26 GE Diesels to Power Panama Canal Tugboats

GE Transportation will supply Marinsa, Panama, with 26 V228 diesel engines. The 12-cylinder engines will power 13 new tugboats to be used in the Panama Canal in Panama.

‘This is a significant order for GE, the largest we’ve received to date in Latin America. We faced stiff competition in the marketplace and are delighted that ultimately our V228 engines were selected for this project,’ said John Manison, manager of GE Transportation’s marine and stationary power business, Erie, Pennsylvania. Marinsa is GE’s authorized distributor in Latin America. The new tugboats will be designed by naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia and built by Cheoy Lee shipyard, Hong Kong, Peoples’ Republic of China. The vessels will be an integral part of the Panama Canal Authority’s (ACP) canal expansion plan. The ACP’s ambitious investment program currently underway is aimed at modernizing and improving the canal’s infrastructure. Part of this program increases the tugboat fleet by 20 percent to improve the canal’s ability to assist vessels during transits, especially at lock entrances, and through the Gaillard Cut. The new tugboats will replace locomotives as the primary means to position vessels in the locks. ACP’s canal expansion program was initiated in 1996 to guarantee the canal’s ability to serve anticipated traffic growth. The GE engines will be manufactured at the company’s Grove City, Pennsylvania facility. Robert Allan Ltd. will deliver the first two engines to Cheoy Lee shipyard in December 2009. Delivery of the tugs for service will taper from November 2009 to December 2010.

Keel laying of patrol boat for Royal Netherlands Navy

The Netherlands: State Secretary for Defence Jack de Vries layed down the keel of the first patrol vessel for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the dock of Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding on Monday, December 8.

‘During the official act, the State Secretary welded an old Dutch duit, traditional Dutch coin, to the first part of the vessel. The names of the four patrol vessels in the class were also announced: ‘Holland’, ‘Zeeland’, ‘Friesland’ and ‘Groningen’. The new vessels will measure 108 metres in length and will displace approximately 3750 tonnes. They offer hangar space and landing facilities for one NH-90 helicopter or equivalent types. Their armament will consist of one 76mm Oto-Melara gun, one rapid-fire gun and two Hitrole machine guns. The weapons will all have full remote control. Thanks to the state-of-the-art integrated sensor and communication technology in the mast, detection and tracking of high- and low-altitude air targets, fast boats, periscopes, mines and even swimmers will be possible. The first two patrol vessels are to be built at the shipyard of Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding in Vlissingen, with a number of sections being supplied by the Damen shipyard in Galati. Major parts of the third and fourth vessels are to be built at the Damen shipyard in Galati under the supervision of Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding.

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Dry bulk market sustains rising momentum

The third consecutive rise of the Baltic Dry Index, even by only 12 points surely was enough to provide a ray of light in the market and have ship owners crossing their fingers that a slight recovery of the ailing dry bulk market is under way.

‘Wednesday’s session ended with the BDI up by another 12 points, again led by the capesize index, which saw big gains of 67 points, thus easily returning to above 1,000 levels and more specifically 1,058 points. Another positive turn was the first rise of the handysize index, which posted a marginal increase of two points, to a round 300 points. Also, both the Panamax and the Supramax Indexes managed to slow down their losses, at least compared to previous sessions. The BPI closed at 450 points, down by 16 points, while the BSI lost 12 points to end at 511 points. Of course, a large chunk of the market remains depressed and with the holidays closing in, not much activity should be expected. Reporting on the handy sector, Fearnleys noted that South America is quite, while quite many overage vessels are open in the Red Sea with not much cargoes proposed due to Aid holidays. On the Capesize front, which starred in these past few days’ rise of the Index, Fearnleys reports the time charter average almost doubled, to about $4,500. “In the light of more attractive commodity prices, Chinese ore importers suddenly reappeared, taking firstly a number of cargoes from India and then a little “rush” from Australia, both FOB and CNF, and all for early shipment. This resulted in the WA/China rate moving from usd 3.85 to usd 4.50 and the Pacific r/v from usd 1750 to usd 5000. Backhaul rates also edged upwards with Richards Bay/Rotterdam rising 50 cents to about usd 5.60. However, the Chinese still showed little interest in resuming imports from Brazil, and Atlantic activity and rates remained at a very low level. Nevertheless, Vale continued to put cargoes on the water, probably destined for stockpiling in China. Period activity was non-existent” Fearnleys said.

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