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Tidal Transit has just celebrated the completion of 10,000 safe passenger transfers from its two personnel transfer vessels to wind turbines situated in the North Sea. The Ginny Louise and Eden Rose sail to the wind farms on most days from either Wells-next-the Sea or Great Yarmouth to transfer wind farm maintenance technicians and their tools. Anyone familiar with the often unfriendly weather conditions these two remarkable vessels face in the waters off the East Anglian coast will appreciate this achievement.Even in calm seas, transferring personnel from vessel to turbine is one of the most potentially hazardous processes faced by those working in the young offshore wind energy industry. It is a tribute to the design of Tidal Transit’s vessels, and the Health and Safety procedures of both Tidal Transit and the offshore wind energy companies to which it charters its vessels, that 10,000 transfers have been carried out with 100% safety record. Tidal Transit’s Leo Hambro is delighted with his company’s safety record, saying: “Ginny Louise and Eden Rose have been in use on the Greater Gabbard and the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farms respectively, during both the construction and operational phases. The vessels are purpose built, and able to accommodate most types of weather conditions. Their performance has vindicated Tidal Transit’s investment in these state-of-the-art vessels.”Tidal Transit’s third vessel, Tia Elizabeth will join the fleet very shortly, and it is likely that it will immediately go on long term charter in the North Sea.[mappress]Press release, June 17, 2013; Image: ni4b
Capital Product Partners L.P. announced yesterday agreements to transfer its claims against Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG) and certain of OSG’s subsidiaries regarding the long term bareboat charters of three of the Partnership’s product tanker vessels.As previously reported by the Partnership, on November 14, 2012, OSG and certain of its subsidiaries made a voluntary filing for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Partnership had three IMO II/III Chemical/Product tankers (M/T Alexandros II, M/T Aristotelis II and M/T Aris II, all built in 2008 by STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.) with long term bareboat charters to subsidiaries of OSG.After discussions with OSG, the Partnership agreed to enter into new charters with OSG on substantially the same terms as the prior charters, but at a bareboat rate of $6,250 per day. The new charters were approved by the Bankruptcy Court on March 21, 2013, and were effective as of March 1, 2013. On the same date, the Bankruptcy Court also rejected the previous charters as of March 1, 2013. Rejection of each charter constitutes a material breach of such charter. On May 24, 2013, the Partnership filed claims against each of the charterers and their respective guarantors for damages resulting from the rejection of each of the previous charters, including, among other things, the difference between the reduced amount of the new charters and the amount due under each of the rejected charters.The Partnership has since transferred to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. all of its right, title, interest, claims and causes of action in and to, or arising under or in connection with, the Claims pursuant to three separate Assignment of Claim Agreements, dated as of June 24, 2013, and effective as of June 26, 2013. The total purchase price to be paid by Deutsche Bank, the largest part of which has been already received, is dependent on the actual claim amount allowed by the Bankruptcy Court — the Partnership may be required to refund a portion of the purchase price or may receive an additional payment from Deutsche Bank. The Partnership has agreed to guarantee all obligations and liabilities of each relevant vessel-owning subsidiary of the Partnership party to the Assignment Agreements, per the terms of each such agreement. In connection with the Assignment Agreements, on July 2, 2013, Deutsche Bank filed with the Bankruptcy Court six separate Evidences of Transfer of Claim, each pertaining to the Partnership’s vessel-owning subsidiaries’ claims against each charterer party to the original three charter agreements and each respective guarantor thereof.Mr. Ioannis Lazaridis, Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of the Partnership’s General Partner, commented: “We are very pleased to have successfully assigned our claim against OSG to Deutsche Bank and we believe that the funds received in connection with the assignment further enhance the growth prospects of the Partnership.”Fleet DevelopmentsThe M/T Avax (47,834 dwt, built 2007, South Korea) and M/T Axios (47,872 dwt, built 2007, South Korea) have both extended their charters with our Sponsor, Capital Maritime, by a period of 12 months (+/- 30 days) at a gross rate of $14,750 per day, which is $750 per day higher than their previous employment day rate. The earliest redelivery for each of the M/T Avax and the M/T Axios under these charters is expected to be April 2014 and May 2014, respectively.[mappress]Capital Product Partners L.P., July 11, 2013
