BOW WAVE 393

Bow Wave Issue 393--Month in Marine Edition

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(c)2007 WavyLine.com	Issue No 393 04 Jun 07
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. The Month of May in Marine
3. Shattering Shipping Myths
4. CMR Applies
5. ISS Relaunches Website
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Poem of the Week

The Wind Blows High

The wind the wind the wind blows high
the rain comes scattering down the sky
she is handsome she is pretty
she is the girl of the golden city
she goes acourting one two three
please and tell me who is she

Gerry Johnson says he loves her
all the boys are fighting for her
let the boys say what they will
Gerry Johnson loves her still

he loves her he kisses her he sets her on his knee he says dear darling won't you marry me?
he says tomorrow and she says today
so lets get a taxi and drive them away

Skipping Song, Anonymous

New Readers this week include:-

Alex Mizzi of Camilleri Preziosi
Andrew Ford of brokers JISLondon
Giacomo Madia of Banchero Costa in Genoa
Simon Lisiecki of BP Shipping Ltd in London
Sebastian Deutsch of JISChile in Santiago
Fires and Explosions expert Dr J B Kelman of CWA

Readers Write

Reader Bill Gingle, on the last stage of his journey on board the Grimaldi ship "Grande San Paolo" has sent in the final instalment of his traveller's diary:-

ARRIVAL MESSAGE.

Well not quite yet. we are steaming down the muddy Parana River through the wetlands from Zarate towards Buenos Aires. Although only a distance of 70km to the River Plate, it takes about 5 hours travelling slowly because it needs extreme care to be taken with our 10 metre draught. but a wonderful view from the bridge.

We will dock tonight and disembark early saturday, so it is a tight schedule to make the first test match in Sante-Fe - 300km north. since leaving Brasil in 30 degree heat the weather thereafter got very cold as we moved to the south atlantic. now i know what it must have been like in the Falklands, 15 degrees further south. On the way here we passed close to Montevido and the site of the German battleship, Graf Spee, scuttled by her captain in 1941.

So to sum up- travelled 7,500 n. miles. visited-15 ports/10 Countries. journey time; 35 days. shared; 103 meals and 3 birthdays with my fellow passengers. seasick: 0 unused: boots travel sickness tablets. spotted: 2 whales and 2 dolphins. illness: gout in left big toe. acquired: suntan, moustace, new friends, knowledge of the Swiss. replacement Captain. 1. Anyway the full trip will be serialised in the Sunday Times in the autumn, but if you cannot wait that long-my fellow passengers-Ruth and Peter Zaugg will be posting the trip to their web site on reaching terra firma. text is in German but the pictures speak for themselves at:-

http://www.traveljoy.com

Bye for now. it has been a wonderful experience. rugby match reports available from Reuters. bill

Note from the Editor

Another fine monthly note from Jason Copland tops our contents this week. These summaries are well appreciated by our Readers and help to fix the flux of events.

Enjoy!

2. The Month of May in Marine

Jason Copland writes:-

A good month for public holidays with at least two days off in many countries, there was still plenty of time for things to happen though....

1 May Labour Day in many countries of the world and many people celebrated by not doing any.

1 May Obviously some work being done somewhere today as the president of the EU signs double-hull legislation meaning only double hulls can fly EU member country flags and enter EU waters.

2 May More shipbuilding capacity on the way as Vinashin starts work on a new US$106 million shipyard in the Mekong delta to produce ships upto 70,000 GT.

3 May The EU commission gives the father's approval for the proposed wedding of Norsk Hydro and Statoil

4 May Shipbuilding again, China's Dalian Shipyard ranks Number 5 in terms of tons on order with 2.8 mill GT. Full story and the rest of the League Table here:
http://www.marinelink.com/Story/ShowStory.aspx?StoryID=207027

4 May The 22nd Marine Forum in South Africa kicks off at the Mount Grace hotel near Johannesburg. Great location, good hotel, good food (and some wine) nice people and the content of the presentations wasn't bad either! We had some excellent insights into doing marine business in Africa, especially understanding the difference between the paper story and reality of risks; why Monday is a bad day if you want to be moving money around and some reasons why "MSC Napoli" won't be forgotten quickly in the South African market.

