Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana operational

 The first tanker that will carry LNG from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana has arrived. Asia Vision, Owner Chevron San Francisco Ca, U.s.a. Operator Chevron San Francisco Ca, U.s.a, . has moored at Sabine Pass,    The Asia Vision is one of two tankers that had been at anchor in the Gulf of Mexico since January waiting to enter Sabine Pass LNG terminal. The other ship is the Energy Atlantic, Owner: Spectacle Shipping and Trading Ltd. Operator: Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (Hellas) SPLLC.

[October 28 2010 Maido: Crew holes up, cuts power, pirates sail off ]

shy guy, not recent: Dr.Niels Hartmann





Dietrich Schulz















Gas carrier Maido was boarded by pirates Tuesday, October 26 from one skiff approximately 100 nautical miles south east from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, later in the evening they eventually abandoned it, after having been unable to get control over the crew who had locked themselves in.
Ship Name: LPGC MAIDO
IMO: 9135779
MMSI: 226028000
Callsign: FNHC
Flag: France

Category: Tanker
Beam: 15
Length: 98
Draught: 5.3

Hartmann Reederei of Leer, Germany, confirms that its managed gas carrier Maido was boarded by pirates yesterday evening (Tuesday, October 26), at a position around 100 miles off the Tanzanian coast. Maido is now known to be safe, the pirates have left the vessel and there are no injuries among the 13 seafarers on board.

The vessel’s crew reacted promptly and professionally during the attack. The authorities, including the regional military command, were alerted immediately, Maido’s power systems were shut down and all crew took shelter in a designated secure area. Having failed to enter this area, the pirates left the vessel. Maido then continued its voyage.

The vessel flies the French flag and has a crew of three French nationals (including the Master), one Polish national and nine Filipinos. She had loaded a cargo of liquefied petroleum gas at Mauritius. The Master reported safe arrival at the planned discharge port of Dar Es Salaam this morning (Wednesday, October 27). During the attack, Maido suffered superficial damage from gunfire.

Gaz Explorer: Syria gets LPG only from Naftomar

  Vessel's Details
Ship Type: Lpg tanker
Year Built: 2010
Length x Breadth: 120 m X 20 m
Gross Tonnage: 9126, DeadWeight: 10014 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 9.2 / 6.4 knots
Flag: Panama [PA] 
Call Sign: 3EUD2
IMO: 9506150, MMSI: 354588000




NAME TYPE BUILT FLAG                    CAPACITY TANKS MIN PRESSURE IMO
GAZ EXPLORER SP/FR 2010 Pa 9.103 2 -48 5

Behind the white-washed walls and leafy treetops of Naftomar's office in Athens, the leading figure in this trade is a man described by his peers as a Syrian national, with links to Greece's shipping elite and ties to Lebanon. Talal Zein founded Naftomar in Beirut and the trading house has since grown to dominate the heating fuel business in the east Mediterranean, with a fleet of more than 20 vessels. Ship tracking data shows one of the most recent deliveries to the Syrian Mediterranean port of Banias arriving aboard Naftomar's "Gaz Explorer" tanker.
Naftomar is  the only party supplying Syria with LPG at the moment.   International sanctions against Syria do not apply to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for humanitarian reasons. "We would tend to feel that it is unfair to deny such a basic commodity as LPG to consumers as part of a political statement. Currently there is no embargo to supply LPG to Syria which we believe is for humanitarian reasons," Naftomar director J.C. Heard said in a statement U.S. national J.C. Heard as a commercial director at the company. Heard said: "We have a term arrangement to supply LPG to Syria and We hope that the situation improves in Syria and that LPG can continue to be supplied to meet the needs of the general public." At current market prices, Naftomar's LPG business with Syria is worth around $55 million a month. In Syria, OIL FIRMS CUTTING TIES International sanctions have halted Syrian oil exports since September 2011, stretching budget revenues. Attacks on pipelines by rebels have also almost idled Syrian refineries and made it more dependent than ever on foreign deliveries. Syria consumed some 840,000 tonnes of LPG in 2009,. Other oil firms, including the world's biggest trader Vitol and Italy's oil and gas firm Eni say they have no relations with Syria. Market participants familiar with their business say they will not deal with Syria for fear of being associated with its rulers. Sytrol, the Syrian oil company responsible for fuel imports and exports, was placed on a U.S. blacklist last summer and the European Union followed suit in December. The Syrian central bank is also blacklisted. As a result, difficulties processing payments have prevented even willing oil firms from doing business with Syria.


