Reach Staker

(Newspaper) All About Logistics - Infinity

Infinity Logisitcs and Transport - Freight Village
--> to mitigate the shorter free storage day of 3 days effective on 1 Jan 08

Source: The Star, 29 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) - ABG Shipyard Ltd, India's biggest non-state shipbuilder

Source: The Star, 29 Dec 2008

International Maritime Organisation - IMO

Source: The Star, 29 Dec 2008

IMO's objectives

When IMO first began operations its chief concern was to develop international treaties and other legislation concerning safety and marine pollution prevention.

By the late 1970s, however, this work had been largely completed, though a number of important instruments were adopted in more recent years. IMO is now concentrating on keeping legislation up to date and ensuring that it is ratified by as many countries as possible. This has been so successful that many Conventions now apply to more than 98% of world merchant shipping tonnage.

Currently the emphasis is on trying to ensure that these conventions and other treaties are properly implemented by the countries that have accepted them. The texts of conventions, codes and other instruments adopted by IMO can be purchased from IMO Publications.

World's largest shipping container makers

Source: The Star, 29 Dec 2008

World's largest shipping container makers
1) China International Marine Containers (Group) Ltd. (CIMC) - Shenzhen
2) Singamas Container Holdings - Hong Kong

China readies for pirate patrols - 14

Three Chinese naval ships are preparing to set sail for waters off Somalia to protect Chinese vessels from pirate attacks there.

Two destroyers and a supply ship will leave the port of Sanya on Hainan island to join warships from other nations already patrolling the area.

It will be the Chinese navy's first operation beyond the Pacific.

There have been more than 100 pirate attacks this year off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.

On Thursday, the German navy said it had foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack an Egyptian cargo vessel off Somalia.

Six Somali pirates were captured by sailors of the frigate Karlsruhe in the Gulf of Aden. However, the pirates were immediately released on the orders of the German government, officials told the BBC.

'International scourge'

The three ships from China's South Sea Fleet are due to leave Sanya at 0530 GMT.



The fleet commander, Rear Adm Du Jingchen, said his personnel were prepared for a complicated and long-term mission.

"Acts of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters off Somalia have been increasingly rampant since the beginning of this year, posing a severe danger to the safety of ships and members from many countries, including China," China's Defence Ministry spokesman Huang Xueping said.

"Apart from this, pirates have also been threatening ships delivering humanitarian relief items to Somalia by international organisations. Piracy has become an international scourge."

The Chinese military says there have been seven attacks this year on Chinese vessels in the area.

It says its forces will board and inspect suspected pirate ships, try to rescue those who are attacked and mount a vigourous defence if they themselves come under attack.

However, defence ministry officials insist that China's doctrine of non-interference in other nations' affairs has not changed, the BBC's Chris Hogg in Beijing says.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7799899.stm, 26 Dec 2008

Neptune Orient Lines Ltd - South-East Asia's biggest shipper of container

Source: The Star, 22 Dec 2008

Fact
NOL wholly owns shipping company American President Lines, APL

Japan's first solar cargo ship

TOKYO - THE world's first cargo ship partly propelled by solar power took to the seas on Friday in Japan, aiming to cut fuel costs and carbon emissions when automakers ship off their exports.

Auriga Leader, a freighter developed by shipping line Nippon Yusen K.K. and oil distributor Nippon Oil Corp, took off from a shipyard in the western city of Kobe, officials of the two firms said.

The huge freighter capable of carrying 6,400 automobiles is equipped with 328 solar panels at a cost of 150 million yen (S$2.4 million dollars), the officials said.

The ship will initially transport vehicles being sent for sale overseas by Japan's top automaker Toyota Motor Corp. The project was conceived before the global economic crisis, which has forced automakers to drastically cut production as sales dwindle.

Company officials said the 60,213-tonne, 200m long ship is the first large vessel in the world with a solar-based propulsion system. So far solar energy has been limited to supporting lighting and crew's living quarters.

The solar power system can generate 40 kilowatts, which would initially cover only 0.2 per cent of the ship's energy consumption for propulsion, but company officials said they hoped to raise the ratio.

The shipping industry has come under growing pressure to take part in efforts to curb global warming, which is blamed on carbon emissions.

