The event is aimed at strengthening UK/China maritime ties

The best of the UK's maritime services sector will be showcased to the Chinese shipping community in Shanghai on 17 September at an event jointly hosted by Maritime London and the Shanghai Pudong Shipping Services Office.

Opened by the Lord Mayor of London Nick Anstee and Mr Dai Haibo, vice governor of Shanghai Pudong New Area, the event is aimed at opening up dialogue and reaffirming relationships between the Shanghai maritime community and UK maritime service providers and is part of the UK-China Financial & Professional Services Week.

Over 20 speakers from a range of orgnisations will give an insider's perspective into a range of maritime related topics including education, ship building and charter market outlook, container derivatives, arbitration and ship finance. Lord Clarke, Justice of the UK's Supreme Court will be joining the delegation and providing a judicial perspective of the UK's dispute resolution services.

There will also be the opportunity for one to one meetings with the participants which include Bankserve Insurance Services, Braemar Seascope, Holman Fenwick Willan, ICAP Shipping, Ince & Co, Lloyd's Register, Norton Rose, Southampton Solent University and the Baltic Exchange.

The event will also be used to distribute a Chinese version of the UK Maritime Services Directory, which contains the details of over 1000 UK based maritime service providers.

Maritime London chief executive Doug Barrow said: "This is a very high level delegation intended to strengthen ties between the UK and China and reaffirm the UK's status as partner of choice for many Chinese firms. We all know that the shipping markets will continue to shift eastwards and events such as this are designed to ensure that Chinese owners, charterers and shipyards continue to look to the UK for expert advice in all areas of shipping."

He added: "We are expecting over 250 key decision makers to attend this event and have worked closely with UK Trade & Investment, the Shanghai authorities, City of London and the China British Business Council to make this happen."

A full report will appear in the next issue of London Matters.

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Concerns that UK shipping businesses are already being affected by changes to immigration laws

The British government’s drive to lower net migration by reducing the availability of Tier 2 visa certificates is already having an impact on a wide range of UK based shipping companies and maritime services providers, according to specialist shipping industry recruiter and Maritime London member Faststream.

On 19 July 2010, the UK Border and Immigration Agency introduced a temporary cap on the total number of Sponsored Skilled General (Tier 2) visas that will be issued whilst it consults on a permanent limit.

“This move has effectively rendered many shipping companies’ sponsor licences useless and a number of our clients are expressing serious concerns that they won’t be able to fill crucial UK based vacancies in the coming months. Two large ship owners have told us they have been issued with a zero quota, meaning they will not be able able to employ any new non European Economic Area (EAA) citizen in the coming months as well as having to worry about going to appeal for existing non EEA employees whose visas will shortly expire,” said Mark Charman, Faststream’s Group CEO.

He added: “We have heard of candidates having their job offers withdrawn as companies find that they cannot recruit them. The system is a mess and is having an impact on the ability of companies to utilise mobile, highly skilled labour. Whether for technical or commercial job roles, there are simply not enough qualified EEA candidates to fill all of the positions in the UK shore-based maritime job market. We can expect to see a knock on effect in a rise in costs for businesses as they are forced to pay higher salaries for EEA candidates.”

With the exception of marine civil engineers, the UK government’s Skills Shortage List does not currently classify any shore-based maritime role as exempt from the licence system. Seafarers serving on UK-flag vessels are however on the list.

The temporary cap limits the number of visas for the most highly skilled workers in Tier 1 to 5,400 – the same levels as 2009. Tier 2 workers – skilled migrants who fulfil a specific UK job offer – will also be reduced by 1,300 to 18,700 until April 2011.

A consultation period for views on what level the permanent cap should be set next year closes in September.

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Asia focus for the Baltic Exchange

The Baltic Exchange has started reporting and publishing a selection of its existing dry supramax routes during the Asian working day. Since 1 September it has been publishing the Baltic Exchange Supramax - Asia (BESA) at 1500 (Singapore).