4 May At least 22 Haitan migrants died and a further 50 are still missing after their boat capsized in shark infested waters near the Turks and Caicos islands.

5 May US Navy commissions the newest nuclear submarine "USS Hawaii" with the famous words "Man our ship and bring her to life" spoken by the governor of Hawaii.

7 May Panama moves a step closer to expansion of the canal with the release of the first tender for excavation of a new channel forming part of the plan to double the canal's traffic handling capability.

8 May AM Bests confirms an "A" rating for Glacier Re following its US$ 55 million profit and 77.6% combined ratio for 2006.

9 May Two British yacht companies team up to build superyachts: Oyster Marine commissions Dubois to build Oyster 100 and Oyster 125 superyachts.

9 May Indian proposes a national pool of drilling rigs to avoid delay in drilling exploration. Petroleum and Natural Gas (Pang?) Ministry explained that companies had faced difficulties due to shortage of rigs.

9 May Spotts Dock in the Cayman Islands becomes out of bounds for visiting cruise ships as the government bans such ships to protect the islands' coral. Apparently one large cruise ship moored for a day can destroy an acre of coral reef, ships that can maintain position without anchoring will still be allowed.

9 May SCOR delays its offer for Converium again following a recommendation from the Swiss Takeover Board because of possible delays due to Converium's legal action launched in the USA.

9 May Swiss Re profits for the first quarter show CHF 1.33bn - helped in no small part by the GBP 600mn received for the sale of the Gherkin.

10 May Haitian survivors from the capsize disaster (see above) claim their boat was rammed by local coastguard vessel causing capsize - claim under investigation.

10 May Meyer Werft continues building the shipbuilders of tomorrow and offers 60 apprenticeships this year

10 May Bahrain announces its intention to become a regional financial centre going into direct competition with Dubai's DIFC. Insurance income in Bahrain for 2006 rose by 22% according to the Central Bank of Bahrain.

10 May In an abrupt about-turn surprising many, Converium announces that it will recommend acceptance of SCOR's improved offer to shareholders thus ending its vehement defence of independence.

11 May Hapag Lloyd's "Paris Express" loses 21 containers overboard in heavy weather and creates foam covered beaches as Styrofoam packing begins washing ashore in North Carolina. HL is already involved in the cleaning up operation.

14 May Technology helps come to the rescue of 5 sailors in the Pacific, 60 NM from Saipan after fire broke out on the Solomon Islands "Hairosi". Global Positioning and EPIRB signals detected by a satellite 1,200 miles away were relayed a ground station on Guam and thence to the US Coastguard who coordinated the rescue with the "USNS Shasta"

14 May 16 sailors from a South Korean vessel are missing after their ship sank following a collision with the 14,000 ton Chinese ship "JinSheng". The crew of the Chinese vessel are all safe and returned to Dalian.

14 May There'll soon be more reasons than holiday to visit Barbados as the first round of bidding for offshore exploration contracts is expected in June. Rumours of new large reserves of oil and gas have excited the oil majors.

14 May United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) vessel "Ibn Younos" 15,455GRT catches fire and is badly damaged after being struck by a rocket propelled grenade during a pirate attack 190NM off Somalia, more details here:
http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/item603_pirate_attack.htm

14 May (lots happened on the 14th it seems) Passenger vessel "Empress of the North" runs aground 50 NM off Juneau, Alaska and begins listing and taking on water. All passengers and 33 crew safely rescued and a National
Transportation Safety Board investigation gets under way.

14 May American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) signs a Joint Cooperation Agreement with the VR (Vietnamese Register). Part of the deal will be that ABS will train VR surveyors to ABS standards.

