IP & Hempel hike coating prices

International Paint is to initiate product price rises as global raw material costs spiral.




“During 2010 the cost of raw materials critical to the manufacture of both our marine and protective coatings’ product ranges increased significantly”, said Paul Westcott, Marine & Protective Coatings Commercial Director.



“We have attempted to minimize the impact on our customers for as long as possible by leveraging our buying power and driving internal cost saving measures.”



“Unfortunately the increase in costs shows no sign of abatement and therefore regrettably we now have little choice but to initiate a programme of product price rises.”



International said epoxy resins, titanium dioxide, solvents, copper as well as other metals were among the raw materials most affected.



“We are acutely aware that all industries are under tremendous cost pressure, however, in the current climate of incessant raw material price rises we have little choice but to reluctantly pass some of these increases onto our customers,” said Westcott.



Meanwhile, leading protective coatings supplier Hempel also announced general product price increases.



These price changes are driven by raw materials suppliers increasing prices as well as shortages of some raw materials and rising energy costs.



Hempel is making as many cost-saving measures as possible, but in order to continue to supply the same quality products and service to its customers in these tough financial times, the company must increase its product prices.



In the past year, the average price of raw materials used in coating manufacturing has increased significantly - anywhere from 10 to 60 per cent for key raw materials, such as epoxy, titanium dioxide, industrial metals.



Furthermore, the substantial increases in crude oil prices will continue to negatively influence the cost of petrochemical-based products industry-wide.





Published : February 24, 2011



Source: Asiasis
 

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Daewoo to produce first wind tower

Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering announced yesterday that it will launch the first production of wind turbine towers at its manufacturing plant of wind turbine tower and blade located in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada in May.




Daewoo is planning to produce maximum 600 blades and 250 towers annually at the plant.



When the shipbuilder first entered into the production of wind power systems with taking over America's wind power company, Dewind, in 2009, it aimed to score KRW 9trn ($8bn) of sales, 60% of its entire sales target, in the wind power sector by 2020.





Published : February 25, 2011



Source: Asiasis
 

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DNV issues ISDS class notation

DNV will shortly issue the first ISDS (Integrated Software Dependent Systems) class certificate to Dolphin Drilling.




This new state-of-the art class notation has been under development since 2008 and is already in great demand. Several major rig owners are now requesting the ISDS notation on newbuilds, and DNV is working to prepare yards and suppliers worldwide to deliver to the ISDS requirements.



“With the diagnostics and remote access that is being built into our rigs now, it is really important that software integrity is flawless,” says CEO Ivar Brandvold of Fred. Olsen Energy ASA. “This DNV initiative is very welcome.”



“Our analysis indicates that applying the ISDS class notation can easily save USD 6-20 million by avoiding the delays caused by the need to re-work software,” says Rolf Benjamin Johansen, the director of operations at software integration for DNV maritime and energy.



“In fact, this range is conservative as it does not include avoided costs. Being on schedule avoids propagating supply-chain costs and loss of brand reputation.



The ISDS notation focuses on how to set up and run a project and how to develop quality assurance processes that will last throughout the vessel’s lifetime.



“The class notation alone is not a silver bullet that will solve all software-related problems on drilling units, but it is an important part of the solution. This notation provides a well-defined industry framework for systematically assuring the quality and performance of software-dependent systems,” says Mr Johansen.



DNV's history of working on integrated software-dependent systems goes back to 1982 when the first classification note on computer-based systems was launched. Since then, DNV has steadily developed its system and software reliability services.



During the past few years, the company has performed more than 15 successful ISDS projects in the offshore and maritime industries, and it also has experience of applying similar methods in hundreds of projects within the aerospace, automotive and telecom industries.



The new ISDS notation is the product of DNV’s combined expertise in software engineering, classification and offshore operations.





Published : March 3, 2011



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Price nego btwn Korea & Japan

While Korean shipbuilders and Japanese steel producers are staying in a bitter tug-of-war over the negotiation of steel prices, the results of the negotiation seems to have a great influence on the size and time of the price increase of Korean steel makers, such as Posco, which are pressed to increase the price.




Japanese steel suppliers insist increasing the export price of steel plates due to an advance in raw material prices whereas Korean shipyards do not want to accept the price increase because of the newbuidling prices staying in a low level.



Japanese steel makers are now on a price negotiation with Korea's large shipbuilders, such as Hyudnai Heavy Industries, with the principle to lift the steel plate price by 20% from the present price of $800 per ton to $1,000.



