for both vessels and shore-based personnel.The company claims to operate the world's only database providing up-to-date information on shipping regulations and technical matters.As a member of Green Award, Regs4Ships now provides a 10% discount on all of its products and services to Green Award certificate holders.IBS now offers Green Award certificate holders services at a 10% discount. It offers QHSE marine consulting, management systems, shipboard documentation and training, computer-based training and software in the quality, health, safety, environmental, crisis, security and risk management sectors.The group is also operating a DNV MTC certified training centre and a LR ISO 9001 certified management system.Source : Green Award

7th edition 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EL X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI) has replaced the 6th edition of its Ship Inspection Report for Chemical and Gas Tankers with the newly-released 7th edition.The report can be obtained by contacting CDI at [email protected] : CDI