15 May Swede Karin Stahre Janson becomes the first female captain of a cruise ship as Royal Caribbean names her as the captain of the "Monarch of the Seas" giving her responsibility for 880 feet of ship, 14 storeys,
2,400 passengers and 850 crew - perhaps this will lead to a reduction in insurance premium as women drivers have a proven better safety record than men.

15 May Asian countries are planning to spend around US$ 108bn over the next ten years to bulk up their naval capabilities with modern frigates making up a quarter of the purchases- this will put them ahead of Britain and the US.

16 May SCOR and Converium's ratings are placed under review by AM Best following the merger agreement as it needs time to "evaluate the impacts".

16 May Greek tanker "Minerva Concert" runs aground off Samsoe in Denmark en route to Rotterdam while carrying 81,200 tons of crude oil. No apparent leakage so far.

16 May Bermudan reinsurer Flagstone Re gets an "A-" rating from Fitch - it gets the same rating for its Swiss operation in Martigny.

16 May Laura Mabel Francatelli's life jacket goes up for auction at Christies today. It's expected to reach around GBP 80,000 - that's a lot of money for a second hand used life jacket but this particular one was used, once, on the night of the 14 April 1912 and is from the "Titanic" and is signed by the fellow surviving passengers who shared the lifeboat.

17 May Singapore will host a major naval exercise with around 18 warships to take part at the weekend to practice dealing with maritime security threats. Navies attending include China, the USA, Japan, Russia and France.

17 May Michael Groves, security officer on cruise vessel "Seabourn Spirit" is awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his actions when his vessel was attacked by pirates, full story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6664677.stm

17 May Looking for a change in career? How about being CEO for a captive? Based in the Cayman Islands - I can think of worse places - the ideal candidate is described as having knowledge of captive business (I can see how that would be an advantage) and a willingness to travel. See this days Insurance Day for more information.

17 May Sinking confidence leads to the relieve of command from "USS Helena" submarine for Cmdr Schwalm. Full story here:
http://www.marinelink.com/Story/ShowStory.aspx?StoryID=207169

19 May Costa Crociere's new flagship cruise vessel "Costa Serena" to be named today in Marseilles,
"Costa Serena" has 114,000 dwt and room for 3,780 passengers.

20 May 4 Ukrainian crew of 34 foot sailing vessel "Amerauto" are rescued by the guided missile carrier "Anzio" following a distress call as vessel begins sinking 425 miles from Bermuda.

21 May "Liberty of the Seas" gets the champagne
treatment as the vessel is official named at a
ceremony at the Port of Miami. Liberty is Royal
Caribbean's 21st cruise ship and the world's joint largest cruise ship with it's sister
"Freedom of the Seas" at 160,000GRT.

21 May Disaster befalls the 19th Century tea clipper "Cutty Sark" with a fire causing serious damages. Full story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6675381.stm

21 May Celebrity cruises orders a 4th Solstice class cruise vessel from Jos. L Meyer. The 122,000 GRT vessel should be delivered in 2011 and will bring Celebrity's fleet up to 11 vessels.

21 May The last of the 2,300 containers from the "MSC Napoli" is finally removed meaning that a full investigation into the casualty can now begin.

21 May The World Food Programme stops its efforts to send food by sea to Somalia after a pirate attack on a relief vessel in which a guard was killed.
Three vessels were boarded by pirates during this week.

22 May Norway helps fund Vietnam's shipbuilding
industry by investing US$ 4 million in human resource for shipbuilding and quality management.
22 May The US Maritime Administration MarAd issues an increased piracy warning for US flagged or controlled vessels for Somalia following recent piracy attacks there.

22 May Iraq is planning to use small tankers to navigate in the Gulf and the Shat Al Arab. The Iraq Tanker Company will invite tenders to build the vessels.

23 May The Royal Navy will get a new toy. The 7,800 ton nuclear powered attack submarine will be named "HMS Audacious" and will be the 4th in the Astute class submarines.

