The project will be taken up for implementation under Private Public Partnership (PPP) mode on DBFOT basis, that is, the entire investment on the project will be made by the concessionaire.

The project is envisaged to be implemented in two phases. In Phase-l, upgradation of existing mechanized iron ore handling facility at Outer Harbour will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs.580.89 crore. This will involve capacity addition of 16.2 MTPA.

In Phase II, creation of new mechanized facility at West Quay-1 (WQ-1) berth in inner harbour at an estimated cost of Rs. 264.52 crore involving capacity addition of 6.8 MTPA will be taken up. Phase-ll facility at Inner Harbour would be taken up after attaining the threshold limit of 12.5 million tonnes of cargo handling at Outer Harbour or two million tonnes of cargo handling at Inner Harbour, whichever is earlier.

However, there is no bar on the operator to commence Phase - II on the date of award of concession. Phase I of the project will be completed by June 2015 and Phase II, within two years of its commencement.

This project will create additional employment opportunities and lead to the socio-economic development of the region.

Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India

Port of Visakhapatnam is one of the leading major ports of India. The Port is located on the east coast of India at a latitude of 17042' 00'' North and longitude of 83023' 00'' East and the  time zone  is GMT + 5:30.

The orders, which were signed in April, accounted for more than 60 percent of the recent global orders of Greek shipowners.

The shipping industry, including shipbuilding, is one of the most important sectors for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

In the next decade, China will remain an important global exporter and become an increasingly important importer, according to the minister.

The new orders are the investment of Greek shipowners for the future.

Source:  Xinhua

The projection came as workers in the industry lauded the Federal Government and the management of NIMASA for staying focused on training and retraining of personnel towards bridging the human capacity gap in the industry.

Akpobolokemi who spoke in Lagos at the weekend said with the ongoing collaboration between NIMASA and other related maritime bodies, the skills of industry personnel would be upgraded in line with its statutory responsibility

He noted that thousands had already been trained in various aspects of maritime operations both within and outside the country, to build capacity for the industry.

He expressed optimism that if the pace is sustained, which NIMASA intends to, Nigeria, ten years from now, should not be complaining of lack of inadequate qualified manpower, but should be in position to export maritime experts to other countries.G

Source: This Day Live.com

Tribune 242 reports that Anthony Kikivarakis told  that last month's Brazil trip was designed to build on existing relationships, and seek new business opportunities in Brazil's rapidly expanding offshore oil and gas market.

"I'm always interested in expanding our fleet," he said. "Right now we have over 1,600 vessels worldwide registered under the Bahamian flag. One of the countries we hadn't visited was Brazil. Brazil is an emerging nation, a powerhouse in Latin America and the world, really, with obviously petroleum and offshore drilling.

For more information, click here.

By Natario McKenzie

Source: Tribune 242

Image credit: Port of Sohar

It underwrites  the faith of the company of the potential of the North Batinah region to serve as a gateway for the cargo flows of Oman, the surrounding GCC countries and the Indian subcontinent. The ceremony was further attended by senior representatives of the shipping industry, China Harbour Construction Company, Sohar Industrial Port Company and OICT.

The construction will enable the consolidation of the existing and future container handling operations at Port of Sohar. It will have a total quay length of approximately 1 kilometer and 68 hectares container yard. The terminal will be outfitted with the 4 current quay cranes with 3 additional post-panamax quay cranes and 14 RTG's. The, for this region, unique deep water availability alongside OICT's Terminal C enables them to increase the size of container vessels to 9,000 TEU. The investments in this expansion are estimated to reach around OMR 50 million.

"One key achievement of the strong development of container volumes in Sohar is that they are being built based upon a captive market; a market that keeps expanding beyond the local horizon, even into the UAE. This will attract more mainliners in the near future, further reducing the logistics costs in the Omani supply chain. A consortium of large container shipping lines, the so-called "G6" is already expanding in using Sohar as their port of call. Combined with the transition of commercial cargoes from Muscat Port to Sohar by the end of this year and the fast pace development of Sohar Freezone, this will serve as a strong addition to the captive base", according to Mr. Andre Toet, CEO of Sohar Industrial Port Company.

"We truly believe that our expansion and the opportunities offered by Sohars' location will stimulate further increase of activities in Sohar. It will not only make Sohar more attractive to bring more transshipment cargo, it will also offer an excellent opportunity to bring back the Omani cargoes which are currently being served by neighboring country ports. This volume is estimated to be around 200.000 TEU per annum, approximately 25% of the total Omani domestic market", as Captain Rashid Jamil, CEO of OICT, quoted.

"This will increase the possibilities for the trade to increaser their logistic activities in Oman itself and therewith open up more local job opportunities."

The initiated expansion is seen only as phase I of the expansion of the container activities in Sohar. Whilst working on the current project, Port of Sohar and OICT are already looking into next phase opportunities, which will entail the development of Terminal D by 2018. This will open up an additional capacity of 2,5 mio TEU to embark on the rapid growing interest of shipping lines to use Sohar as an import hub in the region.

Source: Port of Sohar

At the meeting, the Greek Prime Minister said that COSCO Group enjoys the best reputation among all foreign companies in Greece, and COSCO Group has made tremendous contribution to the Greek economic developments. In many occasions, he acknowledged the collaboration between COSCO Group and Port of Piraeus as a well-exemplified model of Sino-Greek cooperation that is mutually beneficial and win-win.

Source: COSCO

The new publication is aimed at vessel and platform owner/operators and designers; ROV contractor representatives; client and contractor staff who prepare bid documents and contracts; installation and rig managers; vessel and ROV managers; and vessel designers and builders.