The BESA comprises:
S6 - South Korea/Japan range trip via Australia redelivery India; S7 - Delivery EC India trip China; S8 - Delivery China/Taiwan range trip via Indonesia redelivery EC India and S7 IV - Implied voyage Vizag to Qingdao

The Asian routes will be reported on by a new panel of Asian shipbrokers and will be coordinated from the Baltic Exchange’s Singapore office. The Baltic has increased its resources in Singapore to provide the new service.

Announcing the move, Baltic Exchange chief executive Jeremy Penn said: "We are determined to be effective in serving our members in Asia and this is an important step which recognises the reshaping of the global shipping market in recent years. By moving as far as we can in reporting the market during the Asian working day we believe we will stimulate more activity, both in the physical market and in the derivatives market, which in turn will allow us to go further in terms of when and what we report.”

He added: “In making this move we believe we are also serving our members in all parts of the world by helping maintain the consensus around the Baltic Exchange and its route assessments and indices." Welcoming the news, Hong Kong based Raghu Raghunath, Senior Vice President, Chartering at Noble Group said: “This is an important development and one which will deliver a welcome boost to the FFA market. I am delighted that the Baltic is launching this service.”

The Baltic Exchange already reports on four tanker routes and three Time Charter Equivalents during the Asian day. The routes being reported during the Asian working day do not form part of the Baltic Exchange Supramax Index which will continue to be published at 1300 (London).

They are based on the following vessel description:

Standard "Tess 52" type vessel with grabs as follows:
52,454 mt dwt self trimming single deck bulkcarrier on 12.02 m ssw
189.99 m LOA 32.26 m Beam 5ho/ha 67,756 cum.grain 65,600 cum.bale
14L /14.5B on 30mt (380 cst) no mdo at sea
Cr 4 x 30 mt with 12 cum grabs
Maximum age - 10 years

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The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) has issued a gloomy assessment of the shipping markets ahead of its annual conference being held in Zurich next week. IUMI president Deirdre Littlefield said that shipowners and marine underwriters have reached another crossroads at a time when they need a period of stability to take stock and plan ahead for the future. This is picked up by the conference theme “Marine Insurance - Meeting the Challenge of the New Decade”.

As usual London will have a strong presence at IUMI with Peter McIntosh of Lloyd’s putting the spotlight on slow steaming, sulphur emissions and fuel management.

Gerry Williams, chief surveyor, hull/machinery, Europe, BMT Marine & Offshore Surveys, will be among those contributing their views. Back in January IUMI predicted that if a general recovery in the shipping industry did materialise this year, it would be slow and painful. Now it says: “When more than 500 marine underwriters from around the world meet in Zurich in three weeks’ time, for IUMI’s annual conference, they may well be asking if the recovery has not stalled altogether.”

IUMI notes that, as the world economy struggles to recover from the worst recession in living memory, the threat of a ‘double-dip’ situation has re-emerged.

Against this downbeat prognosis, IUMI says, the shipping industry presents something of a conundrum. Container trades are in recovery mode, but other major freight markets are again looking fragile as reduced cargo flows coincide with a huge influx of new vessels coming from shipyards. A big factor is that demand for commodities in China has softened significantly, dragging down both charter and spot rates, and there have been reports of Chinese-controlled vessels being temporarily laid up. Overall, there are indications that China’s economy is cooling.

Ms Littlefield said: “Despite the increase in capacity due to the influx of new tonnage, much of which was ordered when owners were riding the boom, paradoxically there are still newbuild orders being placed, especially by Greek owners. Yet many owners need urgently to refinance a considerable amount of debt, so the future for some operators is a hard one to call.”

She added: “For underwriters, statistically speaking, a much younger profile for the world fleet should signal fewer ship casualties and claims. At the same time, however, we can anticipate landslide changes in shipping over the next 10 years as vessels and ports expand in size and a whole new raft of technological advances fall into place, making ships increasingly more complex to operate.”

