Europe Intelligence Wire articles from December 2003

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from December 2003

Pakistan minister defends government on women.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Pakistan's minister for women defended her government's record on improving women's rights, but said more needs to be done to sweep aside age-old discrimination. In an interview with AFP on Tuesday,...

China bans TV ads for sanitary towels and other "offensive" products.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) China is to mark the New Year by banning television adverts for sanitary towels, haemorrhoid medicines and other "offensive" products during peak dinner-time viewing. The China Daily said the new...

Indian border force says it killed four Pakistanis on desert frontier.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Indian paramilitary soldiers shot dead four Pakistanis along their desert border, a spokesman for the Border Security Force (BSF) said. The men were trying to enter India when they ran into a BSF patrol at...

Delegates threaten boycott of Afghan constitutional convention.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Afghanistan's loya jirga, or grand assembly, is due to resume after being thrown into disarray as more than 100 delegates threatened to boycott voting on the amended constitution which they claimed had been...

Cold claims 153 lives in India.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) At least 25 more people died in India taking the death toll from a cold snap gripping the north of the country to 153, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported. Twenty more people died late...

New Zealand stung by Pakistan, look to South Africa for redemption.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming was casting an eager eye to February's three-Test tour by South Africa as a chance to redeem the Black Caps' flagging Test fortunes after failing against Pakistan....

Waugh's minder holding back wave of callers.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Steve Waugh's manager says he is fielding a barrage of calls as the Australian cricket captain's farewell tour reaches a crescendo with the Sydney Test starting on Friday. Waugh is playing in his 168th and...

Philippine hopsitals, police on alert ahead of New Year's Eve revelry.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Hospitals and police across the Philippines are on high alert in anticipation of riotous New Year's Eve revelry here. Manila police director Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol said latest health department...

HK pro-democracy groups urge residents to rally on New Year's Day.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Pro-democracy groups have called on the Hong Kong public to attend a New Year's Day rally in the that hope another show of "people power" will pressure the government into political reforms. Rally...

Five people, including one Arab, found strangled in Colombia.
December 31, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Colombian authorities found the bodies of five people -- including a man of Arabic origin and three Spaniards -- in an abandoned vehicle in downtown Medellin, all of whom had been strangled, Colombian...

Out of adversity, hope springs.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: It was a year of surprises, and 12 months on there is a sense of disbelief in all that transpired, suggests Michael Grey A s 2003 dawned on a markedly uncertain world, the cold light of January revealed a...

Owners relax as club managers sharpen risk skill.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: James Brewer SHIPOWNERS are feeling a little happier with their P'I clubs as the managers get better at risk management. Despite the year-end row over whether the clubs were over- secretive or spent...

From record takeover to a giant fighting for its life.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Tony Gray A record takeover and an industry giant teetering on the brink of financial ruin were the extremes of a year which, in terms of business and finance, pretty much had something for everyone. ...

On guard to ensure high standards.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: James Brewer WHO's afraid of the 'big, bad Rolf'? Rolf Tolle is an object of fear only to those insurers at Lloyd's that present a business plan that is less than watertight. Appointed franchise...

Golar LNG gains a foothold in Korean market.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Fredriksen company buys 9.9% stake in Korea Line, writes Tony Gray GOLAR LNG has made a bold move into the Asian liquefied natural gas market through the acquisition of a stake of almost 10% in Korea Line...

Bonanza for boxships in cargo boom.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Ordering scrum leads to an unprecedented containership orderbook of more than 2.5m teu, writes Janet Porter TWELVE months ago containerships of 8,000 teu capacity seemed just a fantasy. A year on,...

Twelve months of delay, defeat and competition.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Roger Hailey IT was a year of delayed German road tolls, a defeated port services directive and the injection of competition into European rail freight. The much maligned directive liberalising access...

Milestone in year dogged by safety and security worries.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Today's US security Act deadline typifies this year's concerns, writes Sandra Speares SAFETY and security have continued to dominate the maritime regulatory and legislative agenda this year, and today marks...

Uniqa to take control of Mannheimer in $100m deal.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) AUSTRIAN insurer Uniqa is to take over the German Mannheimer Holding, six months after Mannheimer's life company collapsed. Uniqa will pump E 80m ($100.2m) into the group, for which it will get a 87% majority, writes...

Plenty of excitement despite the low prices.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Christopher Mayer 'WE'RE giving away a phenomenal value at ridiculous prices, and I think that is an obscenity,' Carnival Cruise Lines president Bob Dickinson uttered memorably in March as he surveyed the...

OMI executives cash in on rise.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) THREE senior executives in OMI, including chairman and chief executive Craig Stevenson, have cashed in on the leading US tanker operator's highest share price for more than five years, writes Tony Gray. Mr...