Estimates say maritime transport accounts for anything from 1.4 per cent to 4.5 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. But the industry remains largely unregulated due to its international nature.

Nippon Yusen, Japan's largest shipping company, has set a goal of halving its fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions by 2010.

Resource-poor Japan has been looking for ways to reduce its dependency on foreign oil. -- AFP

Source: http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/38904, 21 Dec 2008


Source: The Star, 22 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) CMA CGM, Maersk join forces

Facts
Maersk - 470 container vessels
CMA - 387 ships

Source: The Star, 15 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) Terrorists using sea routes more frequently

Source: The Star, 15 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) Newcastle port poised to triple shipments

Facts
Newcastle port, Australia-the world's biggest coal-export harbour.
BHP-the world's biggest mining company

Source: The Star, 15 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) Baltic Dry Index (shipping cost for commodities)

Facts
BDI-the barometer of shipping cost for commodities.
China-biggest steelmaker

Source: The Star, 15 Dec 2008

Daily China-Taiwan flights begin

Taiwan and China have launched direct daily flights and cargo shipping, the first time in nearly 60 years that such direct transport links been allowed.

The two sides have been ruled separately since the end of a Chinese civil war in 1949.

In a landmark visit by a top Chinese negotiator to Taiwan last month, the two sides agreed to ease long restricted transportation.

The agreement allows up to 108 flights each week between Taiwan and China.

China and Taiwan are separated by a body of water just 160km (100 miles) wide.

But, because of tense relations between the two former rivals, flights and shipping routes have had to make detours through third countries or territories, usually Hong Kong or Japan to reach their destinations.

Now passenger flights from Taiwan and China will finally be able to fly directly to each side's cities daily, while cargo planes and ships will also no longer have to make long detours off their route.


From now on, there will be more flights to more destinations
The opening up of Taiwan and China's airspace and territorial waters to each other will not only cut travel and shipping times, but the costs of doing business between the two key trading partners, which are currently suffering from the global economic downturn.

Under the landmark agreements signed last month, the number of passenger flights will also increase to a maximum of 108 per week starting this week, up from the previous 36.

And the number of flight destinations will increase significantly.

Presidential change

These direct transportation links were made possible after Taiwan elected a new President, Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in May.

Unlike his predecessor, President Ma does not advocate independence for Taiwan , and prefers to focus on improving relations with China, as a way of reviving the flagging economy and building long-term security and peace with China.

China refused to negotiate with Taiwan's last President Chen Shui-bian because he supported independence for the island, which Beijing considers its own.

Supporters of warmer ties with China see the lifting of transportation restrictions as a positive step towards ending decades of hostilities.

Critics, however, fear Taiwan will become too economically dependent on China and lose its sovereignty. Some of them participated in violent protests last month.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7782946.stm, 15 Dec 2008


Source: The Sun, 16 Dec 2008

Navy head cool on Somalia strikes - 13

The top US naval commander in the Gulf and Indian Ocean has dampened hopes that piracy off Somalia's coast can be tackled by attacking bases on land.

Vice-Admiral Bill Gortney said that such a policy would be hampered by the difficulties of identifying the pirates and the risks of harming civilians.

He suggested shipping companies should instead employ armed security guards to protect their vessels from hijackings.

Adm Gortney was speaking on the first day of a conference on Gulf security.

The gathering in Bahrain is being attended by 25 countries and top military figures like US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

I see people trying to look for an easy military solution to a problem that demands a non-kinetic solution

Vice-Admiral Bill Gortney
US Fifth Fleet

The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq will also feature, as will the increasing concerns Arab Gulf states have about Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

Earlier, US naval officials hosted Afghan President Hamid Karzai on board the aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt, to assure him that the US military was taking all precautions to avoid civilian casualties while carrying out air strikes on his country.

'Collateral damage concerns'

The BBC's Frank Gardner in Manama says there seems to be no easy fix for the growing problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Just as the US has been circulating a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for permission to "take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia", the Pentagon's top naval officer in the region has effectively said that is not the solution, our correspondent says.