The IUMI president concluded that there are many challenges on the horizon for underwriters but at present, however, they have to cope with the threat of more intense competition if some capital providers behind companies and syndicates decide to move capacity into marine from the very difficult offshore energy market.

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Danish shipowning giant AP Moller – Maersk's main container operation Maersk Line, which absorbed P&O Nedlloyd five years ago, says that slow steaming will continue even when the market recovers. A statement suggests Maersk has reduced speeds by 20%, which would indicate service speeds for the large vessels on the long-haul routes of about 19 knots. The line's most compelling argument for slow steaming, at least when selling the concept to shippers, is that schedule reliability improves because slow speed allows vessels to continuously adjust speed in order to deliver the cargo exactly on time.

Maersk Line says it has a goal of 95% schedule reliability and is, according to Maritime London member Drewry Shipping Consultants, already well under way. From April to June 2010, it had a 77% on-time performance score with the closest competitors ranging from 59% - 64%. The 28 June review by the Liner Management Board in Maersk Line decided slow steaming will continue, “still with a keen eye for satisfying consumer demand”.

A statement says that with prospects still murky for the global economy the company is “setting out a clear course for slow steaming”.

On the future of slow steaming the statement stresses: “It’s here to stay. It reinforces Maersk Line’s status as most reliable carrier. It was easy to argue in favour of slow steaming back when the crisis wreaked havoc in international box shipping. Not only does slow steaming save energy and cut CO2 emissions, it also took boxes out of circulation, thereby stopping rates from tail-spinning. Slow steaming in fact absorbed 4.1% of the global fleet at one point, which in turn helped balance supply and demand, according to Alphaliner.”

It continues: “Now, with the global economy still shaky, but maybe improving, a formula for slow steaming’s future has been found.”

Maersk Line CEO Eivind Kolding is quoted as saying: “For Maersk Line slow steaming is here to stay because it remains a win-win-win situation. It is better for our customers, better for the environment, and better for our business. We believe we serve our customers best by steadily improving schedule reliability, by keeping fuel costs down, and by continuing to improve on our carbon footprint. The cost savings will enable us to further invest in innovation and improved service, for example with more efficiency at terminals.”

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After initially questioning the basis on which leases of potential offshore wind farm sites were being offered by the Crown Estates, the Chamber of Shipping has now adopted a position of clear opposition to the current process for allocating wind farm sites around the UK coast. While it initially just called for a dialogue on the issue, the Chamber is now lobbying the government, the Crown Estates and the developers for a radical change to the way developments are approved.

In a statement the Chamber now says the government is wasting time and money on an “absurd” and flawed process that also threatens the nation’s trade routes and the safety of seafarers. It could even mean, the Chamber argues, that the environmental benefits of wind generation are lost due to the lengthy diversions forced on traditionally powered ships.

The Chamber is advocating that the major shipping trade routes, lanes and subsidiary routes used by commercial, non-commercial and fishing vessels around the UK should be clearly designated and preserved. It says the government should bring together all relevant departments and bodies which have an interest for central discussions aimed at identifying current and future shipping routes around the UK coastline which are considered essential and of commercial significance. This would give “clear and agreed direction”, over and above the current guidance, to all parties on those areas where developments will not be accepted, prior to the submission of individual development tender processes and applications.

“All too often, shipping and other users of our seas are not taken into account or consulted until after the sites have been designed,” says Saurabh Sachdeva, Nautical Consultant at the Chamber of Shipping. “By this time, a substantial sum of money has already been spent by the developers on economic and environmental assessments, making them naturally defensive of the proposed sites and not receptive to suggestions that the sites are unsuitable because of concerns over maritime safety or negative economic impact on shipping and other industries,” he adds.