After more than a decade of planning and construction across three square miles of development, DP World London Gateway deep-sea port is now open, providing British exporters and importers with a more efficient way to ship globally, at less cost.The ‘MOL Caledon’ was welcomed by DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Vice Chairman Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Group CEO Mohammed Sharaf, Chairman of MOL Liner Junichiro Ikeda, and shipper representatives JFH Hillebrand MD David Mawer and Chingford Fruit MD Gavin McNally, together with other senior executives.London Gateway is located closer to major population centres of London, Birmingham and Manchester than other ports that are capable of handling the world’s biggest ships.The new port will reduce transport costs for exporters and importers by reducing millions of trucking miles from supply chains.The port also provides 21 st Century infrastructure for shipping lines that are building bigger ships.DP World, a leading global port operator with more than 65 marine terminals across six continents, including new developments, built Britain’s new port for today’s and the next generation of ships.Known as ‘ultra large container ships’ (ULCS), they are up to 400 metres long and can carry over 18,000 shipping containers.The first scheduled ship to dock at the port, operated by MOL Liner, received exports and delivered containers carrying a variety of cargo, including fruit and automotive parts, which will be distributed across the country over the coming days.The MOL Caledon is part of the South African Europe Container Service (SAECS) which is made up of a consortium of shipping lines including MOL, Maersk, DAL and Safmarine.Junichiro Ikeda, Chairman of MOL Liner, visiting London Gateway, said: “I’m delighted to be here on this historic day at the opening of DP World’s London Gateway. We believe that the new port through its modern facilities and convenient links to the business community, will provide us the perfect platform to continue the efficient and reliable services MOL is committed to offering its UK customers.The conditions at London Gateway, like draft and tides also gives us the opportunity to grow further through the introduction of bigger ships and a further expansion of our network.It’s a promising new port for a great country.”Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman, DP World, said: “We are proud and pleased to be able to contribute to the UK economy by building and operating this state-of-the-art moderninfrastructure that will support trade growth far into the future. This is the first port to be built in the UK in a generation and so there is nothing else like this in the country. From today, shipping lines can now bring the world’s largest ships closer to key UK markets and reduce the costs of transportation. At the same time, global businesses can make their supply chains more efficient. It’s a real pleasure to be able to stand side by side with MOL on this historic day.”Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Vice Chairman, DP World, highlighted the importance of the logistics park adjacent to the port:“London Gateway’s logistics park is Europe’s largest and will save companies hundreds of millions of pounds every year from business costs by removing a whole step in UK supply chains. Goods will move through the port and straight into the logistics park, then straight to shops and homes, rather than being sent first to inland warehouses.”Mohammed Sharaf, Group CEO DP World, said: “We are pleased to welcome one of our most important customers, MOL, as the first shipping line to call at London Gateway as part of the new consortium service routed through London Gateway. Bringing London Gateway to this point has been very much a partnership with all our stakeholders, including our customers, and I would particularly like to thank them, those involved in the port’s construction, government authorities, the community and our people who have worked tirelessly to realise this vision.”Adrian Jones, Managing Director MOL (Europe) Ltd., said: “ This is an historic moment for both MOL and DP World London Gateway. The arrival of our first container vessel into the port marks the birth of a facility that is likely to play a critical part in the future of seaborne trade to and from the UK. The proximity of London Gateway to London and DP World’s plans to grow an extensive logistics park around the port, mean that this will be an attractive port for many customers – reducing costs in their supply chain.Simon Moore, CEO London Gateway, said: “We are pleased to be able to start our first scheduled services today. It’s taken many years of hard work to achieve this milestone, delivered on time and on budget. It’s a huge day for the team here, but we remain focused on delivering what we set out to achieve, reduced supply chain costs and more reliability for importers and exporters.”Leading importers and