Adm Gortney also rejected the idea of a naval blockade of Somalia's coast

Speaking at the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, Adm Gortney voiced doubts over the wisdom of attack the pirates' land bases because of the difficulties of identifying them and the potential risks of harming innocent civilians.

"I see people trying to look for an easy military solution to a problem that demands a non-kinetic solution," he told reporters.

"If you're going to do kinetic strikes into the pirate camps, the positive ID and the collateral damage concerns cannot be overestimated."

"They're irregulars - they don't wear uniforms," he added.

Adm Gortney said that the solution lay in bringing stability to Somalia, but that would not happen soon. In the meantime, shipping companies should employ armed guards on board ships, he said.

"I'm a firm believer... because that's what we'd do ashore," he said. "You're working against criminal activity. That's what I'm pushing."

Adm Gortney also rejected the idea of establishing a naval blockade of the Somali coast, saying it would be considered an act of war, and that the size of the coastline would require so many ships that "it would be very, very difficult".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7780981.stm, 13 Dec 2008

Merchant vessel

Merchant vessel- is a ship that transports cargo and passengers during peace time.

1) Dry cargo ships=freighter - ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another)
a) Bulk carriers - is ocean-going vessel used to transport bulk cargo items such as iron ore, bauxite, coal, cement, grain and similar cargo.

b) Container ships - cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size containers.

2) Tankers - ship designed to transport liquids in bulk.

3) Specialized ships - heavy lift goods or refrigerated cargo (Reefer ships), roll-on/roll-off cargo (RoRo) ships for vehicles and wheeled machinery.

4) Coasters - smaller ships for any category of cargo which are normally not on ocean-crossing routes, but in coastwise trades.

5) Passenger ships - ship whose primary function is to carry passengers.
a) Cruise ship=Cruise liner - passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are considered an essential part of the experience.

b) Ferries - a form of transportation, usually a boat or ship, but also other forms, carrying (or ferrying) passengers and sometimes their vehicles.



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_ship

Bulk carriers – 6 categories in terms of size

bulk carrier=bulk freighter=bulker
- is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds.

Size categories

Bulkers are segregated into six major 6 or 5 categories:
1) small
2) handysize







3) handymax






4) panamax






5) capesize






6) very large - Very large bulk and ore carriers fall into the capesize category but are often considered separately.

Facts
1) 40% if merchant ships made up by bulkers.
2) >50% of bulkers have Greek, Japanese, or Chinese owners
3) >25% registered in Panama.
4) 82% of these ships were built in Asia.
5) In 1852, first specialized bulk carrier was built
6) Largest single builder of bulkers is Japan.
7) Capesize ships are too large to traverse the Suez or Panama canals and must round the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn to travel between oceans.
8) 93% of capesize bulkers’ cargo is iron ore and coal.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulk_carrier

Stormy waters for moving freight

The cost of hiring a ship to move freight around the world has fallen by a staggering 99% in the past six months.
In early June, renting a bulk carrier to transport coal or iron ore would have cost $235,000 a day, whereas now it is barely $2,000.

That brings the Baltic Exchange's sea-freight index, known as the Baltic dry index, to its lowest level since 1986.

Peter Norfolk, a director at the London brokers Simpson Spence and Young, explained to BBC World Service's Business Daily that hiring a ship was a complex matter, with companies hiring and then re-hiring to third and fourth parties.

"You might rent a vessel for $100,000 a day for two or three years," he says, "and then hire it out at "$120,000 a day." This market relies so much on the Chinese economy

London broker Peter Norfolk

Unable to hire them out at a profit, some companies are returning their ships early.

Ship owners are now having to lay up their vessels and, apart from a skeletal crew to manage essential electrical and mechanical maintenance, other crew members are being made redundant.


China's crucial role

The collapse in price had been greatest for the biggest ships - called the Cape-size carriers, because they are too big for the Suez Canal and have to go round Cape Horn between Europe and China.

Part of the reversal has been caused by the change in the steel industry, which in the first part of the year was still growing by about 6% annually but which is now experiencing negative growth.
Along with coal and iron ore, grain is shipped by bulk carriers

"For the past five years we have seen a very strong demand for industrial commodities which supported the shipping industry, but all of a sudden the situation has been reversed," says Peter Norfolk.

