Hutchison Port Holdings preferred bidder for the Port of Thessaloniki, Greece

Hong Kong’s Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) has been named the preferred bidder by the Board of Thessaloniki Port Authority for the development of new container facilities at the Port of Thessaloniki.  

The Port of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest container port, is located in the north of the country. This location ensures the port will benefit from the economic development of the Balkan countries and their accession to the EU, especially in terms of transit cargo. Development of the local hinterland is also expected to have a favourable effect on growth. An offer of Eur 419 million (US$653.18 million) has been made representing the present value of the guaranteed portion of the annual fees over the entire 30-year concession period. There are other charges such as annual rental fees for the docks which would be in addition to the above amount. The Port currently has an area of 35 hectares, a total quay length of 595 metres and a depth alongside of 12 metres. When construction is complete, the port will have a 71-hectare area, a continuous quay of 1,770 metres and a depth alongside of up to 15.8 metres. 

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MOL Launches 320,000 dwt Iron Ore Carrier

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL, President: Akimitsu Ashida) yesterday announced the launch of one of the world’s largest iron ore carriers, the 320,000 dwt Tubarao Maru.

The naming and delivery ceremony was held today at the Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES) Chiba Works. The new vessel will sail under a long-term transport contract with Nippon Steel Corporation. The Tubarao Maru is similar to the world’s largest iron ore carrier, the Brasil Maru, which was launched in December 2007. It is the second generation ship to bear the name; the original Tubarao Maru was launched in 1966. Guests at the ceremony included Nippon Steel President Shoji Muneoka and MES President Yasuhiko Katoh. President Muneoka’s wife Yoko cut the rope and President Muneoka named the ship. After the naming and rope-cutting ceremonies, the Tubarao Maru will go into service to transport Brazilian iron ore to Japan. MOL became the first Japanese shipping company to operate a 300,000 dwt class very large iron ore carrier(VLOC) with the launch of the Brasil Maru in December 2007. Five of these VLOCs will sail under the MOL operating by August 2009.

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“K” Line to Invest in Titan Quanzhou Shipyard Ltd.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line) is pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached with the holding company of Titan Quanzhou Shipyard Ltd.

TQSL, a shipyard under construction in a suburb of Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, PRC by Titan Petrochemicals Group Ltd. (HK Exchange: 1192)*, for “K Line to become a Primary Strategic Partner in ship repair business by purchasing convertible securities (equal to 5% of the outstanding number of shares). TQSL is located in a suburb of Quanzho City, Fujian Province, occupying total area of 110ha with 3,600m length of coastline. Upon full completion in 2010, it will be the largest modern-designed repair dock in China with capacity of 250 vessels per year, equipped with four ultra-large dry docks (two of which can accommodate 300,000dwt class VLCC or VLOC), two slipways, ten repair berths, painting workshop and mechanical-electrical workshop. TQSL project commenced in 2004, aiming to be a shipyard based on repair, newbuildings and offshore engineering, and since operation in 2006 with its first newbuilding, it has delivered four 7,000-9,000dwt class bunker-tankers. Repair operations will commence in mid-2009 at repair berths as floating dock and will be in full operation from 2010. “K” Line secures certain repair slots at TQSL as a strategic alliance partner by entering into a Strategic Alliance Agreement. This agreement means that “K” Line has secured repair slots for its increasing fleet, especially for large-sized vessels. TQSL, with its most desirable location near Quanzhou, Fujian Province enjoying warm-weather throughout the year, will accommodate all types of vessels, and will keep an extremely high utilization ratio. “K” Line positions this Strategic Alliance with TQSL as one of the measures to support growth of its overall fleet up to 900 vessels, as set forth in its mid-term management plan, “K” Line Vision 100, announced in April this year. With “K” Line obtaining core repair slots at TQSL, in addition to the seafarer training center in the Philippines opened in February this year, the company will be even better positioned to pursue enforcement of its safety policy and stable quality of ship management.

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