Straits Times News

An oil spill off southern Singapore has spread to other areas of the island's coast and is threatening a marine reserve, government agencies said, adding that authorities were intensifying efforts to mop up the fuel.The oil spilled into Singaporean waters after a Netherlands-flagged dredger struck a stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel on Friday afternoon in the southern port of Pasir Panjang. The dredger Vox Mariner had reported a sudden loss in engine and steering control before its allision with bunker vessel Marine Honour.

A tanker berthed at Jurong Port Tank Terminals (JPTT) caught fire on Tuesday, with smoke observed on the forward part of the tanker, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has informed.Singapore Civil Defence Force marine and land-based firefighting forces, MPA patrol craft, and JPTT’s emergency response unit were deployed to put out the fire and ensure navigational safety.As a precautionary measure, operations at the adjacent berths have stopped, and a nearby vessel at the berth has been shifted to the anchorage."The fire was extinguished at about 0925 hours, and the tanker’s crew are all safe and accounted for. There is no damage to the tanks and berths at JPTT.

The captain of a Vietnamese oil tanker has been jailed for over five years in Singapore for his role in a scheme that saw around $150 million of oil stolen from Shell's biggest refinery over several years.Doan Xuan Than, 47, was sentenced to 66 months in prison on Thursday, a spokesman for the State Courts of Singapore said, becoming the second person jailed in a case that also involves former employees of Royal Dutch Shell who allegedly conspired to siphon oil from the firm's Singapore refinery.The theft…

Indonesian police on Thursday questioned the captain and crew of a luxury yacht in Bali at the request of U.S. authorities, probing alleged money laundering at a Malaysian state fund, they said. The yacht was impounded in Bali on Wednesday amid a multi-billion dollar corruption investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and tied to Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Police seized the yacht, Equanimity, after receiving a letter on Feb. 21 from the U.S.

Singapore-based offshore shipbuilder Otto Marine is seeking insolvency protection from the High Court in a bid to salvage the company and stave off liquidation. According to a report in the Straits Times, crippled with a debt of US$877 million (S$1.16 billion), the troubled company, which is delisted from the Singapore Exchange (SGX), filed an application last week to be placed under judicial management. The company  has applied for an interim judicial manager to be appointed, pending the hearing of its judicial management application. The hearing has been adjourned to March 12. According to Bloomberg, shipbuilder wants to turn itself around under the court’s supervision and fend off creditors while it restructures its debt, according to its Feb. 20 application for judicial management.

A number of former executives of Keppel Corp have been arrested by Singaporean authorities in a probe related to charges its rig-building unit bribed Brazilian officials, Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper reported. The report said that  six executives had been arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), including Tay Kim Hock, former president and chief executive of Keppel Fels Brasil, and are currently out on bail. The former Keppel executives were reported to have been called in for questioning relating to a corruption scandal that saw Keppel agreeing to $422.2m in penalties in the US, Brazil and Singapore. According to Reuters…

South Korean shipper Pan Ocean has won a 1.98 trillion won ($1.82 billion) contract to transport iron ore over a period of 27 years for Brazilian mining giant Vale, Reuters reported. The South Korea company said in a regulatory filing that it is set to carry iron ore from Brazil to China from January 2020 to August 2047. According to Straits TImes, the contract commences from the first quarter of 2020. "The main objective of the company for entering into this COA is to secure a stabilised source of revenue and profit," said Pan Ocean. Pan Ocean also said it has placed orders worth 483 billion won with a Chinese shipbuilder for six very large ore carriers. The new ships are intended to be employed on long-term cargo contracts. The ships are scheduled to be delivered by September 2021.

China’s Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings reported a 73 percent increase in second-quarter net profit, helped by higher revenue from the construction of larger-size vessels,  Reuters reported. The company, which specialises in dry-bulk carriers,  posted a net profit of 719.92 million yuan (S$146 million) for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017. Revenue increased 27 per cent year on year to 3.79 billion yuan in Q2 due to higher contributions across its different businesses. The revenue derived from its shipbuilding business increased 25 per cent mainly due to higher volume of shipbuilding activities with construction of larger-sized vessels.

