BOW WAVE 332

Bow Wave Issue 332--Live Industry Edition

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Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2006 WavyLine.com	Issue No 332 03 Apr 06
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. The Month of March 2006 in Marine
3. New Orleans Report
4. NI Dubai Do
5. Bulk Handlers in EC Probe
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Poem of the Week

Revelation

We make ourselves a place apart
Behind light words that tease and flout,
But oh, the agitated heart
Till someone really find us out.

'Tis pity if the case require
(Or so we say) that in the end
We speak the literal to inspire
The understanding of a friend.

But so with all, from babes that play
At hide-and-seek to God afar,
So all who hide too well away
Must speak and tell us where they are.

Robert Frost from from Collected Poems, Prose, & Plays

New Readers this week include:-

Caroline Collins and Simon Curtis of Curtis Davis Garrard
Li Ting of Air Forwarders AIT in Beijing
Louise Zumbeck of GMX in Germany
Nezam Ramdeen of SGS
Pabs Penalba of ICTSI Dubai

News of Readers

Carolyn Williams of the Lloyd's Risk Management Dept, after 23 years of service, is parting company with the Corporation. From July she will be taking up the post of Development Manager at the Institute of Risk Management.

Contact her at:-

c.williams14@ntlworld.com.

Readers Write

Mark Hooper of Scotland Yard's Truckpol has sent in word of the latest UK Lorry Theft Alerts. These can be seen at:

http://www.truckpol.com/alerts.htm

AfterOfficeHours News

The first edition of the Maritime Advocate On-line can be read on the AOH site's newslog. It went out in plain text but future editions are intended as before to go out as rather fancier html efforts. You can read the current edition by going to:-

http://afterofficehours.com/news.php

Note from the Editor

Many good things in this week--Items 2 and 3 are certainly well worth a few minutes to take in. Many thanks to our correspondents who bring the industry to life for us.

Enjoy.

2. The Month of March 2006 in Marine

Mario Ciancarelli writes:-

Dear Mariners,

March was blessed with some staggering Marine losses as "Hyundai Fortune", "Queen of the North" and "Star Princess" made the headlines. These events will hopefully stimulate underwriters to fine tune and steer terms and conditions in the only possible direction when looking at the coming renewals. The challenge is on and the loss burden of an estimated $400m won't be easy to digest.

The highlights of this month:-

--> Fairplay: Watch out for the interesting Special Reports in 2006 on the major maritime cities and clusters (Hong Kong, New York Connecticut,Bremen & Bremerhaven, Antwerp, Pireaus, Singapore, Genoa, Hamburg, Shanghai, Rotterdam and London).

--> New big boxship orders (10,000 TEU vessels) made by certain shipping lines could become a risky investment. Operation of these vessels must be at or near full capacity otherwise they become hideously expensive to run.

--> Daewoo takes globalisation seriously. The number 2 yard in the world with a full orderbook until 2009 worth $16.01bn intends to set up a global network of shipyards.

--> Hanjin Heavy Industries also to diversify its activities into the Philippines. A $720m investment in Subic Bay shipyard will overcome the space constraint back home in Korea and enable a new construction focus, away from the traditional container vessels, into LNG's and tanker
tonnage.

--> Aponte-Grimaldi, two of Italy's most important operators to coordinate schedules and vessel utilisation on the route Civitavecchia-Palermo.Where will these first common steps end up?

--> Innovation in Cargo tracking technology: Overseas Shippers Association have produced a device capable of positioning a container via the mobile phone network. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) "smart labels" now able to tag the goods themselves are estimated to experience a market growth of $1.2m in 2006 to $1.4bn in 2016. Is the long awaited Cargo accumulation control around the corner?

--> India will with increased intensity flex its industrial muscles. A study reveals that it will take up to 10 years before the country's transportation and port infrastructure will be up to the level of the industrial powerhouses in Asia and the western world. Watch out for the South Asian giant!

--> Who's cunning plan was that to look for early retirement?

--> Cash-in-transit market shaken by the Heros loss in Germany ($360m) and the Securitas cash depot loss in Kent (Euro75m).

--> WSRCC: New Swiss Re Cargo advisory schedule has been released for all the shipments after 1.3.2006.

--> IMB warns of trade fraud coming from Indonesia. Equation: Exporter + NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) = goods were never shipped!

--> Worldwide insurance and reinsurance losses related to the 2005 hurricane losses read $57.8bn says a benchmark analyst company.

--> Swiss Re's net income falls by 41% to CHF1.45bn in 2005 due to costliest hurricane season on record.

--> Commerzbank (lending portfolio of 1000 vessels or $7.6 bn at year end) argues that lower margins go hand in hand with better rating and credit standard of shipowners.

--> If only Marco Polo knew. Costa Crociere the first international cruise operator has been granted a license by the Chinese government to operate locally.

--> Ocean Shipping Consultants to asses the cruise passengers in the Asia Pacific region to reach 1.5m by the year 2010.

