Page 87: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 1993)

More Tankers Receiving

Fourth Special Surveys

In 1993 Than Last Year

A review of the tanker market conducted by

Stockholm Chartering has found that twice as many tankers are due for their fourth special survey this year, compared with 1992.

The majority of equipment onboard vessels that are approaching their fourth surveys is 20 years old or more.

According to the chartering company, char- ters should only charter large tankers over 20 years old if they have undergone a thorough inspection, or refuse to charter them altogether, if they really want to increase the quality of the world's tanker fleet.

Most shipowners decided to scrap last year, rather than pay between $5 million to $10 mil- lion to update a larger tanker to pass a survey.

Because of this upswing in ship scrappings,

China has significantly expanded its breaking capacity and can now handle over 12 million- dwt of tankers.

Stockholm Chartering also stated that in- stead of owners and their insurance companies bearing the brunt of responsibility for marine accidents, the charterers of substandard tank- ers should also share the burden.

While not a year of major economic recovery, the world newbuilding orderbook has seen or- ders placed for 26 suezmaxes and 53 aframaxes, plus a number of product carriers.

Although there is presently an oversupply of tanker tonnage on the market, Stockholm Char- tering reported that 55 percent of the world's tanker fleet of 16,000 dwt and over were built in 1976 or earlier, with 28 percent built in 1974 or earlier and 11 percent during 1972 and earlier.

Weeks Marine Acquires

All Dredging Assets

Of American Dredging

Richard N. Weeks, president of Weeks Ma- rine, Inc., a Crandford, N.J.-based marine ser- vices company, announced that "Weeks has pur- chased all the dredging assets of American Dredg- ing Company." This acquisition follows recent expansion by Weeks in marine construction and transportation. "The equipment purchased from American will complement and enhance our non-dredging and marine activities, including marine sal- vage, construction, towing, stevedoring and heavy lifts," Mr. Weeks stated. "The different activities will be able to support each other more completely, providing better service to our present and future customers," he continued.

Weeks Marine has owned and operated a limited number of dredges over the past 25 years and had recently become a major beach renourishment contractor through a partner- ship with Bean Horizon Corporation in the con- struction and operation of a large ocean service dredge.

Weeks Marine Dredging Division will con- tinue operations at the newly acquired facility in Camden, N.J., and at Weeks' existing facili- ties at the Port of New York/New Jersey. The

Dredging Division will provide the same ser- vices that both American and Weeks have pro- vided in the past.

For more information about the services pro- vided by Weeks Marine,

Circle 15 on Reader Service Group

Carriers Plan Rate Hike

Between U.S./South Europe

Following their shake-up of shipping rates between the U.S. and Northern Europe, sources indicate that containership lines are planning a 10-percent hike in freight rates this spring on U.S. trade with Italy, southern

France, Portugal and Spain.

The nine dominant carriers in the market have also decided to simplify tariffs, separate ocean and inland rates, cut excess capacity and enforce pricing discipline in the U.S. to

South Europe trade.

The South Europe-U.S.A. (Seusa) Freight

Conference based in Genoa, Italy, plan to impose a general rate increase of $160 per 20- foot container (TEU) and $200 a 40-foot con- tainer (FEU) as of April 1. It is expected that over half-a-dozen independent lines will fol- low suit with smaller increases or make the most of the situation with cargo-grabbing discounts.

Shippers can expect to pay about $200 or more on a typical $2,000 bill for moving a single FEU between the U.S. East Coast and the western Mediterranean.

According to conference and shipping line officials, these across-the-board increases are only the preliminary steps in a comprehen- sive program to change the pricing of carrier services to and from Southern Europe.

OMSA To Participate

In National

Shipbuilding Initiative

The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) has been asked by Dr. Roy D. Gaul, president of Blue Sea Corporation, to partici- pate in advancing the concept called "The

National Shipbuilding Initiative."

The National Shipbuilding Initiative, as outlined in an article by James R. McCaul in the February 1993 issue of Maritime Re- porter, includes the adoption of production practices and technologies to enable U.S. ship- yards to capture 10 percent of the interna- tional commercial shipbuilding market. The plan also calls for Federal funding for a myriad of conversion programs designed to help trans- form defense companies to commercial pro- duction. The National Shipbuilding Initia- tive specifically calls for: 1) An integrated CADCAM (computer- aided design and computer-aided manufac- turing) system. This system would build a library of design specifications and standards, which would provide significant assistance to the shipyards in their efforts to design and build commercial ships. 2) A National Maritime Center, which would likely manage the CADCAM system and other assets that would be jointly shared by the shipyards. The center would be used to provide information about bid opportunities, vendors, prices and products.

The initial projected price tag on imple- menting the plans is up to $2 billion through the year 1999. Despite the high price, offi- cials in favor of the plan claim it is necessary for a successful conversion, estimating the shipyards need to build approximately 30 to 50 ships each year to make up for the Navy downturn.

The number one problem facing the indus- try and the plan is selling it to Congress and the new Administration. While both are considered more sympathetic to industrial base concerns than were the past administra- tion, there are many other industries compet- ing for conversion dollars. Circle 337 on Reader Service Card

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April, 1993 111