NS AFRICA: SCF crude carrier escapes

Pirates chased a SCF crude tanker 950 miles (1,530 kilometers) south of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, off the coast of central Mozambique. Liberian-registered NS Africa took evasive action and managed to escape two approaching skiffs,

9413573 NS AFRICA A8SB4 Crude Oil Tanker 101140 2009 Liberia
Name: NS Africa / Call sign: A8SB4 / Owner: NS Africa Shipping Inc - Novorossiysk/Russia / Ship manager: Novoship JSC - Novorossiysk/Russia / Gross tonnage: 62372 GT / Home port: Monrovia / Flag: Liberia / Build: 2009.

Since December 2007 Novoship has become a member of Sovcomflot Group. The combined Sovcomflot and Novoship Group operates 130 vessels totaling more than 9.2 million deadweight tons. The tanker fleet is one of the youngest in the industry – the vessels are less than 6 years old on average.

Justice Smith’s ruling that Sergei Frank had repeatedly lied in his testimony; had fabricated the case against Skarga and Izmaylov after squads of private detectives he despatched had failed to uncover incriminating evidence; procured false witnesses; filed his claims in London because Russian law precluded his company from pursuing them in the Russian courts; made a practice of concealing his decisions from other responsible Sovcomflot officials; and pursued Skarga and Izmaylov vindictively to prevent them from opposing his scheme for merging Sovcomflot with Novoship, and selling shares in a much bigger IPO than his predecessors, acting on the advice of JP Morgan, had recommended to the government. According to the company response by Mednikov, “the [UK] Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has requested and been provided with copies of documents relating to the transactions involving the SCF Group and Mr Nikitin, which were the subject of these proceedings”. The innuendo is that Nikitin faces the investigation. But the revelation in the High Court judgement is that Frank may now be the target of criminal investigation by the UK authorities.

Eleni P: Pittas bulker chartered after release

Aristides Pittas M/V Eleni P, a 72,119 dwt, 1997 built Panamax bulk carrier, has been chartered for about two years period at a gross daily rate of $16,500. The charter will commence in March 2011 upon the completion of the necessary drydocking works following her release from the Somali Pirates. This employment is expected to generate approximately $12 million of gross revenues during the period of the charter. earlier

EMS River: AG-flag Grona Biessum hijacked

Ice class multipurpose vessel EMS RIVER was hijacked approximately 175 nautical miles Northeast of the port of Salalah, Oman Antigua/Barbuda flagged and operated by Grona Tankers, was on her way to San Nicolas, Greece from Jebel Ali in the UAE 27 December.

Length x Breadth: 99 m X 14 m
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 10.6 / 10 knots
Flag: Antigua Barbuda [AG]
Call Sign: V2FG8
IMO: 9551662, MMSI: 305671000

Western Marine Shipyard Limited (WMSL) – a leading shipbuilder in the country, made the two ice-class 5200 DWT (deadweight tonnages) multipurpose vessels -Grona Ammersum and Grona Biessum with the chartered names of EMS Sea and EMS River respectively, for German based shipping company Grona Shipping GmbH & Company KG.

Mr. MARKKU JUHANNI VEDDER from Grona Shipping,received the two vessels, which were built for Tk 80 crore each and were among the 12 vessels worth $130 million Grona Shipping ordered to deliver by the 2012 in phases.

Western marine received the order for building these ships in 2008.

Marida Marguerite: Economou Chemtanker free

From Flags of Convenience

Marida Marguerite was sailing to safe waters after $5.5m was paid to release the ship. The vessel's owners have not yet commented. earlier

Thor Nexus: Chang Yun Chung bulker hijacked

Chang Yun Chung, 92, Chairman, PIL












Teo Siong Seng, 54 managing director of Pacific International Lines












Bulk Carrier Thor Nexus, Thai-flag, destined for Bangladesh out of U.A.E hijacked 350 nautical east of Salala Dec 25. earlier

Thor Nexus - IMO 8712491
Call Sign: HSDJ2
Gross tonnage: 15,520
Deadweight: 20,000 t
181.51 x 23.06 x 10.07 m
Gear: C-1-40,C-3-25,D-1-12; Teu: 1,128; Passengers: 10
Machinery: Sulzer
Speed: 16.0 kn
Build: Warnow Werft, 1989.
Ex Name: Bellavia, Seaboard Valparaiso (2002).
Flag: Thailand
Ship manager: Pacific International Lines

Pacific International Lines (PIL) incorporated in 1967 has developed from a coastal ship-owner/operator in Singapore to become one of the largest shipowners in Asia. Today, it is ranked 19th amongst the top containership operators in the world. PIL has diversified into logistics related activities such as supply chain management, consolidation/distribution facilities, warehousing, container depot operations, trucking as well as having interest in ship-agencies worldwide, container manufacturing, marine engineering and real estate.