More than 50% of all bulk cargoes are related to the steel industry, which reflects the fundamental economic growth of most nations.

Grains are also transported by bulk carriers and countries such as China rely on imports to feed its population.

It ought to be good news for the consumer as the cost of shipping goods around the world decreases, but Peter Norfolk warns that if people can't afford to ship goods then there will be an impact on trade.

"This market relies so much on the Chinese economy", he says, "so unless there is some rebound in demand there is unlikely to be much improvement.

Relative calm

Although the market for container shipping has weakened due to the collapse in demand from Europe and America for Asian goods it remains, for the time being, a comparatively healthy sector.
Container ships have yet to feel the full impact of the economic slowdown

At the end of September, there were 4.600 container ships moving around the world whilst only 80 were at anchorage.

However, the world's second largest container manufacturer, Singamas, says it is operating at 60% of its normal level due to the slowdown in Chinese exports.

Meanwhile, companies which have invested in shipyards to build vessels are now facing question marks over their financial viability and many of them are having to reconsider their strategy.

An interview relating to this story can be heard on the Business Daily podcast dated 9 Dec 08

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7777507.stm, 12 Dec 2008

World's second largest container manufacturer = Singamas

(Newspaper) PTP on track to meet volume target this year despite downturn - 5.8m teus

Source: The Star, 08 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) Shorter free storage period still a worry (3-day free storage)

Source: The Star, 08 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) Expert: Piracy is symptom of cisis in Somalia - 12

Source: The Star, 08 Dec 2008

Asia's age-old battle with the pirates

The recent seizure of a giant oil tanker off Somalia may be one of the most audacious recent attacks by pirates, but for people here in South East Asia, it's an old and familiar story.


Malaysia and its neighbours are stepping up anti-piracy efforts
The journals of James Brooke, the famous "White Rajah of Sarawak", who governed part of Borneo in the 19th century give a sense of the age of the problem.

He recounted his attempts to wipe out piracy in the region, describing pitched battles along the coastlines between the British navy and the fleets of tribal longboats that preyed on shipping.

It's the stuff of adventure books.

But for some coastal villages tucked away among the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, piracy has been a way of life for generations.

Bows and poisoned arrows have given way to automatic weapons and grenades, and the busier the trade routes have become, the richer the pickings.

The narrow waterways between Malaysia and Indonesia - the Straits of Malacca and Singapore - are now among the busiest shipping lanes in the world, accounting for 40% of global trade.

As the shortest route between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, they are crowded with tankers taking oil to Japan and China, and container ships bringing goods back the other way to their markets in the West - some 70,000 vessels last year.

Joint efforts

By 2005, pirate attacks in the Straits were happening almost weekly and Lloyds of London began classifying the waters as a war zone.

Insurance premiums soared and the region's governments were forced to take aggressive action.

The navies of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia began co-ordinated air and sea patrols, and pirate organisers in Indonesia and Malaysia were arrested and punished, thanks to improved intelligence and policing on shore.



So far, the campaign has been largely successful.

Monitors at the International Maritime Bureau have recorded only two attacks this year, compared with about 40 in 2004.

The Straits and neighbouring waters have now been relegated to third on the IMB's pirate warning list, after the Gulf of Aden and Somalia and the waters off Nigeria.




Experts also point to other factors, such as the surge of aid money after the 2004 Asian tsunami, which helped some poor communities that might otherwise have been tempted into piracy.

But there is evidence the problem may be moving elsewhere in the region.

The remote eastern islands of Indonesia and the southern Philippines have seen a rise in attacks.

The Sulu and Celebes Seas, also part of the route used by giant oil tankers, have been called by one researcher an "ungoverned maritime space".

Islamic insurgents in the southern Philippines have used piracy and smuggling to fund their activities in the past, and there is a fear that events off Somalia may encourage them, or others in the region, to try something more ambitious.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7753991.stm, 08 Dec 2008

Documents for appointing a forwarding agent

For a company,
1) Appointment letter from the consignee/shipper with preferable director's signature and company letterhead
2) An original letter from the forwarding agent
3) ROC
4) IC
5) Form 9 (Borang 9)
6) Form1 13 (Borang 13) - only for changes in company name

For personal effect,
1) Appointment letter from the consignee/shipper with signature with no letterhead
2) An original letter from the forwarding agent
3) IC

Generally, companies could only have the maximum of 3 appointed forwarding agent. If you request to change one of the forwarding agents, an extra cancellation letter (Surat Pembatalan) is required.

