Monday, December 21, 2009
Top Story
Indian freighter adrift in North Pacific
A 740-foot cargo ship was disabled and floating adrift in high winds about 540 miles southwest of Adak on Sunday.
The ship, the APJ Suryavir, registered in India, was battling 30-foot seas and winds close to 60 mph during part of the day, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.
There were 28 people on board.
The crew planned to abandon ship and move to a rescue ship that was due to arrive at the scene late Sunday night, said Petty Officer Walter Shinn.
The ship was drifting to the east, away from the Aleutian Islands.
Another cargo ship, the Maersk Altair, was in the vicinity and answered a Coast Guard call for help. But it had to slow down due to the weather and wasn't expected to reach the APJ Suryavir until the middle of the night.
The APJ Suryavir was heading empty from China to the Columbia River in Oregon when the main engine failed and would not restart. The ship had sea water ballast in its tanks to add weight and stability but was still not stable enough for the harsh conditions, said Shinn.
-Anchorage Daily News
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Saade out as CEO at CMA-CGM, takes chairman post
The financially embattled French shipping group CMA CGM, the third-largest container carrier in the world, announced on Friday Philippe Soulie would be the new CEO and the company’s founder, Jacques Saade, would step out of that post and become chairman as the company goes through a $500 million credit lifeline arranged through financial partners.
"With this agreement, our financial partners are affirming confidence in the group. Our strategy to return to profitable growth is therefore proven to be valid," Saade said.
Soulie is a former top advisor at Alstom, an engineer of electric power plants. He is also the president of the Constructions Industrielles de la Mediterranee (Cnim), a construction contractor that builds waste-to-energy plants.
"The arrival of Philippe Soulie as CEO and experienced and independent board members, the group now has the resources to build on this new dynamic," said Sadde.
It has been reported that CMA-CGM’s financial creditors have been demanding Saade’s removal as CEO while the company’s $5.6 billion worth of debt is restructured. The level of the shipping line’s debt has been largely attributed to the ordering of 59 cargo ships.
The new credit bailout will "enable the group to pursue the current talks regarding its debt restructuring and a capital increase planned for the second half of 2010 with the arrival of new investors," the company said in a statement.
CMA CGM said partners are "expected to facilitate ongoing discussions with the Korean shipyards concerning the cancellation or the postponement of ships on order."
Saade out as CEO at CMA-CGM, takes chairman post
The financially embattled French shipping group CMA CGM, the third-largest container carrier in the world, announced on Friday Philippe Soulie would be the new CEO and the company’s founder, Jacques Saade, would step out of that post and become chairman as the company goes through a $500 million credit lifeline arranged through financial partners.
"With this agreement, our financial partners are affirming confidence in the group. Our strategy to return to profitable growth is therefore proven to be valid," Saade said.
Soulie is a former top advisor at Alstom, an engineer of electric power plants. He is also the president of the Constructions Industrielles de la Mediterranee (Cnim), a construction contractor that builds waste-to-energy plants.
"The arrival of Philippe Soulie as CEO and experienced and independent board members, the group now has the resources to build on this new dynamic," said Sadde.
It has been reported that CMA-CGM’s financial creditors have been demanding Saade’s removal as CEO while the company’s $5.6 billion worth of debt is restructured. The level of the shipping line’s debt has been largely attributed to the ordering of 59 cargo ships.
The new credit bailout will "enable the group to pursue the current talks regarding its debt restructuring and a capital increase planned for the second half of 2010 with the arrival of new investors," the company said in a statement.
CMA CGM said partners are "expected to facilitate ongoing discussions with the Korean shipyards concerning the cancellation or the postponement of ships on order."
MOL develops carbon reduction additive for ships
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) President: Akimitsu Ashida announced the development of a carbon-dioxide-reducing, efficiency-boosting fuel additive for merchant ships, in conjunction with TAIHOKOHZAI Co., Ltd., Japan's largest fuel additive manufacturer.
According to a statement by the Japanese shipping group, the additive TAICRUSH HD improves the ignition performance and sludge - carbon and sediment - dispersion in heavy fuel oils. The company said it reduces ignition delay and afterburning time by more than 30 percent compared to conventional fuel oil additives for large-scale vessels,
The new product was used on 106 voyages of a large-scale Japanese coastal ferry with a constant sailing schedule and was rarely affected by disturbance effects such as severe marine weather, MOL said.
MOL and TAIHOKOHZAI said they collected and analyzed data, conducted engine tests on shore and at sea, and verified fuel efficiency improvements ranging from 1.12 percent to 1.46 percent.
Retail web shipping deadlines extended after snowstorms
Retail Web sites have bumped back deadlines and offer free express shipping after weekend snowstorms kept holiday shoppers home in large areas of the East Coast.
Meanwhile, some bricks-and-mortar stores are extending early morning bargains that had been offered on Saturday through Wednesday.
Amazon.com has extended the cutoff for standard shipping by one day through Monday. Macy's Web site is offering free shipping through Monday, and J.C. Penney through Tuesday.
The moves are a bid to capture business from snowed-in shoppers in the final days before Christmas. The weekend before Christmas is one of the busiest of the year, but snow that stretched from the Carolinas to New England closed malls and kept shoppers off treacherous roads.
-AP
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