Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2006)

Korean Shipbuilding

Profits Surge

Korean shipbuilders are enjoying good financial times, with a combination of historically high ship prices and steel price reductions, according to a report in the Korean Herald.

Hyundai Heavy Industries reported its fourth-consecutive quarterly profit. Net income totaled 22.9 billion won, or $24.4 million, in the three months end- ing March 31, compared with a loss of 88.95 billion won in the same period a year earlier, Hyundai Heavy said in a regulatory filing to the nation's financial watchdog, according to the report.

Global ship prices for very large crude oil carriers rose 39 percent to $110 mil- lion per vessel at the end of 2004 from $79 million at the beginning of 2004,

Hyundai Heavy said in a statement.

Prices for container ships which can carry 6,200 TEU rose 24.6 percent to $91 million per ship at the end of 2004 from the beginning of 2004.

Samsung Heavy Industries reported that first-quarter net profit jumped 440 percent compared to a year ago, rising to 15.3 billion won on increased orders for high value-added ships.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine

Engineering Co. fell short of Hyundai and Samsung in the first quarter with an earnings loss of 141.5 billion won, but its prospects are also bright with increasing orders for costly LNG carri- ers and offshore engineering facilities.

Korean shipyards ranked No. 1 through No. 7 in order backlogs as of the end of April, a London-based market researcher said last week. Hyundai

Heavy kept its spot as the world's No.1 shipbuilder in order backlogs of 11.44 million compensated gross tons,

Clarkson Plc. said. Samsung Heavy overtook its rival Daewoo with an order backlog of 8.34 million CGTs.

Aker Philadelphia Begins

Tanker Construction

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard has start- ed production on the third vessel in the 10-ship product tanker build program initiated in April 2005. The third tanker vessel is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007. The first steel plates cut for the ship will be used in construction of the engine room of the 46,000-dwt product tanker. Upon com- pletion, the tankers will be owned by

American Shipping Corporation, a sub- sidiary of Aker American Shipping, and bareboat chartered to Overseas

Shipholding Group, Inc (OSG).

Aker Yards to Build More

PSV's for Nordcapital

Aker Yards has confirmed an optional agreement with Nordcapital Holding

GmbH & Cie. KG in Hamburg,

Germany for the building of two

Platform Supply Vessels. The contract value is approximately $47m. Delivery is scheduled for summer and autumn 2008.

Bourbon 1Q Revenues

Up 21.5%

Bourbon reported that first quarter 2006 revenues totaled 172.4 million euros, an increase of 21.5 percent com- pared with the same period in 2005.

With the exception of the North Sea, the offshore oil and gas marine services recorded strong growth, with revenues of 79.3 million euros at the end of

March 2006, up +32.9 % (24.2% at con- stant exchange rates) compared with the same period in 2005. Several scheduled maintenance programs were performed in the first quarter of 2006. The West

Coast of Africa, and Nigeria in particu- lar, continued to generate a very strong performance. Operations are developing gradually in Asia with the delivery and commissioning of an Anchor Handling

Tug Supply vessel (AHTS 120 tons) for

Shell Malaysia.

WE KNOW MARINE FINANCE.

SM

The Marine Division of AIG Commercial Equipment Finance, Inc. provides loans and leases to meet the unique needs of our domestic and international maritime customers. We offer the funds for new and used vessel acquisitions, capital improvements, vessel maintenance and working capital secured by marine assets. From offshore energy and container, commodity and passenger transportation to harbor services, inland transportation and construction, we have the capacity to handle our customers' long-term financing needs. The Marine Division combines maritime experience with the financial strength and expertise of the AIG companies, the world’s leading insurance and financial services organization.

Insurance and services provided by member companies of American International Group, Inc. ®

For more information, please call us at 972-987-3720 or e-mail us at [email protected]. ® Commercial Equipment Finance

Marine Division

WE KNOW MONEY. ®

Circle 204 on Reader Service Card 10 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

News

MR JUNE2006 #2 (9-16).qxd 6/2/2006 11:14 AM Page 10