exporters from across the UK were in attendance at a ceremony held on the quayside this morning whilst the ship was being loaded. Chingford Fruit, one of the largest importers of fresh fruit from South Africa, uses MOL’s services to the UK.MD Gavin McNally, said: “We ship thousands of tonnes of fruit into the UK for some of the most demanding retailers. We are always exploring opportunities for improvements to our already high levels of efficiency and I believe that London Gateway has the potential to deliver that for us. Therefore it’s great news to see the first MOL ship dock at London Gateway.”David Mawer MD of JFH Hillebrand, a leading logistics company, was also at the ceremony.He said: “We ship thousands of containers into the country every year and we ensure the goods are moved quickly and efficiently, as that’s what our customer s need. We are pleased that London Gateway is now operational so that we can use world-class infrastructure to help us increase reliability and efficiency.”The port is now operating with its first berth open. When fully developed, London Gateway will operate six berths, with a total of 24 quay cranes and will be able to handle 3.5 million TEU a year.Freight trains moved cargo to the midlands and further afield from London Gateway’s new rail terminal.Over 30% of the containers moving through the port are planned to go by rail.The state-of-the-art terminal can handle the longest trains in the UK. DB Schenker Rail UK and Freightliner are both providing rail services to the new port.Thousands of new jobs have been created in the construction sector during the past ten years at the site.According to a study by Oxford Economics, once fully operational, London Gateway will create 36,000 jobs and contribute £3.2bn to UK GDP annually.[mappress]Press Release, November 8, 2013
Rashid Al-Marri, General Manager of South Hook Gas was one of the key speakers at the recent Gas and Electricity Summit in Paris and Euroforum Gas Conference in Berlin. In his speeches, Al-Marri explained that population growth and rising living standards were likely to drive global gas demand for the foreseeable future, and that this would also be reflected in continued growth in LNG supply and demand.Across Europe, countries are grappling with the energy trilemma of energy security, cost competitiveness and decarbonisation and Al-Marri highlighted the cost competitiveness of gas versus other energy sources, its lower emissions compared with coal and oil use not just in the power industry but as LNG in the transport sector. Indeed, in the US, gas powered cars, trucks, buses and trains are helping emissions to fall sharply there and these markets together with the marine sector, offer some attractive opportunities for LNG.Al-Marri explained how the arrival of LNG had strongly improved energy security in Europe as it now has access to additional sources of natural gas from farther afield. Indeed South Hook Gas has grown to become one of the largest LNG importers in Europe with the potential to meet around 20% of UK gas demand. In less than five years, it has imported more than 330 LNG cargoes and supplied the market every day since commencing operations in 2009. To date, these cargoes have been delivered from the world’s largest LNG producer, Qatar, and that the investment made in South Hook Gas and the South Hook LNG Terminal demonstrates the long-term commitment to the European gas market by their shareholders.He concluded by explaining that South Hook Gas’ mandate was to import LNG and to maximise the utilisation of the capacity of the South Hook LNG Terminal and the company had signed agreements with a number of counterparties interested in potentially delivering LNG to the UK market and would welcome similar discussions with any other company wanting to supply the UK market.[mappress]LNG World News Staff, December 17, 2013; Image: South Hook
The association called the agreements between the European Union, Switzerland and the United States and between the USA and Canada to recognise each other’s security regimes as ‘welcomed and sensible progress’ towards the shared goals of maintaining the highest levels of air cargo security without impeding international air cargo supply chains.Michael Steen, chairman of TIACA, said: “We strongly support efforts to enhance security of the air cargo supply chain without unduly disrupting vital commercial flows. Mutual recognition of robust security regimes is an important way to further this goal, so we commend the USA, EU, Swiss and Canadian authorities for their recent announcements in this regard. TIACA will continue to support additional efforts to mutually recognise security regimes and to implement global, harmonised standards.”TIACA says the progress made by governments to recognise each other’s national air cargo security regimes will eliminate duplication of security controls and the costs and time delays associated with this whilst ensuring strict air cargo safety and security requirements continue to be met consistently.Speaking to delegates at TIACA’s Executive Summit in Moscow, Doug Brittin, Director, Air