Flags of Convenience:
The largest shipping registries are Panama, Liberia, Greece, Marshall Islands and the Bahamas,
Approximately 6,300 sail under the Panamanian flag, making Panama the largest. The Greek-controlled fleet is at almost 90 million gross tons.
The Marshall Islands is fourth with 1, 500 vessels and 37 million tons. Bahamas has 1,500 vessels at 27 million tons.
Other significant flags include Cyprus and Malta
Lt. Cmdr. Edward C. Lin faces several counts of espionage and other charges outlined during a April 8 Article 32 hearing in Norfolk, Va. Lin had a career as a signals intelligence specialist on the Navy’s Lockheed Martin EP-3E Aries II reconnaissance aircraft. The U.S. Naval Institute said Lin also had been a department head with the Special Projects Patrol Squadron (VPU) 2 “Wizards” at Kaneohe Bay, a highly secretive group that flies specially-modified spy planes and has been known to change aircraft paint schemes and identifying numbers to blend in with other Navy planes.
Lin’s job on the Aries II, which bear a resemblance to the maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare P-3C Orion, was to manage the collection of electronic signals from the aircraft – a central coordinator. The specifics of how the U.S. gathers signals from potential adversaries are among the military’s most closely guarded secrets. Knowing the methodology for how the U.S. gathers signals intelligence – information that Lin would likely have with his Aries II experience – could allow adversaries to devise ways to counter U.S. monitoring.
[July 20 2014 RIMPAC gets four China navy ship participants and one spy ]
Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy electronic surveillance ship Beijixing (pennant number 851). A ship of this class is currently off the coast of Oahu, monitoring RIMPAC 2014.
“This AGI is most likely to be the Type 815 Dongdiao-class intelligence collection vessel Beijixing (pennant number 851), home ported in the East Sea Fleet,” Erickson, an associate professor at the Naval War College said.
“Beijixing is the most experienced vessel from the PLAN’s [China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy ] most advanced class of AGI. Based on Internet photos and Japanese government and other media reports, Beijixing is China’s most well-traveled AGI, having operated frequently near and within Japan’s claimed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).” What’s strange about the Chinese ship monitoring RIMPAC from afar is four PLAN ships and their crews have already been included in most levels of the operation. RIMPAC — held every two years — includes 50 ships, 200 aircraft and more than 25,000 military personnel from 23 nations. The exercises will run until August.
[March 9 2013]
Chinese Navy's missile destroyer "Harbin" fires during the AMAN-13 exercise in the Arabian Sea, March 8, 2013. Naval ships from 14 countries, including China, the United States, Britain and Pakistan, joined a five-day naval drill in the Arabian Sea from March 4, involving 24 ships, 25 helicopters, and special forces.
The U.S., which
traditionally has maintained an impressive array of naval forces comprised of
units of the Sixth Fleet, had decided to reduce its naval presence in the
Eastern Mediterranean, but in view of the increased traffic -- from Russia,
China and especially the Islamic Republic of Iran -- has now changed its mind
and will retain a significant naval force in the area.
Regional security
arrangements have changed considerably since the onset of the Arab Spring, and
developments in the Middle East have enhanced Cairo’s role within the strategic
framework. Reliable sources say the Muslim Brotherhood-controlled government
has offered Washington “more than facilities” in order to ensure Washington’s
continued support during the Muslim Brothers’ crisis-ridden bid to secure
control over the state.
Officials at the US embassy in
Cairo confirmed the impression of a continuing close relationship between
Egypt’s Armed Forces, the US Defense Department and the administration in
Washington.
[March 1]The 14th naval squad, sent by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, departed February 16 from China to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters for escort missions.
[February 25 2011]
China said it was sending a navy ship to protect its citizens being evacuated. The PLA Navy has just dispatched Xuzhou,F530, a Type 054 Jiangkai-II class missile frigate, from the ongoing seventh PLAN anti-piracy task force deployment off Somalia to steam to Libyan coast to provide support and protection for the ongoing evacuation mission there. The escort mission has been approved by the Central Military Commission, according to Xinhua, and at least 6,300 of the roughly 30,000 PRC citizens in Libya have been evacuated. Xuzhou incorporates many stealth features: sloped hull design; radar absorbent materials; and reduction of surface equipment and features.