--> Al-Qaeda ideologist captured by the Saudi authorities argues that "Tankers are legitimate targets; incl. pipelines and other infrastructure controlled by the infidels. Wells should be spared though as they represent a lifeline for the producing country". Maybe something a hull underwriter might want to dwell upon when looking at a corresponding H&M slip!

--> Rating agencies: Do they really understand the ins and outs of the Reinsurance Industry? A debate at the WIF (World Insurance Forum) suggested that common standards would need to be put in place by the four big rating agencies to provide a sound basis of how to evaluate the Reinsurance sector. Voices were also raised to regulate the Reinsurance Industry on a global basis. Watch the sector's share price development in the future!

--> Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the world's fastest growing financial hub to receive the Industry Initiative of the Year award at The Review - Worldwide R einsurance Awards. One of DIFC key objectives: contribute to the development of the insurance & reinsurance industry in the region!

--> Major Japanese shipbuilders caught in a bid-rigging scandal on projects related to building water treatment plants. Fair Trade Commission started a full blown investigation.

--> US authorities to consider short-sea shipping in order to ease congestion by truck on domestic Cargo volume that is expected to increase by 70% by 2025. The 5000 dollar question will be whether it will be cheaper to move the goods by sea rather than by land!

--> "APL Panama" back on track after a 76 day-long pit stop. Hundreds of containers had to be off-loaded and the dredger "Francesco di Giorgio" had to dig a channel to clear the path for the containership.

--> Kühne + Nagel., the Swiss based sea and air freight operator reports in 2005 a turnover of CHF14.05bn-- up 21.5% year on year and net profit of CHF315m.

--> Bermuda to outgrow London market in reinsurance according to Robert Hiscox.

--> Turkish shipbuilding on a fast track with all the Yards in the Tuzla area with a full orderbook for the next 7 years. Able to build vessels up to 30,000 DWT and focusing on building ro-ro's, chemical tankers, cement carriers, LPG's and Megayachts, the shipbuilding industry injects $2bn in the national economy. But please, don't forget to charge for the earthquake exposure when pricing a Builders Risks account.

--> Royal Sun Alliance to expand its Marine endeavours and success story in South East Asia, Middle East and Latin America. The Group UK Marine business achieved a combined ratio of 85.5% in 2005 and the Marine Division won the title of Underwriter of the Year 2005. Nice Marine success story.

--> Top 10 Port Ranking 2005 (in millions of teus handled): Singapore 23.2, Hong Kong 22.4, Shanghai 18.0, Shenzen 16.2, Pusan 11.8, Kaohsiung 9.5, Rotterdam 9.3, Hamburg 8.1, Dubai 7.6, Los Angeles 7.4. Watch out for Shanghai next year. ........this year's growth compared to 2004 stands at a bewildering +24.3%!!

--> 1976 built General Cargo Carrier "Runner 4" goes diving in the Baltic sea. Oil slick found off Estonia's Northern Coast.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060313/sc_afp/estoniashippingenvironmentpollution_060313152334

--> Cyclone Larry: But this time down-under! Bill to exceed $1.5bn.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4823580.stm.

--> Panama Canal: Expansion plans that will be presented by the ACP (Autoridad del Canal de Panamà) to the Panamanian president by the end of this month will not go ahead unhindered.

http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_11/issue_09/business_01.html

--> "Hyundai Fortune", 1996 built, 68,363 DWT - 5,550TEU container vessel, ablaze off the coast of Yemen.
http://www.planet.nl/upload_mm/4/d/c/img-210306-112.onlineBild.jpg.

--> The "Hyundai Fortune" hull ($70m) is insured by Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance in South Korea with part of the placement finding a path into the London market. A 20-foot container and its cargo is typically valued at around $30,000 but a ship trading from the Far East to Europe carrying high-value commodities could easily lift the value to $100,000 each. This would make an overall cargo value in excess of $300m realistic; making also the ultimate loss bigger than the 2002 "Hanjin Pennsylvania" equivalent.7 containers with fireworks could have sparked the fire.
Exports mainly on a CIF basis!

--> Unrealistic loading rates at certain iron-ore terminals raises concern within the Dry-bulk owners association Intercargo. High speed loading resulting in an uneven or overloading of the ships leads to stress on the hull known as "hogging". This has broken the bones of many older bulkers such as the 22 year old 145,000DWT capesize "Trade Daring".

--> Is Iran really considering the switch from USD to EUROs in oil trading later this month? If so, the impact in pure economic terms would not only rock the US economy but also the global one. Depending on how the oil bills will be paid in the future, a switch could award the EURO reserve currency status!

--> RINA issued its first green passport to a 2006 built, 25,000 DWT chemical tanker. A voluntary step of the classification society in applying the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) guidelines on ship recycling.

--> Scrap voyages for tankers on the rise due to increased $-amount per light deadweight ton? Highest price tag for this year stands at $391.