The purpose of IMCA R018 is to provide guidance on the installation of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) System, or Systems, on to vessels and/or platforms

It is not intended to be a definitive guideline; instead it is intended to assist vessel and platform owners to understand the outline requirements of installing and mobilising an ROV System, i.e. to highlight some of the questions that may need to be asked.

It can also be utilised in discussions with ship and platform owners, designers and fabricators/builders when build specifications are being prepared.

Sections of the 20-page document encompass ROV Classification; ROV System Layout; ROV System Services; Operational Requirements, and there is a useful appendix -Suggested ROV System Checklist.

Source: IMCA

Realising that EMSA's expertise can be used to improve maritime awareness, Frontex has requested operational support for the detection of various illegal activities at sea. Under the new agreement, EMSA will develop tailored monitoring services, information products, and tools.

Data from EMSA's Integrated Maritime Data Environment(IMDatE), including ship position reports and satellite images, will be provided to Frontex to enable them toconstruct a more comprehensive overview of activities at Europe's maritime borders.

This will build on previous pilot project services developed by EMSA for Frontex, and on integrated services which EMSA already offers to Member States and other EU bodies. EMSA's services will be provided to Frontex in the framework of joint operations at sea, and of EUROSUR, the European Border Surveillance System.

By strengthening information exchange and cooperation between MemberStates' authorities, EUROSUR aims to reduce the number of irregular migrants entering the EU undetected,prevent cross-border crime, as well as to assist search and rescue activities at the external maritime borders of theUnion.Information provided to the Member States by Frontex based on the EMSA services will be used for variouspurposes, such as

1. Surveillance of targeted ports and coasts

2. Tracking of suspect vessels over high seas

3. Monitoring sea areas for environmental purposes.In addition to maritime data

EMSA's support will also consist of a 24/7 helpdesk service, via the Maritime Suppor tServices operations centre, and training to analyse the data delivered.

By combining skills, experience and resources, EMSA and Frontex can build on synergies to improve the quality ofservices developed. Cooperation also brings cost savings by avoiding duplication of effort and overlappingin frastructures, and in terms of economies of scale.

The signing of the service level agreement brings existingcooperation between EMSA and Frontex to a new level, for the benefit of Member States.

Source: EMSA

A.P. Moller - Maersk won the IMO 2013 themed award: "Sustainable Development - IMO's contribution beyond Rio+20" in support of the IMO's theme for World Maritime Day for 2013, at the 25th annual Seatrade Awards ceremony held in London recently.

The award ceremony was held at the historic Guildhall, London, on Friday, 10 May, with over 350 of the maritime industry's key players celebrating the outstanding contributions made over the last year in shipping.

Jacob Sterling, Head of Environment & CSR at Maersk Line received the award from IMO Secretary-General, Koji Sekimizu on behalf of A.P. Moller - Maersk.

In his acceptance speech, Jacob spoke about the importance of sustainability in shipping: "Sustainability is becoming an integral part of the way we do shipping and how we have to do shipping in order to be successful. We need to be energy efficient not only to reduce CO2, but also to save costs and thereby improve profitability. We need to be a responsible global citizen not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it helps us foresee and mitigate risks to the business."

"We also see it as a great opportunity to help our customers reach their sustainability targets," continued Jacob. "In 2012, Maersk Line reached its 2020 target of reducing CO2 emissions by 25% per container (TEU) from its benchmark 2007 levels - eight years ahead of time. Maersk Line is now targeting a 40% reduction in CO2 per container (TEU) by 2020."

The Seatrade Awards programme promotes significant contributions and pioneering achievements from the industry. The independent judging panel chaired by Koji Sekimizu, Secretary-General of the IMO, selected the winners of the 2013 awards.

Source: Maersk

IMO's GloBallast Partnerships Project, which assists developing countries and their maritime industries for implementation of the international regulations on ballast water management to prevent the spread of alien invasive species, has won the 6th Marine BizTV International Maritime Award for "Best Innovative Project".

The award was presented during the 6th Marine BizTV International Maritime Award ceremony, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 15 May 2013.  The jury, in considering the most innovative and creative achievements of global and regional maritime organizations and their initiatives, agreed to award the IMO-UNDP-GEF GloBallast Partnerships Project the "Best Innovative Project" award for its role in catalyzing the global efforts to find innovative technological solutions for the management of ships' ballast water and its international position as a successful technical co-operation and capacity building project. The Project is executed by IMO with funding support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and  in partnership with the United Nations Development Agency (UNDP).

The award  honoured GloBallast's global impact in terms of preparing developing countries and their maritime industries for the implementation of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004, its role in assisting the maritime industry to overcome technical challenges through its pioneering Global Industry Alliance (GIA) initiative and for catalyzing significant global efforts to address one of the most pressing environmental issues that the maritime industry is currently facing.

"We're delighted and thrilled with this special recognition of our work", said Dr. Jose Matheickal, Chief Technical Adviser of the Project at IMO. "Innovation is firmly anchored in the GloBallast Project's delivery strategy to go beyond the original goals of the Project. We're consistently integrating this cornerstone into all our outreach and partnership strategies. This international award is a true recognition of the innovative and championing efforts of our lead partnering countries, regional coordination partners, global strategic partners including GEF and UNDP and members of the Programme Co-ordination Unit at IMO, who all played a key role in making this global project a true success story".

This is the third international award presented to the GloBallast project since its inception in 2000.  In 2003, GloBallast won the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and in 2007, the awareness-raising video documentary, "Invaders from the Sea", produced by GloBallast jointly with the BBC, won the Gold Award for Best UN Feature Film at the United Nations Documentary Film Festival.

Source: IMO