"Five gunboats shelled the administrative buildings of the base," the official told Reuters by telephone from Hodeida. Arab warplanes and ships also hammered Yemen's largest military port in the Red Sea city of Hodeida at dawn May 27,."The naval base was bombed by aircraft and ships. Large parts of it were destroyed and two warships were hit, and one of them, named the Bilqis, was destroyed and sank onto its side, and five gunboats shelled the administrative buildings of the base," the official said by telephone from Hodeida. Poland sold a medium landing craft for the Yemeni navy. It is equipped with a bow ramp that allows beach landings. The NS-722-class landing craft is the last of four and meant to transport tanks and marines. The first vessel, a 1,383-ton vessel called Bilqis, was built by Poland's Naval Shipyard Gdynia. The landing craft can transport five T-72 main battle tanks and 111 combatants. NS-722 class (1 built in 2002) Displacement: 1,410 tons full load Length: 88.7 m Speed: 17 knots (31 km/h) Aircraft facility: One helicopter platform Hodeida and its military bases are aligned with the Houthis, the most powerful force in Yemen's complex conflict, which also involves southern secessionist militia, local tribal forces and Islamist militants such as Al-Qaeda's regional wing. [May 25 MS Iran Shahed:unloaded / Undeclared voyages between Iran and Yemeni ports controlled by the Huthis ] United Nations officials in the port of Djibouti say they have taken charge of aid cargo carried by Iran Shahed . The vessel was carrying 2,500 tons of food aid for Yemen that will now be distributed by the UN World Food Program. At least four large cargo ships made a "series of highly unusual and undeclared trips between Iran and Yemeni ports controlled by the Huthis in the first few months of the year," based on a search of maritime records. While it is not known what cargo the Iranian ships were carrying, they "changed their ensigns, turned off their tracking devices at key points during their voyages, registered false information in international shipping logs, and met unidentified craft mid-ocean,"after the Huthi rebellion broke out in Yemen. The rebels since then have dislodged the government and taken over large swaths of the country, including the capital, Sanaa, and biggest port, Aden. [May 17 docked at Djibouti Just before 10 p.m. local time (8 p.m. GMT), the Iran Shahed moved into the port of Djibouti and docked. After undergoing inspection by U.N. or Red Cross officials in Djibouti, the Iran Shahed would be able to dock at a Yemeni port and deliver its aid cargo without being intercepted, stopped or boarded by Saudi or U.S. naval forces. The Saudis, for their part, will not have to choose between intercepting the vessel and maintaining the legitimacy of their naval blockade on Yemen, since the Iran Shahed will have been inspected by a neutral party.
If an official organization like the U.N or the International Committee of the Red Cross is willing to give the shipments on board the Iran Shahed the seal of approval, this will almost certainly deflate the controversy surrounding the ship. As the naval blockade continues, however, it is still unclear whether Iran will send more aid ships and whether they will also be willing to submit to inspection to avoid conflict.
[May 17 due in Hodeida May 21]
Aboard ms Iran Shahed
Tasnim, a news agency associated with Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard reported that the vessel had left Omani waters and was in the Gulf of Aden. The vessel’s captain, Masoud Qazi Mir-Saeed, said that if weather remained fair it should dock in rebel-controlled Hodeida on May 21
It was under escort by a frigate, the reporter said, but that vessel was a foreign ship that is part of international antipiracy efforts, the Fars news agency said. A Pentagon spokesman had said on May 12 that the United States was tracking the Iran Shahed, after an Iranian naval commander told state media that warships might escort it to Yemen. [May 17, 2015 Updated: May 17, 2015 06:40 PM]
[May 13 ]
m.s. IRAN SHAHED
MS Iran Shahed, which Tehran says is carrying humanitarian supplies. left on May 11 for the Yemeni port Hodaida, which is held by Iran-allied Houthi fighters.
"If the Iranians follow U.N. protocol, move the ship to a port in Djibouti, allow the humanitarian cargo they claim is on the ship to be distributed through U.N. channels, then they will have done the right thing in this case," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said. Iranian warships will accompany the self-discharger.
IRAN SHAHED
General Cargo
IMO: 9184691
MMSI: 422517000
Call Sign: 9BHI
Flag: Iran (IR)
AIS Type: Cargo
Gross Tonnage: 2615
Deadweight: 3340 t
Length × Breadth: 92.85m × 15.85m
Year Built: 1999
[April 23 Iranian flotilla now sailing NE past Oman]
AL MUKALLA
Iranian nine-ship convoy is south of Salalah, Oman, and now headed northeast in the Arabian Sea in the direction of home. The ships, which include seven freighters and two frigates, had sailed southwest along the coast of Yemen heading in the direction of Aden and the entrance to the Red Sea. They appeared to drop anchor in the north Arabian Sea. Warships from Saudi Arabia and Egypt are positioned to the southwest of the convoy, forming a blockade of the Gulf of Aden and the port city of Aden. [April 21 ] The Iranian ships are moving very slowly, about five knots, off the coast of Yemen. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman said the United States did not know what the Iranian cargo ships were carrying and declined to say whether the U.S. warships would stop and board Iranian vessels if they attempted to enter Yemeni territorial waters. "I'm not going to telegraph anything," Warren said.