Main lenders agree to waiver Stolt Offshore loan defaults until April.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Rajesh Joshi in New York STOLT Offshore, the 63%-owned subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen, has announced that its principal lenders have agreed to extend waivers on covenant defaults on a majority of its debt...

Let the good times roll for secondhand shipowners.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) WHAT a great year 2003 has been for owners with secondhand vessels to sell, writes David Osler. And the good news is, pundits are predicting that the good times will continue to roll for at least the next 18...

Tanker shares to lap up another champagne year.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Further handsome increases on cards for New York-listed stocks, writes Tony Gray THE past 12 months has proven a 'champagne year' for tanker shares and there is a growing body of opinion that suggests more...

Are experts invoking property boom all at sea or on course?
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: David Osler THIS year, the sale and purchase market seems to have treated us to a maritime version of the London property boom. And many pundits argue that 2004 could see more of the same. Now, as my...

Underwriters look to owners to share the risk burden.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Deductibles being raised in bid to stamp out attritional losses, writes James Brewer SHIPOWNERS have been asked to shoulder more of the risk for hull and machinery breakdowns as they renew their insurance...

Steady as she goes for sector cushioned from extremes.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: David Osler INSULATED from the highs and lows of the shipping cycle, shipmanagement's progress in 2003 was steady rather than spectacular. Probably the most intriguing deal of the year was the decision...

UAE navy hands CMN a lifeline with $206m order.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Andrew Spurrier in Paris STRUGGLING French shipbuilder, Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie, has received a promised E 165m ($206.7) order from United Arab Emirates for six fast attack naval patrol...

Ballast tank coatings the vital issue.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Silence has been deafening on a subject of critical importance seemingly linking major recent pollution incidents, writes Hugh O'Mahony Another year and more regulations for tanker operators, but last...

The art of the 'box camera'.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) CONTAINER shipping is brought to life in a new book commissioned by Germany's ER Schiffahrt that tells the story of the 'epoch-making metal box', writes Janet Porter. Sabine Vielmo's photographs and reportage in...

Politicians shrug off unanswered questions.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Brian Reyes in Gibraltar TWO senior Spanish government representatives moved to draw a line under the Prestige saga in the closing days of 2003, but sections of Galician society and the mainstream press...

Potamianos retires, just for a day.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Rajesh Joshi GREEK passenger shipping patriarch Andreas Potamianos has made an extraordinary return to the board of Royal Olympic Cruise Lines, just 24 hours after announcing his retirement from the...

Italian owners hail success of tonnage tax campaign.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: New ship taxation system follows Confitarma pressure, writes Justin Stares in Rome ITALIAN shipowners have reacted with satisfaction to the approval by government and parliament of a 'tonnage tax' after a...

China proves to be answer to brokers' prayers.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) By Namrata Nadkarni On the first day a Voice said, 'let there be light' and the world was illuminated. A few months ago the Voice added, 'let there be Chinese demand'. The heavens smiled down as every shipbroker's...

A year of highs and hulls as shipping takes centre stage.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Prestige fallout tempers rising freight rates, writes Julian Bray COULD 2003 go down as the year when the rest of the world finally sat up and started taking the shipping industry seriously? To some...

Wild price swings driven by unrest in three hotspots.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Martyn Wingrove It WAS a volatile market for bunkers, with oil prices moving through a large range brought about by the Iraqi war, Venezuelan strikes and Nigerian Delta unrest . With fuel prices...

Credence clear for North Sea waters revival.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Licensing and tax incentives draw new players into fray to explore and develop North Sea resources, writes Martyn Wingrove FIGHTING against the continued maturing of the North Sea, the UK industry made 2003...

California box ports raise rates.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) MAJOR Californian container ports will be raising their prices from tomorrow, partly in response to soaring security costs, writes Janet Porter. The ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland are among those...

Flood of fast-track Prestige payouts.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Madrid receives 15,000 applications for speeded-up compensation, writes Brian Reyes in Gibraltar THE Spanish government has received 15,000 applications from people wanting to sign up to a voluntary...

Tasman Spirit salvage to start following release of four Tsavliris vessels.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Smit to begin on wreck removal after the American Club facilitates the vessels' release from the Karachi Port Authority, writes Sandra Speares FOUR ships operated by salvors Tsavliris, and detained in...

Chinese whirlwind hits the shipbreaking yards.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) 'CHINA, China China!' says a ship broker when asked how the demolition market has been this past year, happily putting a name to the driving force that has swept through most markets, sharply pushing up not only...

Year hard to top in rate volatility and market excitement.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Martyn Wingrove TANKER owners must be wondering how the next year could top 2003 for day-rate volatility and market excitement. The tanker market seems to have gone through several cycles in just a few...