Shipping interests fully recognise, the Chamber argues, the importance of renewable energy sources and especially offshore wind. They also stand to benefit commercially since offshore wind generation offers significant market opportunities both in the UK and later, through ‘first mover’ expertise, elsewhere in the world. Maritime sectors that may see business opportunities include the ports, survey vessels, offshore construction vessels, jack-up rigs, maintenance vessels and cable layers.

The Chamber says: “There is a lot to gain, but shipping believes that it must not be at the expense of safety for seafarers or risk to our trade routes. Such risks can be removed by ensuring that the safety of navigation and potential impact on trade routes are considered at an early a stage when identifying and deciding on future wind farm sites.”

The current process, it claims, is “neither simple nor rational” and on several occasions developers “have failed to apply the government’s marine safety codes, guidance and policies in a coherent and transparent manner”.

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The life of Onassis on stage in London from the end of September

The life of the late Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis will be brought to the stage this September with the opening of a new play in London’s Novello theatre: Onassis.

According to the Novello, this play, which stars Robert Lindsay as Onassis, aims to examine "how those with great wealth and political influence live their lives detached from the moral code and realities of ordinary mortals.”

Written by Martin Sherman, the play is based on the last years in the life of Onassis, including his complex connections and interwoven relationships with Jackie Kennedy, widow of President John F Kennedy, singer Maria Callas and his son Alexandros.

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Maritime London member Maritime Education & Training Limited (METL) provides evening classes in central London for the Professional Qualifying Examinations leading to membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.

The next new term will start on Monday, 13 September 2010. Anyone interested in enrolling please contact METL via email to admin@metl.info or visit www.metl.info

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Shieldhall

Next week the former sludge barge Shieldhall will be the target of an ‘attack’ by pirates in the Solent. The historic steamship is being used by Channel Islands-based company Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre (MMWC) to demonstrate its new Propeller Arrester system. The 'pirates' will use a small craft ('skiff”) to attempt to board the Shieldhall. The plan is that the skiff will be caught up in the Propeller Arrester while communication is maintained with naval and coastguard agencies.

MMWC says it will recreate a full briefing as if the ship were about to enter the Gulf of Aden, demonstrating crew training, intelligence briefings, and watch-keeping using MMWC’s new bridge-installed security radar. Anti-piracy and maritime security specialist MMWC has developed the innovative device to improve the safety of shipping in high-risk piracy areas. It says the Propeller Arrester creates an impenetrable security perimeter around a vessel which, when crossed, causes failure of the attacking vessel’s propulsion, rendering it disabled. Rigged to heavy-duty booms and deployed prior to entering high-risk areas, the Propeller Arrester releases lines of strong buoyant rope which float on the surface of the water, without interfering with the deploying vessel’s own propeller.

MMWC chief executive Nick Davis says, “The Propeller Arrester offers, for the first time, a non-lethal countermeasure that is capable of stopping single and multiple-vessel attacks by preventing the attackers getting close enough to effect a means of contact prior to boarding. It is reusable, repairable and a fraction of the cost of having an armed or unarmed team on board. Until now, shipping companies have had a major disadvantage in that, by the time onboard countermeasures to protect against unlawful boarding have become effective, the pirates are already on board. That is not the case with the Propeller Arrester which, if used as part of a layered defence system and operated by well-trained crew, will enable ships to prevent attacking vessels getting close enough to attempt boarding, or will at least make them such an unattractive target that the pirates will look for alternatives.”

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London Matters runs a short piece each issue covering a maritime related charity. If you have a charity story or campaign you would like to see highlighted to London Matters' 11,000 + readers, please contact the editor Bill Lines. E: blines@maritimelondon.com

This week the Maritime London member Philip Purdie writes:

I am President of the Society of London Ragamuffins in 2010/11. Please see our website at www.londonragamuffins.org.uk. We are particularly interested in recruiting new members. A big contingent of members are ex-seagoing, like myself, and still involved in the shipping industry. For over one hundred years, this Society of London professionals has been helping under-privileged children, both by grants and via projects, and enjoying one another's company and friendship at organised events throughout the year.

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