One of domestic shipbuilding players says, "Newbuilding prices do not show any signs of recovery. So domestic shipyards have not been able to accept Japanese steel makers' demand to raise prices, which has been suggested since the fourth quarter of last year."



Meanwhile, Korean steel suppliers are also paying a big attention to the results of the price negotiation, which would be a reference for their own price talks.



The size and time of a price increase Korean steel makers offer will roughly be revealed according to the conclusion of the price adjustment between Japanese steel producers and Korean yards.





Published : March 3, 2011



Source: Asiasis
 

 

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Steel price in dilemma

Korea's steel industry is stuck between two fires since acute interests are intertwined over an increase in steel prices.

The Korea Shipbuilders' Association (Koshipa) has officially requested controlling the prices of ship steel plates from Korea's largest steel maker, Posco.

Koshipa asserts newbuilding prices have yet to regain the level of 70% of the peak recorded in the boom years. So the steel industry should take it into consideration and give shipbuilders a favor for win-win growth.



On the matter, Posco insists the minimum amount of price advance is unavoidable, saying, "Raw material prices have increased by 25% to 30%, so we cannot help raising the price. And it is also difficult to give a special favor only to shipbuilders by handling the ship steel plate price separately."



Posco, which was going to carry out the price advance over its major products from the beginning of the month, is known to be scratching its head over the price increase, delaying the timing of the announcement.



Posco's delay seems affected by the government's pressure to refrain from the price advance, other steel suppliers carefully watching how the wind blows, concerns about market distortions due to steel distributors' delay in price advance and increasing shipbuilding cost.



Meanwhile, the shipbuilding industry raises a big worry about the deterioration of profitability in case ship steel plates increase and new order competitiveness to become weak.



According to the Clarkson Research Services, the newbuilding price index of last month stayed in 141.7.



It hit the peak of 183.9 in 2007 but steadily decreased to 176.5 in 2008 and to 137.7 in 2009. And it rebounded again last year to 142.4.



Another drop of the newbuilding price index this year is mainly because of the oversupply of tonnages since the Lehman Shock.



Plus, one of Japanese steel maker suffering the recent earthquake, JFE Steel, is offering $1,050 per ton for the second quarter increasing by $200 compared with the first quarter.



What is worse for shipbuilders is that securing enough steel plates is quite difficult even at the increased price in the wake of the recent quake.



Most Korean shipbuilders, which are depending on Japanese steel products by 20% to 40% on an annual basis, plan to purchase from domestic steel suppliers, but a 10% increase in steel prices will lead to 1% drop in the cost competitiveness of shipbuilders.





Published : April 7, 2011



Source: Asiasis

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Eco-friendly floating port unveiled

A blueprint for a new "floating port" in Scotland has been set out.

The transhipment facility consisting of a large storage vessel fitted with cranes, which could be built at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, would be the “greenest” terminal in the world, according to researchers at Edinburgh Napier University’s Transport Research Institute (TRI).

Professor Alf Baird said: “The hub could handle goods for perhaps over 20 countries in Europe, including the UK, which would then be transhipped via the new terminal.

He added: “It would have virtually zero impact on the land, lead to major reductions in deep-sea and feedership CO2 emissions due to the shorter sailing distances, and make use of renewable energy to power the container cranes.”

The EUR 40m ($56.74m) venture, called the Floating Container Storage and Transhipment Terminal (FCSTT), will cost EUR 80m less than a land-based port.

Published : April 6, 2011

source: Asiasis

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LR-ABS release CSR software

Lloyd's Register CEO Richard Sadler and ABS Chairman and CEO Robert D. Somerville have signed an agreement that sees the two classification societies release jointly-developed software that will be used to assess bulk carriers and oil tankers designed to comply with IACS Common Structural Rules (CSR).




The common software draws upon the technical strengths of ABS and Lloyd's Register and will be used to evaluate new designs presented to either society.

ABS and LR have also established Common Structural Rules Software, LLC - a joint company with offices in Houston and London.


It will maintain the newly released software and develop new common software which will assess vessels designed to comply with the harmonized CSR that will be submitted for industry review in 2012.

The common software will be available for download on April 5 at www.CommonStructuralRulesSoftware.com.




Published : April 5, 2011




Source: Asiasis

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Mega-float rises

Plan of using mega-float is emerging as a solution for the main headache in the Fukushima nuclear power plant 1 of The Tokyo Electric Power Company, the storage of radioactive-contaminated water.