“It is hard to believe that Mukalla could be controlled this quickly by Al Qaeda, amidst the complete absence of the security forces,” The relative ease with which the militants captured large parts of the city raised fears of a broader expansion by the Sunni extremists, who have proved adept in the past at exploiting turmoil in Yemen to capture territory.
Koosha 3 Info Received: 2015-03-09 20:50, Area: Oman Gulf
ARDAVAN Info Received: 2015-04-20 11:15 Area: Persian Gulf
Eight Iranian ships are heading toward Yemen and possibly carrying arms for the Houthis. What's unusual about the new deployment is that the Iranians are not trying to conceal it. Instead, they appear to be trying to "communicate it" to the U.S. and its allies in the Gulf. Navy officials said there are about nine U.S. warships in the region, including cruisers and destroyers carrying teams that can board and search other vessels. The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt was moving through the Arabian Sea off Yemen to beef up security and join other American ships that are prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen. The U.S. Navy generally conducts consensual boardings of ships.
Alvand-class frigate
Iran's Bushehr logistic vessel and Alborz frigater, left Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas on April 8 bound for waters off Yemen.
Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said tthe ships would be part of an antipiracy campaign aimed at "safeguarding naval routes for vessels in the region."
[February 8 2014 Iran's frigate Sabalan,Kharg bound for U.S. waters ]
Sabalan (in Persian سبلان) is a British-made Vosper Mark V-class (or Alvand-class) frigate in the Iranian Navy.
Commissioned in June 1972 as part of a four-ship order,
Commander of Iran's Northern Navy Fleet Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad announced on January 8.
The admiral, who is also the commander of the Iranian Army's 4th Naval Zone said, "Iran's military fleet is approaching the United States' maritime borders, and this move has a message."
With task of securing shipping routes as well as training new personnel, Iran's Sabalan frigate and Kharg logistic helicopter carrier left for the Atlantic Ocean from the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on a three-month voyage. "The Iranian Army's naval fleets have already started their voyage towards the Atlantic Ocean via the waters near South Africa," he said.
The Associated Press says Iranian officials acknowledged last month that the fleet consisted of a destroyer and a logistic helicopter carrier.
March 04, 2013 - CHINA - The Iranian Navy’s 24th fleet of warships has docked in the Chinese port of Zhanjiang, which is located in southwest China, the deputy commander of the Navy announced on March 4, 2013.
“The (Navy’s) 24th fleet of warships, comprised of the Kharg helicopter carrier and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Sabalan frigate docked in Zhanjiang Port after sailing 13,000 kilometers in 40 days,”
On the morning of April 18, 1988, the oil platforms were knocked out. The U.S. forces then turned to look for Iranian frigates in the Strait of Hormuz,... Another group of A-6 Intruders was sent to the reported location of the Sabalan in the strait, where, the frigate fired at the A-6s at 6.17 p.m. (Gulf time). At 6.18 p.m., an A-6 dropped a Mk-82 500 pound laser-guided bomb, which left the Sabalan paralyzed and on fire. At The Pentagon, Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., and U.S. Central Command head Gen. George B. Crist monitored the situation. After discussion, the men decided to spare the moribund Sabalan, perhaps to prevent further escalation.
Iranian forces towed the damaged ship to the port of Bandar-Abbas, and it was eventually repaired and returned to service. The Moudge class frigate is a modified Iranian-built version of the Alvand, with five either in service or building.
The U.S. Navy's 5th fleet is based in Bahrain — across the gulf from Iran.
[November 11, 2012]
Admiral Naghdi, DE 91
IS Kharg
Shahid, Kharg enter Mediterranean after
crossing the Suez Canal on November 10
[October 31]Two Iranian warships docked in Port Sudan have left the Sudanese port after a visit coinciding with Khartoum's denial that Iran is involved in making weapons in Sudan. .Small Sudanese craft escorted the Kharg out of the harbour, after the departure of another Iranian warship, the corvette Admiral Naghdi. The Naghdi's crew stood in orange life jackets as the gunboat departed.