As of November 2007, PIL owns and operates a fleet of 106 vessels with a total TEU capacity of about 165, 272 TEUs. 32 new container vessels with a total capacity of 89, 064 TEUs will be delivered by March 2011. PIL also owns and operates a fleet of more than 334, 554 TEUs of marine containers.

Singapore's 40 Richest
#15 Chang Yun Chung
Net Worth: $670 million
Age: 92
Marital Status: Married, 14 children
Pacific International Lines, which he founded with friends in 1967, owns 123 vessels and is among the top 20 shipping companies in the world. Fortune rising on renewed demand for container ships and jump in freight rates. Its ship Kota Wajar was hijacked in the Indian Ocean last October by Somali pirates and held for more than 2 months before ship and crew were released. Son Teo Siong Seng, 55, who runs daily operations and heads Hong Kong-listed subsidiary Singamas Container Holdings, still refers to his father as "Chairman."


[Fortune up] Public fortunes were calculated using share prices and exchange rates as of Aug. 7, 2010. For privately held assets we estimated what they would be worth if public. Fortunes held by more than one person are denoted with \"& family.\"

Thor Nautilus: TTA ship escapes

THOR NAUTILUS, Thai flagged cargo ship was fired upon by one skiff and a boarding was attempted, but failed because boarders were unable to get through the razor wire which was fitted to sides of the ship, approximately 900 nautical miles North East of Eyl.

Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited owns and operates a fleet of marine transport vessels. Its vessels can be chartered on both voyage basis and time basis. The Company also provides shipping related services such as freight handling, shipping agent, and custom duty services
The ship agency business was originally established under TTA in 1983. In 2004, the
shareholders of TTA approved the separation of the ship agency business from TTA by
transferring the ship agency functions to its existing subsidiary, namely ISS Shipping (Thailand) Ltd. which was renamed to ISS Thoresen Agencies Ltd, or ITA. The Board of Directors recommends that the shareholders consider and approve the Naxco, Group to become a new strategic partner in ITA by selling to Naxco Asia Pte. Ltd. and Naxco Shipping and Logistics (Thailand) Limited an aggregate number of 255,000 fully paid ordinary shares, representing 51% of the total issued share capital of ITA at the price of Baht 120 per share, totalling Baht 30,600,000.


Price 21.000 Change 0.500 % Change 2.439 Bid 20.900 Ask 21.000 Open 20.600 Volume 9,613,500 High 21.100 Low 20.500 52-Wk High (01/12/10)31.000 52-Wk Low (12/02/10)20.000 1-Yr Return-19.880

Thor Nautilus
Built 1988 Warnowwerft, Warnemunde.
Loa. 165.5 m. Br. 23.1 m.
18235 Dwt.
Flag: Thailand.
Ex. Ivangrad (93), Brisa (96), Cape Arnheim (98), Berane (01), Contship Cyprus (01), ANL Pioneer (02), Contship Cyprus (02), ANL Pioneer (02), Contship Pioneer (?) Contship Cyprus (03), Provider N (?).
25/05-08 Koh Si Chang.

Orna: geared bulker

Pirates fired small arms and rocket propelled grenades from two attack skiffs, and at least four boarded geared bulk cargo vessel Orna IMO 8312162, dwt 27915, built 1984, flag Panama. Registered owner Sirago Shipmanagement Co.[Panama] >> Swedish Management Co.S.A., Dubai United Arab Emirates at about 1200 UTC in 01 46S 060 32E. Orna was enroute Durban South Africa - Zhangzhou approximately 400 nautical miles North East of the Seychelles.