The authority of Shizuoka city in Japan has handed over the mega-float, which used to be an underwater marine park, to the company.
 With this, one of Yokohama-based ship repair yards will conduct upgrade and modification work over the unit.



Since some specific works are required such as demolition of internal bulkheads and protective treatment, etc. to store contaminated water, the ship repair yard seems to deal with the work emergently.



Published : April 5, 2011

 

Source: Asiasis

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Hyundai Mipo completes new plant

South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard started full-swing operation of its fourth off-site plant in the city of Ulsan as soon as it held a launching ceremony for the newly built plant yesterday.

The new plant consists of ship block assembly yard, berthing facilities, four painting blocks and two blasting plants.



With the latest completion of the plant, the yard has secured its fourth off-site plant, which will help settle the land shortage of its headquarters in Ulsan and make effective responses to increasing deliveries - the yard is supposed to deliver 86 ships this year while it built 60 ships last year.
 The new plant will hire around 200 workers including its four subcontractors' workers.



Hyundai Mipo will gradually expand production facilities such as painting inspection yard and all-weather working places.
 Published : April 6, 2011

Source: Asiasis

Korea nurtures shipbuilding workers

There are growing demands for skilled shipbuilding workers since new orders in the shipbuilding and offshore plant segments have been increasing.

To supply workforce to the industry, a free training is to be held in South Jeolla Province.



The authority of the province opened a shipbuilding industry support council yesterday to conduct education and training for preliminary shipbuilding workforce through some technical institutes.



The province understands the current demands for new crew require around 2,500 people and aims to nurture around 1,800 trainees for the welding segment.
 For the rest 700, the province will inject those workers, who had gone through the first and second training from 2005 to 2009 to the shipbuilding-related companies in the region.
 Published : April 6, 2011

Source: Asiasis

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Ordering focused on boxships

Shipowners are active in ordering new boxships but still relatively quiet in bulker and tanker sectors.

Clarksons reports in its latest weekly report, “As we move into the second quarter of the year the newbuilding market continues to remain active with further reports of new business being concluded.

As has been the pattern of late, it is the container sector that continues to generate the majority of this activity with the tanker and dry bulk markets continuing to remain relatively quiet.

The price of steel plating and its effect on the newbuilding market has been a hot topic of conversation of late, with price increases being announced by the major steel mills.

These factors along with the continuing currency appreciation in the Far East will again highlight the challenges being faced by the yards today to remain competitive on pricing.

In an earlier report, London-based Gibson had argued that tanker owners have effectively abandoned the newbuilding market.

“Months of low earnings coupled with a bearish sentiment in the tanker spot market has finally slowed down the shopping spree for tanker newbuildings” said the latest weekly report from the London-based firm.

Published : April 6, 2011
Source: Asiasis

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DaeSun sees $72m derivatives loss

Korea's DaeSun Shipbuilding & Engineering announced in a regulatory filing yesterday that it has made derivatives loss of KRW 79.022bn ($72m) in both forward transaction and covered option, which corresponds to 3123.4% compared with its equity.

"We aimed risk hedge, but unexpected rate soaring drove us to create financial derivatives loss," the company revealed.

The yard disclosed in the audit report released on 21st March that it saw full capital erosion and continuing loss before income taxes exceeding 50% of equity capital at the end of the recent three business years.

All of those factors can contribute to the yard's delisting, and the recent loss on derivatives transactions accelerates the delisting of DaeSun.

On the matter, the yard revealed that it cannot avoid delisting, but there is no problem in sales activity and shipbuilding work. 


Published : April 1, 2011
Source:Asiasis

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Imabari wins 61K bulker

Ikaros Shipping of Greece has ordered a panamax bulker at Imabari Shipbuilding of Japan.

The bulker owner has contracted a 61,000-dwt vessel at the yard for delivery in the third quarter of 2012.

The move represents a firm move into 60,000-dwt-plus segment for Ikaros.

It is also set to take delivery a 28,000-dwt bulker from Imabari in June. That contract was inked last year, according to boss Panos Christodoulatos.

Ikaros took another two newbuildings from Imabari in 2009, the 28,000-dwt Ken Giant and 53,900-dwt Ken Sea (both built 2009), which were ordered in 2007. 

Published : April 4, 2011
Source: Asiasis

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