Perkins 4.4TW2GM auxiliary engines have been selected by Majestic Fast Ferry Pte Ltd in Singapore to power the generators on board three new 33m catamaran fast ferries being used for comfortable travel to Batam and Tanjung Pinang Island. The new series of luxurious ferries, Majestic 7, 8 and 9 have been equipped with 100 kVA generators powered by two 4.4TW2GM Perkins auxiliary engines. Majestic 9, the most recent of the new ferries, was launched in November 2016. Recently quoted…

Singapore-listed offshore firm Swissco Holdings could not pay out a $2.85 million coupon due next Friday and had no plans for its next course of action, says a report in Straits Times.   Bond holders who had each sunk about $250,000 into the notes two years ago were told that Swissco faced a US$147.5 million (S$202.7 million) bank debt maturing from now until 2020.    They also heard how the firm has cash holdings of just US$1.2 million and a monthly cash burn of US$1.5 million.   Of its fleet of seven drilling rigs four were idle, while three rigs it owns 50 -50 with Ezion were onhire but the charterer was failing to make payments.

The ill-fated Hanjin Rome, owned by the bankrupt Hanjin Shipping Company - has been sitting off the eastern coast of Singapore for more than a month. The mid-sized cargo vessel was placed under court arrest here on Aug 29 after German shipowner Rickmers filed a civil claim for money it says it is owed by Hanjin. When the Hanjin Rome arrived in Singapore on 29 August, no-one on board expected anything other than a regular port call. Little did they know that their trip was about to come to a grinding halt. According to the Straits Times, Hanjin will have to apply to the Singapore High Court for the ship to be released, but for now, it is unable to berth or leave. "There is no development on this matter, nobody tells me any good news,"  Captain Moon Kwon Do said.

Pavilion Energy Pte Ltd (Pavilion) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (ExxonMobil) will work together to develop liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering in Singapore, as well as other downstream projects, reports the Straits Times. Both companies will also look at developing other downstream projects here, said Pavilion Energy chief executive Seah Moon Ming. The downstream sector typically refers to the processing and selling, or distribution of gas. Seah said  that the collaboration is aimed at establishing and fine-turning LNG bunkering procedures, starting with truck-to-ship deliveries. "This initiative will also help test and improve the safety and operational standards for LNG bunkering in Singapore…

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) today announced the resignation of Mr Quek Tong Boon as non-executive Director with effect from 1 July 2016. Mr Quek has been with the Board since 1 March 2008 and has been the Chairman of its Research, Development and Technology Committee. The Board of Directors would like to acknowledge its deep appreciation to Mr Quek for his invaluable contributions to the Board and the Board Committee he has served. ST Engineering, headquartered in Singapore, reported revenue of $6.34b in FY2015 and ranks among the largest companies listed on the Singapore Exchange.  It is a component stock of the FTSE Straits Times Index, MSCI Singapore and SGX Sustainability Leaders Index.

Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has said Jakarta was ready to sink 30 foreign-flagged vessels caught fishing illegally in Indonesian waters, following a schedule being arranged by the authorities, says the Straits Times. "Indonesia will not compromise with, and will be very tough in taking action against and in arresting foreign vessels caught fishing illegally in Indonesian waters. The violation committed by the 30 vessels is illegal fishing," she said. Susi also revealed that the Indonesian Navy's Western Fleet had arrested three Vietnamese-flagged vessels for illegal fishing in Indonesian territory, in the latest incident of its kind.

After a decade-long boom, there were zero new orders globally for jack-up rigs last year on account of the current oil downturn. Singapore's largest rig builders finding it difficult to navigate safely, reports The Straits Times. With oil prices swooning, and rigs' daily rental rates having crashed to US$92,000 (S$132,000) from US$130,000 in 2014, there's a risk that 70 per cent of two Singaporean leaders - Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine's order book might get cancelled, especially if the Petrobras bribery scandal in Brazil deepens. Analysts at Macquarie caution that Singapore's offshore and marine sector is facing a structural decline, and that the current downturn is even worse than the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009. The other big risk comes from the duo's Brazilian yards.

CMA CGM SA has bought about 3.68 million shares of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) on the open market at S$1.22 per share. The shares purchased make up 0.14 per cent of NOL's issued share capital, reports Straits Times. The purchase price is at a 6 per cent discount to CMA CGM's offer to acquire all of NOL's issued and paid up shares at S$1.30 per share. CMA CGM SA has already made a $2.4 billion takeover bid for NOL to try to cement its own position as a global leader in container shipping. The proposed cash acquisition, announced in a filing with the Singapore Exchange where NOL is listed, values it at around Sg$3.4 billion ($2.4 billion). The total number of shares now owned, controlled or agreed to be acquired by CMA CGM is 10.8 million.