Ship Name: ORNA
IMO: 8312162
MMSI: 370741000
Callsign: H9QV

Category: Cargo
Beam: 23
Length: 178
Draught: 11

Arctic Sea: unsold missiles, bargain rates

The recent cancellation of a billion dollars worth of Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran has left the manufacturer with lots of unsold gear. So now Russia is hustling to find new customers, offering attractive prices.
more
earlier
2009

Hellespont Trinity: Papachristidis tanker escapes

Pirates failed to board HELLESPONT TRINITY Marshall Island-flagged tanker [Hellespont Hammonia GmbH & Co. KG ]in one skiff when it increased speed and zigzagged in the Indian Ocean, approximately 220 nautical miles West of Angria Bank, India.


Ship Name: HELLESPONT TRINITY
IMO: 9118458
MMSI: 538090184
Callsign: V7IO3
Flag: Marshall Islands

Category: Tanker
Beam: 46
Length: 270
Draught: 15.1

Istanbul 22.8.2005
IMO No: 9118458
ex Marina M.
built by Samsung Shipbuilding H.I.South Korea.1996

Ownership And Operation
1.20 Registered Owner (Name) MS "Hellespont Trinity"
Gmbh &
Office telephone number VIA OPERATORS
Full address Bleichenbrocke
10,20354 Hamburg,
Germany
Office telex number VIA OPERATORS
Office fax number VIA OPERATORS
Office Email address VIA OPERATORS
Contact person VIA OPERATORS
Contact person after hours tel. no. VIA OPERATORS
Number of years ship owned 2 Years
1.22 Technical Operator (Name) HELLESPONT
HAMMONIA GmbH &
CO. KG
Office telephone number +49 40 27 86 21 31
Full Address 370 Elbchaussee, 22609
Hamburg, Germany
Office telex number
Office fax number +49 40 27 86 21 30
Office Email address managers@hellesponth
ammonia.de
Contact (Designated Person Ashore) Capt. Danezis Pavlos
Contact person after hours tel. no. +30 6944 849559
Emergency callout number +30 6946 503631 Contact details for person responsible for
oil spill response
Capt. Danezis Pavlos
Emergency callout pager number
No. years controlled by technical operator 2 Years
No. of ships operated by this Operator 9
1.25 Commercial Operator (Name) Hellespont Hammonia
GmbH & Co. KG
Office telephone number +49 40 27 86 21 31
Full Address Elbchaussee 370
Hamburg 22609
GERMANY

IRISL: new Iran sanctions by U.S. Treasury

Individual: AFZALI, ALI
DOB: July 1, 1967

Entity: PEARL ENERGY COMPANY LTD
Address: Level 13(E) Main Office Tower, Jalan Merdeka, Financial Park Complex, Labuan, 87000, Malaysia

Entity: PEARL ENERGY SERVICES, SA
Address: 15 Avenue de Montchoisi, Lausanne, 1006 VD, Switzerland

Individual: Mohhammad Hossein DAJMAR
AKA: Mohammad Hossein DAJMAR
DOB: February 19, 1956
Iranian Passport: K13644698, expires May 16, 2013

Individual: Gholam Hossein GOLPARVAR
AKA: Gholamhossein GOLPARVAR
DOB: January 23, 1957
Iranian Passport: U14643027, expires November 11, 2013

Individual: Hassan Jalil ZADEH
AKA: Hassan JALILZADEH
DOB: January 26, 1959
Iranian Passport: A1508382, expired February 24, 2010

Individual: Mohammad Hadi PAJAND
DOB: May 28, 1950
Address: 73 Blair Court, Boundary Road, London, NW8 6NT, United Kingdom

Entity: ASHTEAD SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED
Address: Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Isle of Man

Entity: BYFLEET SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED
Address: Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Isle of Man

Entity: COBHAM SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED
Address: Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Isle of Man

Entity: DORKING SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED
Address: Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Isle of Man

Entity: EFFINGHAM SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED
Address: Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Isle of Man

Entity: FARNHAM SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED
Address: Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Isle of Man

Entity: GOMSHALL SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED
Address: Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Isle of Man

Entity: HORSHAM SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED
Address: Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Isle of Man




Mohhammad Hossein Dajmar, designated today, is Chairman and Managing Director of IRISL and three previously-designated front companies – Safiran Payam Darya Shipping Company (SAPID), Hafiz Darya Shipping Company (HDS), and Soroush Sarzamin Asatir Ship Management Company (SSA). Also designated today are Gholamhossein Golparvar, Managing Director of SAPID and a director of SSA and HDS, as well as Hassan Jalil Zadeh, Managing Director of HDS. Finally, Mohammad Hadi Pajand, Company Secretary of Irinvestship Ltd., and a company director of Lancelin Shipping Company Ltd. – two previously-designated IRISL affiliates – was also designated by Treasury today.