[October 29]An Iranian naval task force docked in Sudan on October 29
includes IS Shahid Naqdi, a corvette-class vessel, and IS Kharg, a supply
vessel that can carry three helicopters. Sudan is often thought a waypoint for arms smuggled to Hamas. [February 22,2011]After two days of violent street protests in one week, Iran's opposition Green Movement said Feb 21 it was pondering its next move and considering a continuation of street protests, according to opposition websites. A new date hasn't been announced for antigovernment protests although supporters posted on the opposition's Facebook page that this Tuesday or Wednesday are possible. Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi have been under house arrest for over a week with little communication with the outside world. IS Alvand, DE 71, passed through the Suez canal at Ismailia, Egypt, Tuesday, Feb.22, 2011, together with IS Kharg, replenishment ship 431. The Iranian ships are headed for Latkia in Syria on a training mission. The ships paid about $300,000 in fees for the passage, according to a Maritime agent. earlier
Marshall Islands-flagged Liquid Velvet was seized on Monday in the Gulf of Aden The 11,599 DWT vessel is owned by Greek firm Elmira Tankers,
9083940 LIQUID VELVET V7OM9 Tanker 11559 1994 Vessel's name: Liquid Velvet Last updated: Jul 14, 2011 Ex-name(s): Liquid Challenge / Shina IMO number: 9083940 Flag: Marshall Island Call sign: V7OM9 Port of Registry: Majuro Summer DWT: 11559 MT Type of vessel: Chemical Built: Feb 10, 1994 Type of hull: Double Hull Owner: Minimal Enterprise Co. Class Society: Nippon Kaiji Kyokai Operator: Elmira Tankers Management S.A.
Compare BEN Built 2006 by Samho as Songa Diamond Renamed: 2006 Brovig Bay, 2007 Liquid Velvet, 2007 Ben At the terminal on the same day was 1994 built “Liquid Velvet”(9083940) Owner: Open Waters Ben Pte Ltd Manager: Columbia Shipmgmt Singapore GRT 8450, DWT 12910 Length 127, beam 20 metre Single screw diesel 13.5 kts IMO Number: 9311646 Brovig Bay purchased by Elmira Shipping, and renamed Liquid Velvet. Renamed: 2006 Brovig Bay, 2007 Liquid Velvet, 2007 Ben
Britain has sent 80 commandos aboard one of the Royal Navy's support ships, the 31,000-ton RFA Fort Victoria, to sit off Yemen.
It will soon be joined by another RFA vessel, the 16,000-ton landing ship Cardigan Bay, which will be situated off the coast of Yemen.
The RFA's Argus and Fort Victoria were diverted through the Suez Canal a fortnight ago to stand off Yemen. "As part of routine deployment UK military assets are in the region, although we are not prepared to comment further on their exact operational tasking," a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said.
Contingents of America’s “white” Special Operations Forces—the groups at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and the Rangers at Fort Benning in Georgia—are training Yemen’s own special forces.
Meanwhile, teams of “black” special forces—Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, and their helicopter-flying colleagues—are operating in the country in tandem with those trained Yemenis.
Operatives from the CIA’s paramilitary Special Activities Division are in-country running agents. The Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which runs the “black” special forces, is flying overhead an armada of drones, many of designs (and sizes) that are still classified.
The CIA, already flying a covert air force of Predator and Reaper drones over Pakistan, has now acquired enough that it’s begun patrols over Yemen to provide more consistent surveillance and heavier firepower than most of JSOC’s fleet can supply.
Meanwhile, a mini-carrier—currently the Marines’ amphibious assault vessel USS Boxer—is on permanent station in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen’s coast with a squadron of Harrier aircraft to fly strike-missions against targets in-country identified either by the CIA, special forces on the ground or the drones.
When the target warrants, the submarine escorting the amphib is called into action, to launch one of its battery of land-attack cruise missiles. In the command center of this covert campaign, video feeds from a drone over the target have allowed commanders to witness real-time the cruise missiles’ impact. Los Angeles fast attack submarine USS La Jolla (SSN-701)? here
Warsame was captured at sea and the Navy put him in the brig of the USS Boxer for two months. Stars and Stripes After his capture, he was taken to the Boxer, an amphibious assault ship that was steaming in the region and has a brig, a senior military official said. A spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, said the two-month interrogation of Mr. Warsame for intelligence purposes had been “comprehensive” and “handled to the full satisfaction” of interrogators and intelligence agencies — only after which, he said, “did top national security officials unanimously decide to transition to a law-enforcement interrogation, which did not end the flow of intelligence from Warsame.” NYT Boxer Warsame
The CGPCS Working Group in Copenhagen on 21 June.agreed that the issue of use of private armed guards was legally challenging and needed to be looked further into, whether vessels carrying private armed guards in other states' territorial waters can be considered in innocent passage pursuant to UNCLOS. Experts and military officers have said firefights between contractors and pirates in the region may be a daily occurrence, although many are never reported.