CMA CGM vice-chairman Rodolphe Saade said that his company was the first ones to initiate the discussions with NOL and Temasek and it made sense to them, that is why they carried on with the discussions, according to a report in The Straits Times. France's CMA CGM proposed a $3.38 billion cash buyout of Temasek Holdings-controlled NOL. "Of course they were talking to others... I don't know about the offers of the others, but what I will say is that we are the third-largest container carrier in the world,"  he added. CMA CGM , privately owned by the billionaire Saade family has, over the years, acquired and integrated brands such as government-owned Australian National Line, African specialist Delmas and Taiwan's Cheng Lie Navigation into its suite.

The world's biggest container-ship operator Maersk Line  has confirmed market talk that it has temporarily idled one of its largest vessels - yet another sign that the industry is in dire straits, says a report in the The Straits Times. Triple E mega-ship  Morten Maersk - among the largest globally with a capacity of 18,000 standard containers - plys the Asia to North Europe route, calling at Singapore along the way. The ship has been idle in the East China Sea off Shanghai since mid- October, owing to the Chinese Golden Week holiday, said the Copenhagen-based company. But it is expected to resume service in Busan, South Korea, next month. The Danish conglomerate has been canceling or delaying orders for new vessels after years weathering a sharp downturn in the container-shipping market.

Sri Lanka will allow future submarine visits by China provided they are not too frequent, and will keep the neighboring India informed of the visits, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said. In future, Sri Lanka will set out definite criteria for calls by foreign naval ships. "We have put out the criterion for visits by naval ships. Under that, ships including submarines from all countries can visit Sri Lanka. As far as we are concerned if it is a friendly visit we will inform the neighbouring countries and we will spread out the (frequency of the) visits," he said in an interview published in The Straits Times. "The problem with the last visit by a Chinese submarine was that India claims it was not informed.

A report in the Straits Times Vietnam is set to build a US$2.5 billion seaport in Ca Mau, its southernmost province, hoping to steal some spotlight away from the more popular regional hubs Singapore and Malaysia and could be a clue to Kra Canal. Vietnam announced that it would build a US$2.5 billion deep-water seaport, named Hon Khoai Port, on an island 17km off the coast of Ca Mau, Vietnam's southern-most province. The project was approved by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The decision to build the portdoes not really make complete economic sense - until it is superimposed on the potentially heady commercial traffic the Kra Canal stands to provide.

The Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) has unveiled a slew of plans to boost the prospects of its members amid tough global industry conditions, reports The Straits Times. The key initiatives include building up the finance capability of shipping firms here by promoting more stock exchange listings, opening up access to capital markets and creating greater investor awareness. The Government can do more by expanding Singapore’s tax treaty network, council members of the SSA said. Despite Singapore being a major shipping hub, its 76 Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) pale in comparison to the estimated 130 that other shipping nations, such as Norway and the United Kingdom, each have.

The eight Indonesian nationals arrested by Vietnamese authorities and suspected of hijacking the Malaysia-flagged tanker Orkim Harmony confessed to the crime, says a report in The Straits Times. Thirteen individuals were involved in the hijacking of the MT Orkim Harmony, with five remaining at large, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) confirmed. The 2009-built, 7,301 dwt Orkim Harmony, which was carrying 6,000 tonnes of unleaded petrol from Malacca to Kuantan with 22 crew members, was hijacked on 11 June. The vessel is owned by Magna Meridian Sdn Bhd. MMEA deputy director of operations Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar said besides the eight that were arrested in Vietnam waters on Friday, there were another five individuals manning a tugboat used to approach MT Orkim Harmony.

MT Orkim Harmony, the fuel-laden Malaysian tanker that “disappeared” off the east coast of Johor last Thursday has been detected in Cambodian waters, according to Chief of Navy Admiral Abdul Aziz Jaafar says a report in Bernama. Abdul Jaafar said the tanker had been repainted and renamed. The tanker was being tailed from the air by aircraft of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), national news agency Bernama quoted Aziz as saying. The Malaysian-registered tanker was laden with 6,000 tonnes of RON95 petrol worth RM21 million when it went missing on June 12, while sailing from Malacca to Kuantan Port.