Cargo at the Transportation Security Administration, said the security threat ‘remains high for all of us’. “Our goal, which we know is shared by the industry, is to not lose a plane,” he added.He outlined the work TSA has been doing on advanced air cargo data alongside bodies such as ICAO, the World Customs’ Organisation and the Universal Postal Union.Outlining the status of the Advanced Air Cargo Screening (ACAS) programme, he confirmed the pilot was still ongoing, having started with express carriers a year ago and subsequently expanded to include passenger and cargo carriers as well as freight forwarders. The objective, he said, was to prove data flows and timelines, adding: “Can DHS (U.S. Department of Homeland Security) looking at this data quickly analyse, determine risk and get information on which screening method to use to the proper place at the proper time?”The message channels and protocols are critical to this, he said. “The key part of this is moving that trusted shipper concept to a data driven analysis. We want to be able to make a determination based on historical data about the shippers plus incorporate the trusted shipper rule sets into ACAS.” He urged forwarders to be part of this process, stating: “The sooner the data is transmitted the better … we suggest freight forwarders and carriers conduct active discussions with all parties in the supply chain as soon as possible to help determine the outcome and help design the process overall.”Brittin also recognised the important support industry is giving to further enhancing air cargo security. He said: “Together we have made significant progress in enhancing air cargo security in the past few years and industry has risen to the challenge, both in the all-cargo and the passenger carrier segments. We are moving steadily toward closing all gaps. What we have put in place-a risk-based, intelligence-driven approach applying tiered screening protocols-could not have been accomplished without working through the numerous details with industry partnership. TIACA and GACAG (Global Air Cargo Advisory Group) have played a key role in this partnership approach, and I am confident that by continuing to work together, we can resolve any outstanding and future security challenges.”
Two listed companies whose portfolios include established law firms have revealed big profit increases in annual results published today.Fairpoint Group, which recently acquired north-west firm Coleman-CTTS and bought national firm Simpson Millar in 2014, increased profit before tax by 21% to £4.1m in the full year ending 30 June.The 2014/15 financials, which reflect the first full year since acquiring Simpson Millar, also revealed that revenue increased by 64% to £22.9m.Legal services now represent 62% of group revenues and accounted for 49% of total revenue in the reporting period – up from 8% in 2014.The results announcement, posted on the London Stock Exchange, says the group is in a strong position to grow ‘organically and through further acquisition’, supported by a £25m loan facility.The company, headed by chief executive Chris Moat (pictured) and which previously concentrated on debt management and individual voluntary arrangements, saw its share price rise by 3.2% following the announcement.Meanwhile Redde PLC, which entered the legal market through the acquisition of NewLaw under its previous name Helphire last year, says it increased profits before tax by 91% this year.The company today reported its results for the year ending 30 June and said it made £22.3m profit based on £248.7m turnover.Redde did not specify what profit was made from NewLaw, but said the firm and its associated businesses made an ‘encouraging contribution’ during the first full year since acquisition and performed in line with expectations.Principia Law, the company’s other legal services business with a focus on personal injury, has made ‘good progress’ as it emerges from its start-up phase.Martin Ward, chief executive, said: ‘The group has continued to make very good progress and remains well positioned, with the funds available, to support further growth.‘Our “GPS” strategy (Growth, Profitability and Sustainability), launched in 2013, is gaining further momentum with a growing pipeline of new business.’
Ridership on the two state-subsidised passenger trains operated by Amtrak in North Carolina has shown increases for the six months from October 1997. The Piedmont showed a 9·7% rise compared with the same period a year earlier while the Carolinian was up just 0·2%.Starting in May, a full-length dome car built in 1952 for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific Railroad began operating on the Piedmont as a feature of its new ’Weekend Club Service.’ For an $8 per person surcharge, up to 50 passengers can reserve a seat in the dome car and receive special amenities including complimentary beverages, newspapers and magazines. The North Carolina DOT purchased the car from Union Pacific for $110000 and spent $560000 to refurbish it, including rebuilding and modernising the electrical and mechanical systems. o