They say it is difficult to estimate the number of private security contractors now working off Somalia, but most experts say it could be as high as the mid-hundreds at any one time. Until last year, security contractors usually acted as unarmed advisers.
Armchair admirals and politicians are quick to shake their fists, avowing, "Something must be done." Maritime industry is quick to follow, with unsettling incident accounts and dire financial projections. Yet, more informed analysis of piracy reveals that the impact in blood and treasure is altogether minimal.
Fenwick Shipping Services which operates the Tien Hau, said February 6 that pirates did not board or attack the ship and that everyone on board was safe.
"Three unknown speedboats chased after them for some time and then left. We contacted the [Yemen] navy and later on the Chinese naval fleet joined [them]."
He said the naval forces had escorted the ship out of the Gulf of Aden.
7th escort taskforce of the Navy of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) under Rear Admiral Zhang Huachen
Zhoushan and Xuzhou, both launched into service in 2008, are Type 054A (NATO Jiangkai II class) missile frigates similar to French Lafayette-class frigates. Qiandaohu (886) (NATO Fuchi class) fleet replenishment ship
Handymax bulker MV EAGLE was hijacked by pirates firing small arms and a Rocket Propelled Grenade before boarding the vessel, Cypriot-flagged and owned by the Perogiannakis family, Perosea Shipping Co. S.A., 52,163 dwt in the Gulf of Aden, 490 nautical miles South of Salalah, Oman on passage from Aqabar (Jordan) to Paradip (India) when it was attacked.
8126408 EAGLE P3HR8 Bulker 52163 1985 Cyprus Beam: 32 Length: 200 Draught: 6.5 Perosea currently operates just one bulker, the 52,000-dwt Eagle (built 1985), but almost all of a series of seven 13,000-dwt chemical tankers have been delivered to the company from 21st Century Shipbuilding.
George Perogiannakis Yannis Perogiannakis Mrs. Vali Perogiannakis
Magellan Star, container ship en route from Spain to Vietnam, traveled in a convoy of four ships, and they had escort protection by military ships. Therefore, the rescuers got there very quickly. The convoy had spread quite far apart. [Escort include the USN Dubuque and the USN Princeton, as well as Turkish frigate TCG Gokceada ] The problem is that when the military ships are too concentrated around one location. The raid took place about 85 miles southeast of Mukallah, Yemen, About 20 percent of world trade passes through the Gulf of Aden, a transit point for navigating Egypt’s Suez Canal when sailing between Asia and Europe,
The chemtanker OLIB G, Malta-flag, Frio Maritime S.A. Greece, in the East part of the Gulf of Aden reported that a skiff was approaching, 08 Sep USS PRINCETON warship of Task Force 151 launched its helicopter. The helicopter was able to identify two pirates on board.
The MV OLIB G was sailing West in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor through the Gulf of Aden with a cargo of ballast. IMO 8026608, Chemical/Oil Tanker deadweight 6,375 tons, bt. 1988, gt. 4060, ex Berna Sultan, 2007 ex Yeliz K, 2006 ex Olib, 2000.
Large companies reason that the chances of attack on any particular ship are relatively low — 0.5 percent in the Gulf of Aden — so they play the odds. Smaller shippers simply cannot afford “hardening” their vessels against attack. Three-man protection details from private companies can cost as much as $21,000 per ship.
So security falls to international task forces, such as the Combined Task Force 151, NATO’s Ocean Shield and the European Union’s Atalanta. But these flotillas cannot provide adequate security over two million square miles of ocean. To augment them would be prohibitively expensive; the budget for Atalanta alone was $450 million in 2009. read
Iranian frigate Sabalan (in Persian سبلان), a British-made Vosper Mark V class frigate
Frigates and a logistic vessel from Iran's 8th fleet in the last 18 months ago have escorted 400 trade ships and oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden, claimed Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari in welcoming home Iran's 8th fleet of warships after a two-month mission in the Gulf of Aden. He added that Iran's 9th fleet of warships has already been deployed in the Gulf to defend the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against continued attacks by Somali pirates.