Welland Canal general cargo falls.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) A steep fall in general cargo passing through the Welland Canal and the Montreal'Lake Ontario sections of the St Lawrence Seaway saw 2003 traffic levels fall to 40.9m tonnes, down by 1.3% on the previous year. ...

Watch this space! Galileo crosses a final frontier of EU squabbles.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Europe's satellite navigation project survives a sticky year as its backers overcame their doubts, writes Neville Smith WITH the internet bubble a fading memory and the application of information technology...

Hagenaes may opt to sell two new PSVs.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Hugh O'Mahony LOW- profile Norwegian owner J Hagenaes Shipping may be heading towards the sale of its two newest platform support vessels. The company is understood to be seeking a quick sale for its...

Panamax boom starts to have knock-on effect.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: CHINESE demand for dry bulk continues to prop-up the panamax market in the Far East, which is having a knock-on effect on the other routes, writes Martyn Wingrove . Demand from China for coal, iron ore and...

Violent beginning gives way to more peaceful progress.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: While Venezuela recovers from a costly start to 2003 when strikes washed away $7bn in oil revenues, things are looking up for Brazil, Chile and Argentina, writes Rainbow Nelson It has been a year of gradual...

Aframax rates boosted by Bosporus tanker delays.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Martyn Wingrove LENGTHENING delays to shipping off the Turkish coast is boosting charter rates for aframax tankers in the Black Sea and Mediterranean markets. Continuing problems navigating through the...

Pair of long-standing fixtures reach out to wider audiences.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) T wo of London's most enduring exhibitions and conferences commanded centre stage in 2003 with announcements previewing a new era. When the curtain rose on Cruise + Ferry in May, followed by ShipRepair ' Conversion...

Dutch lose edge while Belgians regain their flag.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Helen Hill in Amsterdam undoubtedly, 2003 will be viewed in years to come as one of the tougher years the Dutch maritime industry has faced. The economy is in the doldrums and there is the feeling that...

Drumbeat of security keeps buoyant sector in the groove.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: A year of edicts and explosions, writes John McLaughlin in New York For the US shipping industry, this was a year of steady progress played out against the incessant drumbeat of maritime security edicts...

Tanker Fixtures.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) CLEAN Jubail to U ae Al Dhibyaniyyah, 30,000t, $152,000 lumpsum Dec 24. (Petroplus) Yosu to Shanghai Platinum, 30,000t, $192,500 lumpsum Jan 12. (LG Caltex) Kerteh to Hong Kong Unique Sunshine , 30,000t,...

Madrid takes key role in post-Prestige shake-up.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Spanish capital leads regulatory review while Portugese capital celebrates being chosen as location for maritime safety agency, writes Brian Reyes FALLOUT from the Prestige disaster continued to dominate...

Shipowners reluctantly uncork the champagne.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: It has been a tremendous year but shipping remains coy about its success story, write Herbert Fromme and Nina Zipplies in Cologne The people who live alongside Germany's coasts are well-known for their...

Moscow feels benefit of demands for energy.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Economic growth opens up ports, writes John Helmer in Moscow While the economies of most of the world's leading maritime nations have suffered from stagnation or worse this year, Russia has powered ahead,...

Good year for tanker rates and dry bulk marred by scandal.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Norway prospered commercially but its halo slipped somewhat, writes Jerry Frank SCANDAL and talk of decline hung over Norway's maritime through 2003 alongside strong tanker rates and a bonanza dry bulk...

US aims to make the world box clever on container safety.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Rotterdam was the first port to join the US plan for a worldwide network of radiation detection sensors in key maritime hubs. But Washington's deliberately multinational approach will affect global container security...

Piraeus parties while Nicosia focuses on accession to union.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Greek commitment through thick and thin pays dividends, writes Nigel Lowry in Athens 'You gotta fight for the right to party,' sang the Beastie Boys a decade or so ago. The Beastie Boys are a...

Smiles across the board for owners as most sectors continue to thrive.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Investment in quality tonnage in the wake of Erika disaster pays dividends, writes Justin Stares in Rome It has not been difficult to extract a smile from Italian owners in 2003. The traditionally...

Ports smash container traffic records.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Clive Woodbridge Turkey's container traffic has reached record-breaking levels in 2003. In total, the country's ports will handle around 2.45m teu this year, up from 1.93m teu in 2002, a jump of almost 27%....

South Africa boosts hot pursuit powers.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) POACHERS should beware of the long arm of the law, according to David Richter of Durban-based law firm Adams ' Adams as South Africa has tightened its laws of 'hot pursuit' this year. The 2002 South African Defence...

Brussels rules spark debate over in rem actions.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Sandra Speares THE Brussels and Lugano Conventions which have now been replaced by the Brussels Regulation have had a profound effect on Admiralty actions in rem, says Justin Draeger of Holman Fenwick '...