11/30/10
The following [NPWMD] entries have been
added to OFAC's SDN list:
ASHTEAD SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED,
Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1
3DA, Man, Isle of; c/o Islamic Republic of Iran
Shipping Lines (IRISL), No. 37, Aseman Tower,
Sayyade Shirazee Square, Pasdaran Avenue,
PO Box 19395-1311, Tehran, Iran; Business
Registration Document # 108116C (Man, Isle of);
Email Address smd@irisl.net; Website
www.irisl.net; Telephone: 982120100488; Fax:
982120100486 [NPWMD]
BYFLEET SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED,
Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1
3DA, Man, Isle of; c/o Islamic Republic of Iran
Shipping Lines (IRISL), No. 37, Aseman Tower,
Sayyade Shirazee Square, Pasdaran Avenue,
PO Box 19395-1311, Tehran, Iran; Business
Registration Document # 118117C (Man, Isle of);
OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL CHANGES TO SDNLIST IN 2010
- 88 -
Email Address smd@irisl.net; Website
www.irisl.net; Telephone: 982120100488; Fax:
982120100486 [NPWMD]
COBHAM SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED,
Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1
3DA, Man, Isle of; c/o Islamic Republic of Iran
Shipping Lines (IRISL), No. 37, Aseman Tower,
Sayyade Shirazee Square, Pasdaran Avenue,
PO Box 19395-1311, Tehran, Iran; Business
Registration Document # 108118C (Man, Isle of);
Email Address smd@irisl.net; Website
www.irisl.net; Telephone: 982120100488; Fax:
982120100486 [NPWMD]
DORKING SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED,
Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1
3DA, Man, Isle of; c/o Islamic Republic of Iran
Shipping Lines (IRISL), No. 37, Aseman Tower,
Sayyade Shirazee Square, Pasdaran Avenue,
PO Box 19395-1311, Tehran, Iran; Business
Registration Document # 108119C (Man, Isle of);
Email Address smd@irisl.net; Website
www.irisl.net; Telephone: 982120100488; Fax:
982120100486 [NPWMD]
EFFINGHAM SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED,
Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1
3DA, Man, Isle of; c/o Islamic Republic of Iran
Shipping Lines (IRISL), No. 37, Aseman Tower,
Sayyade Shirazee Square, Pasdaran Avenue,
PO Box 19395-1311, Tehran, Iran; Business
Registration Document # 108120C (Man, Isle of);
Email Address smd@irisl.net; Website
www.irisl.net; Telephone: 982120100488; Fax:
982120100486 [NPWMD]
FARNHAM SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED,
Manning House, 21 Bucks Road, Douglas IM1
3DA, Man, Isle of; c/o Islamic Republic of Iran
Shipping Lines (IRISL), No. 37, Aseman Tower ,
Sayyade Shirazee Square, Pasdaran Avenue,
PO Box 19395-1311, Tehran, Iran; Business
Registration Document # 108146C (Man, Isle of);
Email Address smd@irisl.net; Website
www.irisl.net; Telephone: 982120100488; Fax:
982120100486 [NPWMD]
GOMSHALL SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED, c/o
Soroush Sarzamin Asatir (SSA) Ship
Management Co, Shabnam Alley, Golriz St, Vafa
Alley, Fajr St, Shahid Motahari Avenue,
1589675951, Tehran, Iran; Manning House, 21
Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Man, Isle of;
Business Registration Document # 111998C
(Man, Isle of); Email Address info@ssa-smc.net;
Website www.ssa-smc.net; Telephone:
982126100191; Fax: 982126100192 [NPWMD]
HORSHAM SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED, c/o
Soroush Sarzamin Asatir (SSA) Ship
Management Co, Shabnam Alley, Golriz St, Vafa
Alley, Fajr St, Shahid Motahari Avenue,
1589675951, Tehran, Iran; Manning House, 21
Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3DA, Man, Isle of;
Business Registration Document # 111999C
(Man, Isle of); Email Address info@ssa-smc.net;
Website www.ssa-smc.net; Telephone:
982126100191; Fax: 982126100192 [NPWMD]
• 11/30/10
The following [NPWMD] entries have been
added to OFAC's SDN list:
AFZALI, Ali, c/o Bank Mellat, Tehran, Iran; DOB 1
Jul 1967; nationality Iran (individual) [NPWMD]
PEARL ENERGY COMPANY LTD., Level 13(E)
Main Office Tower, Jalan Merdeka, Financial
Park Complex, Labuan 87000, Malaysia;
Telephone:6087541688; Fax: 6087453688
[NPWMD]
PEARL ENERGY SERVICES, SA, 15 Avenue de
Montchoisi, Lausanne, 1006 VD, Switzerland;
Business Registration Document # CH-
550.1.058.055-9; Telephone: 0216140614
[NPWMD]
• 11/30/10
The following [NPWMD] entries have been
added to OFAC's SDN list:
DAJMAR, Mohammad Hossein (a.k.a. DAJMAR,
Mohhammad Hossein); DOB 19 Feb 1956;
nationality Iran; Passport K13644698 (Iran)
expires 16 May 2013 (individual) [NPWMD]
DAJMAR, Mohhammad Hossein (a.k.a. DAJMAR,
Mohammad Hossein); DOB 19 Feb 1956;
nationality Iran; Passport K13644698 (Iran)
expires 16 May 2013 (individual) [NPWMD]
GOLPARVAR, Gholam Hossein (a.k.a.
GOLPARVAR, Gholamhossein); DOB 23 Jan
1957; nationality Iran; Passport U14643027
(Iran) expires 11 Nov 2013 (individual)
[NPWMD]
GOLPARVAR, Gholamhossein (a.k.a.
GOLPARVAR, Gholam Hossein); DOB 23 Jan
1957; nationality Iran; Passport U14643027
(Iran) expires 11 Nov 2013 (individual)
[NPWMD]
JALILZADEH, Hassan (a.k.a. ZADEH, Hassan
Jalil); DOB 26 Jan 1959; nationality Iran;
Passport A1508382 (Iran) expires 24 Feb 2010
(individual) [NPWMD]
PAJAND, Mohammad Hadi, 73 Blair Court,
Boundary Road, London NW8 6NT, United
Kingdom; DOB 28 May 1950; nationality Iran
(individual) [NPWMD]
ZADEH, Hassan Jalil (a.k.a. JALILZADEH,
Hassan); DOB 26 Jan 1959; nationality Iran;
Passport A1508382 (Iran) expires 24 Feb 2010
(individual) [NPWMD]