SYRIA STAR IMO 7608136 issued a distress call in the Gulf of Aden reporting pirates firing upon the ship and boarding it 05 May,Helicopters found an abandoned skiff containing fuel and ammunition near the cargo ship, By the time warships arrived, the Syria Star -- carrying a cargo of sugar -- had reversed course and was heading southeast toward the Horn of Africa under the control of the pirates, who did not respond to radio contact.
REEM MARITIME LTD.
Reem Maritime Ltd (hereafter referred to as Reem) was incorporated as a private limited company in 2002 in Tartous, Syria
4 ASI ALRAHBANI STRE
ALHAWWOZ ZONE
TARTOUS - SYRIA
P.O.BOX 397
TEL : +963 43 215562/3
FAX : +963 43 221848 7608136 SYRIA STAR J8B3493 General Cargo Ship 18831 1977 St Vincent
SYRIA STAR Former Names: Mike M-06, Hollandic Confidence-99, Hollandic-91, Hollandic Confidence-90, Netherland Confidence-86, Iris Island-86 Type: General Cargo Year: 1977 Flag: St Vincent & the Grenadines GRT: 10968 DWT: 18831 LOA: 146 BM: 23 Speed: 14
The Norwegian Chemical tanker MV BOW SAGA was proceeding through the transit corridor in the middle of the Gulf of Aden when it came under attack. A pirate skiff with 7 people on board shot at the bridge, damaging the windows. BOW SAGA adopted Best Management Practice and was conducting counter measures with evasive manoeuvring and the deployment of water hoses to prevent attempts to climb up onto the ship. Piracy experts have predicted an increase in attacks in the Arabian Sea in August as the Indian Ocean southwest monsoon eases.
The Norwegian International Ship Register -NIS- was established in 1987.
Since then it has provided the shipping industry with a continuing competitive and high quality option for registration under the flag of a nation with long standing maritime competence.
Norway has been one of the world's largest shipping nations since the late 19th century. This prominent position has been sustained over the years by the ability of Norwegian companies to adapt promptly to changing market requirements. The NIS combines the advantage of being located in an industrialised nation with competitive conditions, rules, and regulations.
Ships registered in the NIS fly the Norwegian flag and are subject to Norwegian jurisdiction. Norway’s ordinary shipping legislation applies to them with some exceptions and special rules specific to the NIS. Norway’s comprehensive code of maritime law also gives creditors the assurance that it represents a secure and professional alternative. Norwegian law is recognised in the maritime related field as sophisticated and predictable.
Great emphasis has been placed on maintaining a quality register which ensures that vessels operating under the NIS regulations meet highly acceptable safety and working standards. To ensure this, the rules are based on the obligations accepted by Norway, particularly with regard to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
Development Driller II (left) and Development Driller III, which are drilling the relief wells at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site in the Gulf of Mexico. Crews of vessels, including one boring the tunnel meant to kill the flow of crude for good, spent Friday hauling in their gear and getting out of the storm's way. Workers were pulling up a mile of pipe in 40-to-60-foot sections and laying it on deck of the drilling rig so they could move to safer water, probably to the southwest flank of the storm. earlier blog
Security forces in Somalia’s semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland June 3 freed a QSM Dubai, a Panama-flagged vessel seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
The pirates killed the Pakistani captain of the MV QSM Dubai during the clash, according to a Somalian government official.But most navies will not intervene after pirates are onboard a ship for fear of harming the hostages. "Hitherto, Somali pirates have merely treated hijackings as a business transaction and have been fairly consistent about not purposely harming anyone," said James Gosling, a London-based partner at Holman Fenwick Willan, who has advised ship owners in nearly 30 ransom negotiations off the Horn of Africa. "My hope is they will just continue as before ... But obviously we are very concerned about what impact the latest events will have." The QSM Dubai is beneficially-owned by Lebanese interests. A wrongful death action by the captain's heirs may have different consequences for this owner than for shipowners in western countries.
According to the Bangkok Post, "A picture taken on January 6 from a Canadian patrol frigate shows the North-Korean-crewed, Virgin Islands-owned MV Theresa VIII chemical tanker moored off a beach near Harardhere, Somali", That would be HMCS Fredericton which was at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden March 14, "HMCS Fredericton continues with her anti piracy patrols" The crew on the Fredericton say they’ve noted the movement of insurgents to Yemen from Somalia in the region, but it’s not their mission to stop it."