A source familiar with Syria's LPG business said Naftomar can keep up deliveries because it is dealing with state-owned, Damascus-based distributor Mahrukat. Also called the Syrian Company for the Storage and Distribution of Petroleum Products, it does not yet feature on the sanctions lists. This week, a U.S. House committee voted to impose new sanctions on Syria's energy sector which would effectively ban the delivery of refined petroleum products. [ID:nL2E8E784F] Sytrol and Mahrukat were not available to comment. A cold snap in the Mediterranean region, which sent temperatures to record lows last month, has caused LPG prices to rise [ID:nL5E8E1BD7]. Samir Nashir, from the executive council of the Syrian National Council, representing the opposition, said he believed there are many opposition areas that have been blocked from receiving fuel, electricity, water and humanitarian assistance. "This is one of the group punishments against areas that have flared up with protests against the regime," he said. "There are businessmen that are backing away from the regime but others whose wealth was made by their relationship with the regime so they are dependent on it. They will defend this regime to the very end and we won't be able to convince them to change this. Their end will come along with the regime." 

YORk: LPG tanker released - was mothership

LPG tanker York released by pirates on March 10 2011,  She was sailing empty after discharging her LPG cargo at the Shimanzi oil terminal in Mombasa,' Mwangura. With no insured cargo, ransom amount is unknown. Vessel took on board crew of another released vessel, m/v Rak Africana,  LPG tanker York pirated on October 23 2010 in 04 11 S 41 19 E, vessel was enroute Mombasa Kenya to Seyshelles.
 She was one of the four motherships used by pirates to extend their range into the Indian Ocean. Along with the chemical tanker, MV Hannibal II, MV Polar, MT Motivator and the MV Izumi, they had been called 'game changers'. The MV York was first suspected of being used as a mobile platform for pirate attacks in 2010. Prior to such large vessels being used, the atypical "mothership" was a fishing vessel hijacked for its food and water supply, and the ability to disguise the pirate's skiffs, although these vessels and dhows remain the basis of the pirate mothership fleet.   These large ships act as floating fuel stations allowing other motherships and pirated vessels to operate for longer and further. The ships', equipment and tools, and crews are placed under duress in order to be utilised to hijack other ships.
9220421 YORK  9VED8 LPG Tanker  5076  2000


Ship Type: Lpg tanker
Year Built: 2000
Length x Breadth: 100 m X 20 m
Gross Tonnage: 4807, DeadWeight: 5076 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 11.6 / 9 knots
Flag: Singapore [SG] 
Call Sign: 9VED8
IMO: 9220421, MMSI: 565525000


 Owned by the Greek shipping company, York Maritime and operated by Bernhard Schulte Ship Management in Germany



navfo
longchamp ransom
German Navy
hijack

York: Another BSM LPG tanker hijacked

The vessel was attacked on 23 October by two skiffs, approximately 50 nautical miles East from Mombasa. The Turkish warship GAZIANTEP, operating under the Combined Maritime Forces (Task Force 151) launched her helicopter to investigate. The helicopter was able to observe pirates with weapons on board the vessel.

The German-owned Bernhard Schulte Management LPG tanker LONGCHAMP was released after the ransom had been delivered by air. Local marine observers reported that the ransom was delivered by an aircraft at around 14h00 2009-03-27, $6 million had been the demand. then read see earlier


9220421 YORK 9VED8 LPG Tanker 5076 2000 Singapore

Moscow University: pirates adrift in inflatable boat?

a Defense Ministry source told RIA Novosti.after the pirates had been disarmed and their navigation equipment removed, they were "put into an inflatable boat" and pushed off into the sea. On the morning of 5 May, the Liberia flagged (Russian operated) Oil Tanker MOSCOW UNIVERSITY, was hijacked approximately 350 nautical miles east of Socatra.




The Russian state news agency said at the time a boat of that style was found on board the Arctic Sea.

Not me, sir! -- NAVFOR not responsible

mv Longchamp
EU frigates do not necessarily accompany vessels through the transit corridor, hence Navfor’s reluctance to define the transits as convoys.THE German-operated liquefied petroleum gas carrier Longchamp, hijacked last week, did not register for European Union protection and missed the scheduled Gulf of Aden transit by 20 miles, it was revealed today.

While the vessel’s operator, Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, had access to the transit schedule via the EU Navfor website, the 4,316 dwt Longchamp was not expected by EU naval commanders overseeing the operation.

”While the ship was in the corridor, it was 20 miles behind the transit,” a Navfor spokesman said. “The company was registered with us, but the vessel was not.”

Six Million for mv Longchamp opening

The shadow of mv Sirius Star: opening demands of pirates are inflated. The Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement reported that Somali pirates who recently hijacked mv Longchamp, the German gas tanker, have demanded 6 Million dollars to free the ship and its crew. Company officials were able to speak with the hijacked ship's master.

Bahamas-Flag LPG Tanker taken by pirates

SOMALIAN pirates today captured a German-owned LPG tanker participating in a convoy through the Gulf of Aden Maritime Security Patrol Area, diverting Chinese and Indian warships with a decoy raid to enable colleagues to seize a small ship with low freeboard. Bahamas-flag 1990-built, 4,316 dwt Longchamp, operated by Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. The Indian warship kept a safe distance, so as not to aggravate the pirates. Then the ship turned hard to starboard and went straight for the Somali coast.