--> Quote of the month: Ambition is the last refuge of failure. (Oscar Wilde)

Enjoy the first signs of a spluttering and wet spring...at least here in Zürich.

Regards,
Mario

3. New Orleans Report

Let us assume you are, like Henry Feste, a marine surveyor based in New Orleans. What sort of work has been coming in? What kind of variety? Well the list is rather long and the excellent report by Henry is accessible by clicking on the link below.

It is a model of its kind and the sort of report we are always delighted to carry.

We may well note that new claims are still being reported for these storms, even for damage to hulls. In the immediate aftermath of the storms, surveyors gave a lot of the locations on a cursory inspection, such was the anxiety of insurers to have some kind of rough idea of what was the worst of the picture. Now as life begins to return to reconstruction and a kind of normality, closer inspection of individual claims is turning up the hidden, the rotten and the shaken about damages which a first blush hid from the light of day.

http://www.wavyline.com/index.php

Henry can be contacted at:

MMK International Marine Services Inc.
2626 N. Arnoult Road, Suite 115
Metairie, LA 70002
504-454-2678 - phone
504-454-2796 - fax
504-908-5177 - cell
h.feste@mmkinc.com

4. NI Dubai Do

Kevin Leach-Smith the Honorary Secretary of the
Nautical Institute UAE Branch writes:-

The Nautical Institute AGM will be held on the 10/11 May 2006, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dubai. It is the first time this event has been held outside of the UK and the UAE branch are honoured to be the branch chosen to host it. As part of the proceedings we are hosting a 2 day conference entitled 'ISM & ISPS - Consequences & Benefits' culminating in a 'mock' arbitration. A cocktail reception and gala dinner are also offered as part of the event.

An exciting list of speakers and arbitration players has been compiled including representatives from various local and international industry bodies, shipping companies, law firms, P&I insurers, classification societies, training consultants and marine accident investigators.

A number of sponsorship options are available for those companies who wish to display a banner or stand or sponsor one of the coffee / meal breaks or evening events.

The event is being run at cost and any additional funds generated will be donated to the Mission to Seafarers.

For further information see:-

http://www.nautinst-uae.com/events.htm#agm

5. Bulk Handlers in EC Probe

Peter Carlo Lehrell writes:-

The European Commission has opened a detailed investigation under the EU Merger Regulation into Sea-Invest’s acquisition of joint control in EMO-EKOM. Both companies are cargo-handling companies mainly active in the loading, unloading and storage of iron ore and coal.

The Commission’s initial market investigation has found that the proposed transaction gives rise to competition concerns on the market for coal and iron ore terminal services at the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, including Zeeland, the so called ARA range.

A decision to open an in-depth inquiry does not prejudge the final result of the investigation. The Commission now has 90 working days (until 18 August 2006) to take a final decision on whether the concentration would significantly impede effective competition within the European Economic Area (EEA) or a significant part of it.

"It is crucial that the Commission carefully analyses the impact of this merger in view of increasing demand for cargo handling services for coal, limited customer choice and a risk of price increases." commented Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.

Sea Invest is a Belgian cargo handling company active in a number of ports in Belgium, France, Germany and South Africa. Among others Sea-Invest has sole control over the ABT terminal in Antwerp which provides cargo handling services for coal, iron ore and other dry bulk.

EMO-EKOM is a Dutch joint-venture providing cargo handling services for coal and iron ore in the port of Rotterdam. The current shareholders in EMO-EKOM are ThyssenKrupp Veerhaven B.V. ("TKV"), Manufrance BV and HES Beheer N.V. TKV is ThyssenKrupp Steel’s seaport forwarder for the port s of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp. HES holds stakes in a number of terminals handling dry bulk in the ports of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Zeeland, while Manufrance holds interests in dry bulk terminals in Amsterdam and Zeeland.

Iron ore and coal constitute an important input, in particular for power plants and steel factories.

During its initial investigation, the Commission has identified serious concerns that the acquisition by Sea Invest of joint control in EMO-EKOM may lead to
significant impediments to competition within the EEA. Both companies provide cargo handling services for coal and iron ore within the ARA range. Sea-Invest, a strong terminal operator for the handling of coal and iron ore would become associated with the market leader EMO-EKOM. Furthermore, the merger might also lead to co-ordination between Sea-Invest, EMO-EKOM and the other controlling shareholders of EMO-EKOM active in the coal and iron ore cargo handling market in the ARA range (HES and Manufrance).

Contact Peter at:-

Lehrell@aol.com

6. And Finally...

Once again, thanks to Frazer Hunt for these:-

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Can you read these right the first time?

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. 4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. 7) Since there is no time like the present , he thought it was time to present the present. 8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum 9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes. 10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row. 13) They were too close to the door to close it
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present. 15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line. 16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow. 17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear. 19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests. 20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England or
French fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"
You lovers of the English language might enjoy this . . .

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP , meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP . We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP .. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP . When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP .
One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP , so............ Time to shut UP ....!

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