China received thanks for its part in the ransom of the Navios Apollon. The Chinese warship Wenzhou escorted the Navios Apollon and crew and provided needed support after their prolonged period in captivity. FFG-526 Wenzhou is the second hull of the Type 054 (Jiangkai-I Class) Missile Frigate. The Type 054 (NATO codename: Jiangkai-I Class) is the multirole missile frigate built by the Shanghai-based Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard and the Guangzhou-based Huangpu Shipyard for the PLA Navy. Production of the first-of-class, Ma’anshan (525), was begun in late 2002 at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard. The frigate was launched on 11 September 2003 and commissioned on 18 February 2005. The second hull Wenzhou (526) was launched at the Huangpu Shipyard on 30 November 2003 at Huangpu Shipyard and it was commissioned in 2006. The Type 054 production stopped after only two hulls were commissioned due to the introduction of the more capable Type 054A Jiangkai-II Class.
The Type 054 incorporates a number of stealthy features, including the sloped side to minimise radar cross section and the reduced profiles of external features. The helicopter deck at the stern has a single landing spot for a medium size helicopter, such as the Russian Kamov Ka-28 Helix, or the indigenous Harbin Z-9C. The deck is fitted with the helicopter handling system. The frigate has a full displacement of 4,300t.
Missiles
The primary surface strike weapon system is the YJ-83 sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missile. Two quadruple launchers are installed at the mid-ship position. The missile uses active radar-homing to deliver a 165kg warhead to a range in excess of 180km.
The main air defence weapon is an 8-cell HongQi-7 (French Thales Crotale copy) short-range SAM system, designed to engage aircraft in all-weather, day/night conditions at a maximum range of 8~12km with line-of-sight guidance. The missile also has limited capability to intercept sea-skimming anti-ship missiles at a much closer range (4~6km).
Guns
The main gun on the bow deck is an indigenous single-barrel 100mm gun developed by 713 Institute on the basis of the French Creusot-Loire T100C design. The gun can be used against surface targets and air targets such as aircraft and low speed missile, with a maximum rate of fire of 90 rounds/min. The gun can be operated in fully automatic mode from the radar control system, from the shipborne optical sighting system, or laid manually.
For air defence the ship was equipped the destroyer has four six-barrel 30mm AK-630 close-in weapon systems (CIWs). The maximum rate of fire is 5,000 rounds/min. Range is up to 4,000m for low flying anti-ship missiles and 5,000m for light surface targets. The gun is equipped with radar and television detection and tracking.
The ship also has two Type 87 six-tube anti-submarine rocket launchers, with 36 rockets (240mm calibre, 34kg warhead). The maximum range is 1,200m.
Sensors
The Type 054 has a Chinese indigenous sensor suite consisting of a Chinese Indigenous Type 360S 2D air/surface radar (E/F-band, max range: 150km to aircraft and 50km to sea-skimming missile); a Type 347G radar (I-band) for CIWS fire-control, a Type 344 radar (I/J-band) for main gun and anti-ship missile targeting, and a Type 345 radar (J-band) for HQ-7 SAM fire-control. The ship also has an MR-36A surface search radar operating at I-band.
Sonar
The Type 054 is reportedly fitted with a Russian MGK-335 fixed sonar suite, including Bull Horn active and Whale Tongue passive hull-mounted, medium frequency search and attack sonar. Due to limited information available, this claim cannot be confirmed.
Countermeasures
The ship is equipped with two 18-tube multiple rocket launchers at the mid-ship position. They are thought to be used to launch decoys/chaffs. The round radome installed on top of the helicopter hanger and few smaller round radom
Some shipping people privately say that the effects of piracy have been exaggerated. It may still be cheaper and more convenient to pay higher insurance fees and risk being attacked by pirates than to incur the extra cost of diverting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.
Last year 22,000 ships passed safely through waters in range of Somali pirates, whereas actual attacks were in the low hundreds. The bureau also reckons that, as ships take more precautions, the pirates’ success rate will drop.
The Singaporean-flagged chemical tanker, the Pramoni, which was highjacked by Somali pirates on January 1st, is owned by a Norwegian shipping group, and leased by an Indonesian company.
The ship, managed by Platou Finance in Oslo was seized in the Gulf of Aden while en route to India, and this was the the first attack by Somali pirates this year. The DH fully stainless steel ’Pramoni’ (19,990dwt-built 2008) was acquired by Platou K/S for 52.75 $m, including 12 years BBC to Berlian Laju at 15,100$/day, with purchase option.