CMA CGM Everest: Senegal recalls ambassador

Senegal has recalled its ambassador to Tehran after Iran failed to provide a "satisfactory" explanation for arms sent from Iran and discovered in a Nigerian port in October. Senegal and Iran enjoyed strong diplomatic ties until 13 containers loaded with arms and munitions were found in October aboard the Everest, a ship belonging to the French-based company CMA CGM, in the port of Apapa in the Nigerian capital Lagos.

The foreign ministry said the arms were bound for a "state in western Africa," without naming the exact destination.

Tehran has said that the arms shipment belonged to a private company and was not destined for Nigeria but for another "west African country," later identified as Gambia.

Gambia broke off diplomatic relations with Iran on November 22 following the disclosure of the arms shipment.

Nigeria on November 12 informed the United Nations Security Council of the illegal shipment, citing a possible breach of a international sanctions against Iran relating to its controversial nuclear programme. earlier
more
still more

Renuar: Panayotides Fujairah-bound Hijacked

Capesize bulker RENUAR, Panama flagged, Liberian owned , was hijacked by 2 attack skiffs, supported by a mother ship Dec. 10 in the Indian Ocean, approximately 1050 nautical miles east of the Somali coastal village of Eyl and a distance of 550 nautical miles from the coast of India en route to Fujairah (UAE) from Port Louis (Mauritius).


RENUAR - IMO 9042221
Capesize

Port of registry: Panama
IMO: 9042221
Call Sign: 3EBD2
Ex-names: Hai Kang; Panacea
Type/class: bulk carrier
Built by: Hudong Shipyard - Shanghai (China) in 1993
Gross: 70.156
Maryville, a wholly owned subsidiary, Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. is first ship management company in Greece to receive voluntarily simultaneous ISM and ISO Safety and Quality Systems Certification in February 1996.