FCL, LCL, CY, CFS

FCL = full container load
LCL = less than container load, loose container load

CY = container yard
CFS = container freight station

FCL/LCL – are to do with the space usage in a container
FCL - full capacity / full payload
LCL – eg: a shipper intends to have the consignments of 2 or more consignees for the same destination

CY/CFS – are to do with the location of the cargo delivery and receipt
CY – forwarder’s/shipper’s/consignee’s container yard or premises
CFS – carrier’s container freight station (shipper has to deliver the cargo to the carrier’s container freight station for loading)

In terms of container services
CY/CY service = door-to-door service, full container from the shipper’s place to the consignee’s place

CY/CFS service = door-to-port service, full container from the shipper's place to the carrier's CFS at destination, consignee arranges the collection of loose cargo

CFS/CY service = port-to-door service, loose cargo from the origin's CFS packed into the whole container and deliver to the consignee's place

CFS/CFS service = port-to-port service, loose cargo from the origin's CFS packed into the whole container and deliver the destination's CFS, consignee arranges the collection of loose cargo

Source: http://www.speedycargo.com/Text/1172089012765-3636/pC/1146077018046-5007/Resource-Center

Suez Canal 蘇伊士運河

The Suez Canal is a canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa or carrying goods overland between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The northern terminus is Port Said.

The canal is 192 km (119 mi) long. It is single-lane with 4 passing places[1] north and south of the Great Bitter Lake, and links the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea.

The canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Capacity
The canal allows passage of ships up to 150,000 tons displacement. It permits ships up to 16 m (53 ft) draft to pass, and improvements are planned to increase this to 22 m (72 ft) by 2010, allowing passage of fully-laden supertankers.
Some supertankers are too large. Others can offload part of their cargo onto a canal-owned boat and reload at the other end of the canal.

Alternatives
The main alternative is travelling around Cape Agulhas. This is the route for ships which are too large, and was the route before the canal was constructed and when the canal was closed. Today due to increasing piracy in Somalia this route is taken, due to safety reasons.
Also, before the canal's opening in 1869, goods were sometimes offloaded from ships and carried overland between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal#Capacity

Westports hold 2 world records

Source: The Sun, 03 Dec 2008

1) 665 moves per hour for crane productivity
2) 4457 TEUs discharged in 10 hours


Source: The Star, 08 Dec 2008


Source: http://www.cma-cgm.com/en/ProductsServices/ContainerShipping/VesselFleet/Vessel_Cma_Cgm_Orfeo_9364992.aspx

How do you pay a pirate's ransom? - 12

Pirates in Somalia are making a fortune by hijacking ships and demanding ransoms to set them and their crews free - one official estimates the total this year to be around $150m.

There are conflicting reports about how much they want for the Saudi oil tanker they seized last month, the Sirius Star, and its cargo of two million barrels of oil, but how do you negotiate and deliver a pirate ransom in the 21st Century?

The owner hires people to take the money... for the handover of the big bags of cash. Same like the movies.

Fahid Hassan, Harardhere

From what can be gleaned - how the negotiations run their course and how the ransoms are paid - what goes on would be worthy of a Hollywood action movie script.

"No matter what process is taken, they always go through a middleman," advises BBC Somali service analyst Said Musa. "And trust is at the heart of everything."

Fahid Hassan, who has experience of the negotiations, says that after boarding the ship, the first step for the pirates is to make contact with its owners.

"All the important documents are there on the ship, so the pirates can know easily all the information they need," he says.

"The talks are by telephone, mostly satellite phone but sometimes even SMS/text messages are sent. The pirates do not negotiate themselves. They hire someone and often this person is a relative; someone they can trust."


"For the Sirius Star, there are two negotiators. Sometimes they are on the ship, sometimes they are in town. The negotiator must work and work and work to get the money which is a very difficult job. It is very difficult to please the owner and please the pirates," he adds.