Among the 20,000 deadweight-ton vessel’s 24-man crew are 17 Indonesian nationals, five Chinese, a Nigerian and a Vietnamese,
RS Platou Finance is an independent company within the Platou Group utilising the full potential of having close contact with shipbrokers, ship-owners, ship managers, bankers, lawyers and consultants worldwide. Oslo, Singapore, Aberdeen, London, Houston, Moscow, Lagos, Copenhagen, Shanghai, Istanbul, Geneva and Rio de Janeiro. Our multinational staff numbers about 280 persons.
Berlian Laju Tankers (BLT) reported Q3'09 EBITDA just slightly below our estimates. While peers have reported double digit declines in chemical tanker earnings q/q, BLT's rates were only down 3% likely due to its robust operation and limited dependence on the product tanker market.
* Net revenues were USD 99m just as we had estimated in our Shipping Quarterly. EBITDA came in at USD 48m vs. our USD 51m. Deviation due to USD 3m higher costs evenly distributed on charter hire and G&A. Vessel opex remained unchanged at a low $4,100/day on average. * We calculate that time-charter equivalent earnings were down only 3% on average compared to Q2. This is much better performance than peers which have reported declines of 19% (Odfjell) and 15% (Eitzen Chemical) due to their exposure to the weak product tanker market. BLT has 63 chemical tankers in operations mainly in the regional, stainless steel segment. * No news about the ongoing take-over of Camillo Eitzen. We make marginal changes to our operating estimates while increase our interest expense assumption somewhat. Based on our estimates, BLT trades attractively at 80% of NAV and 7.6x 2010e EBITDA (based on 5% higher chemical rates y/y).
A Singapore-registered chemical tanker, M.T. PRAMONI, was boarded by pirates while transiting the Gulf of Aden, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The Pramoni is owned by Singapore-based GBLT Shipmanagement Pte. "A distress alert was sent by the vessel at about 1730hrs on 1 Jan 2010 (Singapore time) while at position Lat 12° 30'N Long 47° 17'E," said the MPA in a statement.
The vessel, with a crew consists of 17 Indonesians, five Chinese, one Nigerian and one Vietnamese, was on its way from Genoa, Italy to Kandla, India.
Pramoni Type of ship: Tankship IMO Number: 9408803 MMSI Number: 565925000 Flag: Singapore Callsign: 9VLH7 Length: 147.0m Beam: 24.0m
SOLD ENBLOC PUSPAWATI AND PRAMONI FOR $108.5m BOTH UNITS. SELLERS ARE GBLT SHIPMANAGEMENT SINGAPORE . SALE INCLUDES 12 YEARS BBB AT $14300/DAY Pramoni/Puspawati: 19,999 dwt blt 08 Shin Kurushima. Sold region USD 108,500,000 en bloc to Atlantis Shipping, sale incl 12 years BBB at 14,300 per day. 06/08 Pramoni Tank 19999 08 Kurushima MAN-B&W IMO II/III 12y bb $14300 54.2 . Turkish Atlantis Pramoni 20,000 2008 tanker [from]BLT, Indonesia bb back [buyer]Atlantis Shipping, Oslo Pramoni 19,900 2008 tanker [from] BLT, Indonesia USD 52 m bb [buyer]KS T Klaveness, Oslo
Pramoni 19,998 2008 [from] Pareto Finance 52.75 Incl 12 yr bb back to Gold Bridge Shipping
MV Victoria, Antigua and Barbuda-flag, 11 Romanian crew members, was taken yesterday afternoon about 120 nautical miles north of the Somali port of Boosaaso. It was a relatively easy target because of its slow speed and low railing. A Turkish frigate responded to a call for help by sending a helicopter, but the ship already was in the pirates' hands by the time it arrived.
Call sign: V2BQ5 IMO No.: 9290074 Port of Registry: St. John's Flag: Antigua & Barbuda Built: Dec 2003 Owners: MS "Victoria" Schiffahrtsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Reederei KG, Weedendamm 26/28, D - 49733 Haren (Ems) Trustees: Victoria Shipping Company Ltd., St. John's, Antigua & Barbuda Type: multipurpose vessel for transport of bulk, steel coils, containers, forrest products, general cargoes, dangerous cargoes acc. to SOLAS regulation 54-II-2, excluding explosives and nuclear materials (Class I and VII)
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