Number of Employees in Maryville: 51.


Gabriel Panayotides 50 Chairman of the Board Chairman of the Board since February 1998. Owner and manager of ocean going vessels since 1978. Member of the Greek Committee of Bureau Veritas and Lloyds Register.

George Agadakis 51 Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Director Vice President, COO and Director since November 1997. Shipping Director of Maryville Maritime since 1978.

Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (EXM) is a provider of worldwide sea borne transportation services for dry bulk cargo, including among others, iron ore, coal and grain, collectively referred to as major bulks, and steel products, fertilizers, cement, bauxite, sugar and scrap metal, collectively referred to as minor bulks. EXM's fleet is managed by one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Maryville Maritime Inc. (Maryville).


Price5.850 Change0.070 % Change1.211 BidN.A. AskN.A. Open5.850
VolumeN.A. High5.920 Low5.810 52-Week High (01/11/10)7.68 52-Week Low (07/07/10)4.59 1-Yr Return-8.307%


Excel Maritime Carriers (NYSE:EXM) ranks first in relative performance with a loss of 1.01 (Dec 09, 2010 )


The World's Billionaires
#897 Gabriel Panayotides & family
03.05.08, 6:00 PM ET

Fortune: self made

Source: shipping

Net Worth: $1.3 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Greece

Residence: , Greece, Europe & Russia

Industry: Shipping/Trucking/Transport

Marital Status: NA,

Education: NA

Started career in shipping 30 years ago; today benefiting from industry's boom. Controls 52% of Steamship Company TORM, which operates a fleet of about 85 tankers and bulk cargo carriers. Also chairs Excel Maritime Carriers, which agreed to buy larger rival Quintana Maritime Ltd. for $2.5 billion in January. Member of the Greek Committee of Bureau Veritas.

Eleni P: ransomed and released

Eleni P, IMO : 7315583, hijacked on May 12, has been freed and is heading to Oman. On December 7, agreement on the amount of a ransom for the release of the ship was reached. The amount of the ransom has not been disclosed. earlier more

MSC Panama: Eastwind containership hijacked

A containership controlled by a US-based management affiliate of Ultrapetrol has emerged as the latest victim of pirates who are operating South of the Somali Basin.


The MSC Panama.
The 1,743-teu MSC Panama (ex-Panama, built 1989), which is operated by Florida's Ship Management Services (SMS), on Friday was attacked by armed assailants in a pair of skiffs while the Liberian-flagged vessel sailed through a channel linking Tanzania to Mozambique.

“We can’t really say much because we have lost communication with the ship, so we are still trying to gauge the extent of the attack,”
The MSC Panama is operated by SMS, which shares an office, address, and employee roster with US-listed owner Ultrapetrol’s management subsidiary, Ravenscroft Ship Management.

Liberian-flag containership MSC PANAMA en route from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Beira (Mozambique) was hijacked by 2 RPG-armed skiffs with a total of 5 pirates approximately 80 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian/Mozambique border.



MSC Panama (IMO: 8902125)

Type of ship: Cargo Ship
IMO Number: 8902125 Flag: Liberia
MMSI Number: 636013755 Length: 177.0m
Callsign: A8PD5 Beam: 29.0m


Eastwind Maritime Inc., a Marshall Islands Corporation filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York on June 24th, 2009 (Case No. 09-14047 - ALG).

North Spirit: Bejaia bound out of Oskarshamn

Finland's Fortum, Russian Rosatom sign nuclear co-operation MOU

26Nov2010/611 am EST/1111 GMT Finnish power group Fortum and Russia's state-owned Rosatom have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in nuclear power operations.
"Cooperation with Rosatom fits very well with Fortum's strategy, in which nuclear power is one of the key elements," said Fortum. Fortum gave no specifics on how it sees the co-operation developing where Rosatom was strongly involved could bring new business opportunities to Fortum. Fortum has partial shareholding in the Oskarshamn nuclear power plants in Sweden.