23 May The 11,000 TEU newbuilding "Ebba Maersk" for Maersk lines was named at Odense.

25 May The long running settlement dispute over the World trade Centre losses nears a conclusion as
insurers agree on a deal to pay around US$ 2 bn.

30 May Able UK scraps its contract to scrap the "ghost ships" story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tees/6703827.stm

Disclaimer Any opinion expressed in this newsletter should be regarded as the personal opinion of Jason Copland and not one made in his capacity as an employee of Swiss Re and any such opinion is not the opinion of Swiss Re, of any of its affiliated companies or of any of its officers or employees. Accordingly, Swiss Re hereby expressly disclaims any liability, loss, cost or expenses arising directly or indirectly from the content or expression of views of this newsletter or of other Websites to which this Newsletter may provide a link.

3. Shattering Shipping Myths

In this month's Far Eastern Economic Review there is a review by Charles de Trenck which has a long hard look at the container industry--an area on which it is always interesting to hear his views. Here is an extract:-

Single asset companies typically have financials which are easier to forecast. Dry bulk shipping is straight forward. You know the operating costs per day and you have ample information on daily charter rates for all types of vessels. But container shipping forecasting is more like black magic. You know the nominal revenues per teu, and the teu volumes, and therefore the revenues. But on the costs side, you are given pro forma estimates for costs per teu but little actual information for things such as actual port-handling charges paid, charter hire per ship, Europe and U.S. landside costs, etc.

But here is something that has yet to be factored in: In 2001-02, at the market bottom you could order a 6,000 teu ship for $60 million for delivery in 2004-05. But in 2006 you had to order the same ship for $100 million for 2009 delivery. The addi tional depreciation cost works out to about $4,300 per day based on 25 years depreciable life. The additional debt service cost on the asset based on 70% debt and a 200 basis-point increase in financing is about an additional $1,500 per day. In other words, at $5,800 extra per day before higher crew and operating costs, the asset cost component of your business is $1 per teu per day, or $350 per teu per year. This means that,given average revenue per teu is $1,300 to $1,500 per year, revenues need to rise 10% per unit based on replacing about half of one’s assets in the coming few years.

Contact Charles if you would like to see the full article He is the head of Asia transport research at Citigroup and has followed shipping since the mid-1990s.

charles.detrenck@citi.com

4. CMR Applies

The recent case note sent out by Messrs. Clyde & Co on the UPS CMR Case before the House of Lords is a good example of how to do it. Unlike many efforts by law firms who like to present cases in which they have been involved, it is not buried behind notices of new appointments, it is short and to the point and it allows a bit of bragging without any hint of an obnoxious aftertaste. Read the note in full which has been lodged on the ITS Weblog

http://www.its-insurance.com/

5. ISS Relaunches Website

Donna Noble of Inchcape Shipping Services has passed on word that the firm has relaunched its website under the aegis of Suzy McGregor.

http://www.iss-shipping.com

6. And Finally...

Very good intervention this week from Frazer Hunt:-

REAL NEWSPAPER ADS from Forrest in Califoria-thanks

FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old. Hateful little dog. Bites.

FREE PUPPIES:
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbor's dog.

FREE PUPPIES...
Mother, AKC German Shepherd.
Father, Super Dog...able to leap tall fences in a single bound.

FOUND DIRTY WHITE DOG.
Looks like a rat .. been out a while.
Better be a reward.

For Sale: COWS: NEVER BRED.
Also 1 GAY bull for sale.

NORDIC TRACK
$300 Hardly used, call Chubby.

JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer $300.

WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE.
WORN ONCE BY MISTAKE.
Call Stephanie.

AND THE BEST ONE:

FOR SALE BY OWNER:
Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, 45 volumes. Excellent condition.
$1,000 or best offer.
No longer needed, got married last month. Wife knows everything.

P.S. These are always good:-

The Washington Post's Style Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's winners:

1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.

8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease.

9. Karmageddon (n): It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

10. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.

12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.

And the pick of the literature:

16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and the other thing (we introduce this euphemism to avoid the triggering of a thousand e-mail filters--ed)

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