Short war means minimal disruption to regional shipping.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: War-related costs also less than feared, writes Clive Woodbridge Events in Iraq have inevitably tended to overshadow all other developments in the Middle East this year. The relatively short duration of...

Because it's there.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) IT IS fundamentally reasonable, and an accepted legal principle, that those who suffer from the consequences of spilled oil should be adequately compensated. One can argue forever about whether those who carry the oil,...

How Ukraine's bankruptcy law can save debt-laden concerns.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) BANKRUPTCY procedure in the Ukraine is regulated by the Ukrainian Act of May 14, 1992, revised in June 31, 1999 which deals with restoring debtors to solvency or declaring them bankrupt. If a debtor is not able to...

Dry bulk buoyancy leaves lucky few sitting pretty on the crest of a wave.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Long hot summer and Chinese demand give India a boost, writes Shirish Nadkarni in Mumbai If only such a year were to come again, and again, and yet again! That is the kind of refrain that Indian shipping...

California gets tough on ballast water management.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Marine Invasive Species Act to impose additional requirements on masters, owners and operators, writes Sandra Speares CALIFORNIA is set to introduce new legislation tomorrow to replace existing rules on...

Drought ends and thirsty owners begin to make hay.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Sandy Galbraith in Melbourne THE prolonged drought that had blighted huge swathes of Australia for far too long came to a welcome end this year, with heavy and persistent rain bringing much-needed relief to...

Business incorporation decision may benefit UK.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) FORUM shopping for companies may be on the agenda as a result of a recent ruling in the European Court of Justice, according to CMS Cameron McKenna. The court ruling in October said that businesses wishing to...

World Brief.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Quake toll soars SOME 50,000 people may have died in Friday's Iranian earthquake, officials said, as relief workers pleaded for more aid for survivors of one of the deadliest natural disasters of modern times. ...

Record orders bump up fortunes.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Yards have cashed in on the demand for tonnage, writes Marcus Hand IT has been a good year for Asia's shipping industry, with shipyards clocking up record orders and owners and operators seeing a sharp...

LastWord.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Docking horse CONTAINERISATION really is taking over. And this time, it is air transport rather than the bulk trades that is feeling the heat of competition from the metal box. But pity the cargo. For a...

Big three container lines look beyond home market.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) THE great drive west continues for Japan's three largest shipping lines Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui OSK Lines and K Line. Realising a number of years ago that Japan's industrial strength was ebbing at home, the...

Container lines savour prospect of padded pockets.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) By Sam Chambers Make no mistake about it, this has been a dramatically great year for Taiwan's shipping firms. All the container lines are reporting huge profit swings, while the nation's primary shipbuilder,...

Get well soon, marine insurance.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Quarterpoints - Sam Ignarski IT WAS in the sister publication of this paper, or rather the admirable e-zine published by the Australian Lloyd's List DCN, that I first read the comments made by Clarkson...

TheBestof LastWord.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Edited by Mark Warner Crabs leg it to Finland THERE was some good news for shipowners this year in their fight to combat the stowaway, with reports from Finland that a variety of Chinese crabs...

Tricky question facing Caricom.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: David Renwick in Port of Spain The Caricom Task Force on Energy Policy, composed of technocrats and government oil company representatives under the chairmanship of Ronald Hewitt, general manager of the...

Local issues dominate the continent's agenda.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Keen focus on Aids pandemic and chaos in Zimbabwe, writes Dee Rissik Africa has certainly not been left unscathed by the Iraq war and Middle East turbulence, but its effects have been varied, and often less...

Typhoon apart, a glowing year for lines and yards.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) By Sam Chambers The stars were aligned in 2003 for a Korean bonanza, that not even countless scandals and labour disputes could hide the glow from. The top two shipping lines and five shipbuilders have seen their...

Dragon cements its position as main driver of world shipping.
December 31, 2003... (From Lloyds List) It does not matter what sector you look at, China has once again, this year, cemented its position as the biggest driver in world shipping, writes Sam Chambers. With the exception of Japan, demand for iron ore this...

Stars of the Orient.
December 31, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: The Asia-Pacific region THERE is a mood of quiet confidence buzzing around Asia's insurance markets at the moment. As the dying embers of a difficult year are consigned to the dustbin, the...

Bahrain plans to build major Middle East insurance centre.
December 31, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Jon Guy and Richard Banks BAHRAIN has announced its intention to create a new insurance hub for the Middle East in a purpose-built multi-million-dollar centre. The scheme is the brainchild of the...

Ex-Im Bank approves $250m cover for Iraq deals.
December 31, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Symon Ross THE US Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank has approved insurance for up to $250m in letters of credit, to be issued by the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI), to ensure that US companies will receive support...

New ICAO convention on aircraft surface liability should concern insurers.
December 31, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Sean Gates THE council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has set up a working group to draft a new convention regulating the liability of operators of aircraft for injury to persons...