Ship Name: NORTH SPIRIT
IMO: 8502042
MMSI: 375777000
Callsign: J8B3630
Flag: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Destination: BEJAIA ETA: 2010-12-14 Last Known Port: OSKARSHAMN 16,45
North Spirit
Bejaia

Al Nisr Al Saudi: ransomed, released, escorted

Al Nisr Al Saudi, 5 136-tonne tanker, ransomed and released, was seized and first moored off Garad, then transferred to Kulub in early March on its way from Japan to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. It was freed on December 7 and now under escort.
earlier then then also



An official from the IGP&L (International Group of P&I Clubs) which is coordinating action between the pirates and the insurance company, arrived in Riyadh on March 8 to discuss matters with the Jeddah-based International Bunkering Company (IBCO) which owns the Saudi ship Al-Nisr Al-Saudi,”Somali pirates who hijacked the Saudi ship Al-Nisr Al-Saudi on March 1 have said they will not harm the vessel's crew. The shipping company had established contact with the pirates through satellite communication
The Sri Lankans are Jacob Xavier, Venis Robinson Parceloan, Hewa Pathage Ranga Jayasinghe, Wijemuni Elmo, Ansalam Soyza, Selvarasa Rajavel, Balakrishnan Jayarajan, Robert Joseph, Kanagasabapathy Thusyananthan, Arumai Sekeram, Basil Rajah, Lakshmikanthan Gajenthiran , Arockiasamy Pillai, Britto Lawrence, Saverimuttu Atputharajah and Rajagopal Jeyakumar.
The ship’s captains is Georgios Skalimis, a Greek.

The decision to send its coastal tankers abroad was an attempt to solve a long-standing problem of coping with a seasonal slump in demand for the coastal tankers in summer. In Apr. 2006, the company started West Coast India/Pakistan and Middle East Trading as tramp service which was taken over from Tokyo office to pursue business efficiency.

Faina: U.S. knew about Ukrainian Tanks-Wikileaks

“Over the past two years,” says a December 2009 cable, from the embassy in Nairobi, Kenyan officials “have shared full details of their engagement with the SPLA as we have shared details of our training program for the SPLA, including combat arms soldier training.”

Several years ago, the southern Sudan government contracted to buy 100 tanks from Ukraine using its own funds. The first shipment of Ukrainian tanks took place in 2007 with little fanfare, and the second shipment was delivered a year later.

In September 2008, however, the Faina, a Ukrainian freighter, was seized by Somali pirates. It was carrying 32 T-72 Soviet-era tanks, 150 grenade launchers, 6 antiaircraft guns and ammunition. Initially, American officials were worried the pirates might offload the weapons in Somalia.

After months of haggling, a $3.2 million ransom was paid, the Somali pirates finally released the ship, and the arms were unloaded in Kenya. NYT
earlier and

Jahan Moni: Due in Somalian waters December 11

Bulker Jahan Moni is now 600 nautical miles off Somali coast.
At the speed of around 10 nautical miles an hour, The hijacked Bangladesh-flag ship will touch the Somali coast by the morning of December 11.

In the last 7-14 days, the majority of the pirate attacks have been around 69-70 E – only a few hundred miles from the Maldives, a country that is 99 percent sea, an area larger than the size of mainland Europe.

As merchant ships have increased their distance from Somalia in search of “safer” transport routes, pirates operating from the country have followed in pursuit.







PIRATE Battle for SKULL ATOLL 1.0 clever new strategy game. Send your Pirate fleets across the Atoll as your opponents attempt to blow them out of the water with their cannon! Vanquish your enemies and take control of the entire island if you can.


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Golden Seas: Tor Viking II tows to Dutch Harbor

PANAMAX bulker Golden Seas successfully anchored in Broad Bay in Dutch Harbor at 12:52 p.m. after the tug Tor Viking II towed it more than 500 miles along the Aleutian Islands through seas of more than 20 feet at times. The Paragon Shipping Golden Seas is carrying more than 60 metric tons of rapeseed used to make canola oil,

The company, which transports mostly dry-bulk cargoes and containers, has seen declining results in recent quarters on weak demand and lower rates as a number of ships--ordered when commodity prices were booming--were launched. But shippers recently said demand from China and India, where most of the dry-bulk ships head, remains strong.
Paragon has commissioned seven more ships, which are expected to be completed in 2011 and 2012.
Michael Bodouroglou, the Chairman and CEO of Paragon Shipping Inc. (NYSE:PRGN ), earlier