"But once the money is delivered the negotiator gets a share, the same as a pirate. Everyone on the ship gets an equal share."

Mr Hassan says that in the past, the ransom was delivered by money transfer, but that now owners hire a third party to hand over the money directly.

"They come onto the ship or the pirates get onto their boat for the handover of the bags of cash," he says.

"The men who bring the money then go; they leave the ship to let the pirates count and check. Some of the pirates have counting machines and also machines to detect fake notes."

Security firms

Roger Middleton, a Horn of Africa specialist at the Chatham House, says the ship-owners hire professionals, from specialist negotiators to private security firms, to transfer the ransoms.




'World only cares about pirates'
On patrol with the pirate hunters
Q&A: Somali piracy

"They are mostly ex-SAS and British or Australian. A lot are also South African," he says.

Not much more is known for certain, however, as it is an unwritten rule among members of such firms that there are no kiss-and-tell stories.

Understandably, those involved are also aware of the needs of their clients and the strict demand for secrecy with people's lives being at stake.

However, Mr Middleton says that such operations cost about $1m, not including the ransom.

"The professional negotiators get about $100,000 for their services and the lawyers get a fee of about $300,000," he explains.

Regarding what goes on behind closed doors, be it the negotiations and the legal and insurance matters as a result of these hijackings, Mr Middleton says it would be fair to say that, "most of it happens in London," he adds.



The EU's first ever naval mission will patrol the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden


Gavin Simmonds, head of international affairs at the British Chamber of Shipping, agrees this assumption is "highly likely" as London is the centre of the global maritime industry.

"It seems perfectly plausible that the actual facilitation of ransom money is being done by London-based insurers," he says.

However, Mr Simmonds says he has also heard rumours that some exchanges have taken place in Dubai.

Bags of cash

The pirates ask that the ransom is all in used dollar bills - normally $50 or $100 notes - according to those with experience of such negotiations.

Kenyan sailor Athman Said Mangore, who was held captive for more than 120 days by Somali pirates, says they are known to make many demands and put in place a number of restrictions.


Pirates have generally treated the crew they seize well - so they are paid

"They sometimes say they want $208,000 exactly in $100 bills only," he says.

"I don't know why they make those demands. They usually also don't like dollar bills that were printed in 2000 or the years before. If it was printed in 1999, they say: 'This is not fit to be used in our shop'," he adds.

Once the ship's owners have sourced cash, a private security firm takes over.

They then hire a tug boat, often from the Kenyan port of Mombasa, which they take further north up the coast towards Somali waters.

The security personnel then board the boat with the bags of cash and enough weaponry to keep it safe.

When the ransom has been paid, the pirates are left to count the money and are allowed to leave the vessel freely.

"The navies in the Somali waters of course must have a pretty good idea of what goes on, as they have spy drones and they are watching the hijacked vessels," Mr Middleton says.

"Whether there's any coordination between the ransom payers and the navies is unknown."

The BBC's Joseph Odhiambo in Mombasa says that on at least two prior occasions the ransom money was delivered to the hijacked vessels via air-drops.

He also says that other payments were flown from Wilson Airport in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, into Somalia on cargo planes transporting the stimulant, khat.

No-one knows how long it will be until the Sirius Star is set free, but it is fair to say the ransom negotiations will be both complicated and delicate, with its cargo believed to be worth $100m.

And the families of its 25 crew members, who are being held hostage, will be hoping that the pirates stay true to their word that they have no intention of harming them.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7752813.stm, 03 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) Higher risk premium - War Risk Policy

Large ships usually have 3 types of insurance policy:
1) Hull policy (physical risks)
2) Protection and indemnity policy (covers matter concerning crews)
3) War risk policy (covers act of terrorism including piracy)

Source: The Star, 01 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) How important is the Gulf of Aden to the shipping industry?

Source: The Star, 01 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) Hindustania set to rule the waves - Somali Privates - 11

Source: The Sun, 27 Nov 2008

(Newspaper) Germany to send 1400 troops to fight Somalia pirates - 10

Source: The Sun, 27 Nov 2008

PTP sees bright side of turmoil

2 major customers - Evergreen and Maersk

Source: The Star, 24 Nov 2008