Europe Intelligence Wire articles from December 2004

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from December 2004

Singapore port buys big stake in rival Hong Kong terminal.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: PSA pays hefty price to gain a foothold in world's largest box port, write Marcus Hand in Singapore and Sam Chambers in Hong Kong SINGAPORE terminal operator PSA International has broken into the rival port...

A glittering night of awards for success in Greek shipping.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Athina Martinou, founder of Thenamaris Ships, was selected for the Lloyd's List 'Personality of the Year' award, writes Nigel Lowry More than 700 guests representing the cream of Greek shipping and its...

The time has come to focus on improving shippings' image.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Efthimios Mitropoulos , International Maritime Organization secretary-general Ladies and gentlemen, friends and colleagues, It gives me great pleasure to be able, from afar, to be invited by Lloyd's List...

European insurance buyers plan inquiries into brokers' pay.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: The UK, Netherlands and Belgium show greatest concern, writes James Brewer BIG European buyers of insurance plan to intervene in the international imbroglio over the way that brokers are paid. As...

The sponsors of the 2004 Greek Shipping awards.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Dry Cargo Company of the Year ABN AMRO Bank holds a strong tradition in servicing the shipping industry, having been active in this area for decades. Throughout the years, it has developed a substantial client base...

Sovcomflot'NYK in LNG plan.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Tony Gray The liquefied natural gas shipping joint venture between Russia Sovcomflot and Japan's NYK aims to double the number of vessels under its control during the next five years. The joint venture...

Talbot gives vote of confidence to marine classes.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) TALBOT, a specialty insurance group operating at Lloyd's, has given a vote of confidence to the marine classes, writes James Brewer. The company plans to write total gross premium income of GBP275m ($519m) in 2005,...

SVB upbeat after latest forecasts.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) LLOYD'S managing agency SVB Syndicates reports encouraging developments in its latest quarterly forecasts, writes James Brewer. The company said that in 2004 rates held up well across the portfolio of business and,...

Newsmaker of the Year reflects market success.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Lloyd's List editor Julian Bray presented the Greek Newsmaker of the Year award after having earlier welcomed guests to the awards dinner. Here are his comments and observations I AM delighted to see so many...

Wartsila Nederland lands $52m order from Wagenborg.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) ROYAL Wagenborg Shipping has placed a €40m ($52m) engine order with Wartsila Nederland. The Delfzijl-based group awarded the order for 50 engines to Wartsila Ship Power, a division of Wartsila Nederland. ...

Demand for LNG could double in a decade.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: A report predicts that the Asia Pacific region's LNG needs may hit 163m tonnes by 2015, writes Tony Gray Demand for liquefied natural gas from Asia Pacific markets is forecast to almost double over the next...

Syndicate 386 stays on track.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) A TOP liability syndicate at Lloyd's is on track to maintain its near-unblemished 30 year profits record in 2004, writes James Brewer. Syndicate 386, run by managing agent Limit Underwriting within the QBE group,...

Bharati Shipyard IPO to net $18.3m.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Shirish Nadkarni ONE of India's few private sector shipyards, Bharati Shipyard, is entering the capital market on December 2 with a public issue of 12.5m equity shares with a face value of Rs10 ($0.34) each,...

Cardo resigns from Eurotunnel board.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Massive and mounting debts spark revolt, writes Andrew Spurrier THE new management team of Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel has run into an internal revolt over its failure so far to take measures to deal...

Business Briefing.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Kleimar helps Baosteel CHINA'S largest steel producer Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp and Belgian shipping company Kleimar have signed a contract under which Kleimar will transport 680,000 tonnes of ore from Brazil to...

OMI repurchases over 3m shares.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) US TANKER operator OMI has repurchased almost 3.5m of its own shares with part of the proceeds of a $225m convertible bond issue, writes Tony Gray. The company has repurchased 3.45m shares for $72.5m, or $20.98 per...

Tsakos takes the chair.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Nigel Lowry in Athens TSAKOS Group founder and chairman Captain Panagiotis Tsakos has been named as the new chairman of Lloyd's Register's Hellenic advisory committee, taking over the position from fellow...

Anchor man Lowry keeps proceedings on even keel.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Amid glamour, glitter and high drama, one man was a picture of serenity, writes Christopher Mayer GREECE is a land of Gods and icons and, through his performance in front of a veritable flotilla of the most...

Final report offers no definitive answers to Prestige questions.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: The Bahamas report will prove a big disappointment to those claiming endemic deficiencies in the maritime industry, writes Michael Grey The sinking of the Prestige on November 19, 2002, six days after it...

Judges tackled selecting from a 'very high standard' of candidates.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Lloyd's List's Greek Shipping Awards 2004 were decided by a broad-based independent panel of judges comprising leading Greek shipping personalities and experts in the industry. The newspaper and event organisers have...

IMO committee gets ten-point list to achieve goal-based understanding.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: a Special Correspondent Achieving common understanding of key issues concerning the development of goal-based ship construction standards is the aim of a 10-point list prepared for today's critical debate of...

Investec launches first UK-based energy equity fund.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: James Brewer DEMAND for oil company shares has resulted in the launch of what is said to be the first UK domiciled equity fund investing in energy stocks. Investec Asset Management has established an...

Greek maritime roll of honour.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) THE WINNERS Dry Cargo Company of the Year Costamare Shipping Co. Captain Vassilis Constantacopoulos, founder and president of Costamare Shipping Co . Presented by Dimitri Angnostopoulos, head of Greek...

Attica snaps up 'Passenger Line of the Year'.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Attica Group, the Athens-listed ferry group that controls Superfast Ferries and Blue Star Ferries, is no stranger to awards. Only recently the group was voted 'Best Ferry Operator by the Scottish Passenger Agents'...

TOP Tankers chief is 'Newsmaker' of 2004.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Evangelos J. Pistiolis was hailed as an example of the dynamic younger generation of the Greek shipping community last Thursday night when he was presented with the Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year Award by Lloyd's...

Aframaxes lose heat in Mediterranean.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Nigel Lowry Tankers RECENT days have seen a general easing of the market for aframax tankers in the Atlantic basin, nowhere more so than in the Mediterranean where, brokers estimate, rates have dropped...

Panamax trade heads for the stars.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Dry Trade THE Baltic panamax index has broken the magic 6,000 mark and with rates said by brokers to be still going up the market appears headed for uncharted territory, writes Nigel Lowry. Already last week,...

Kaklamanakis cheered as 'Man of the Sea' 2004.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Nikolaos Kaklamanakis capped a remarkable career as an authentic Greek sporting idol only a few weeks before his gracious acceptance of the Lloyd's List Man of the Sea Award at the first Greek Shipping Awards. Now...

North Sea oil production cut by 300,000 bpd.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Two gas leaks force oil companies to halt production at platforms in the Norwegian and UK sectors, writes Martyn Wingrove NORTH Sea oil production has been cut by almost 300,000 barrels a day after two gas...

Dry Bulk Fixtures.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) TIME CHARTER S.A. Altius (171,509 dwt, 2001-built) delivery Port Talbot Jan5-15, redelivery Worldwide, 12 Months, $75,000 daily.(Cargill) Marine Hunter (164,891 dwt, 1984-built) delivery Far East Jan1-Feb05,...

Tanker Fixtures.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) `CLEAN North Spain to US Gulf J.shartava , 33,000t, W430, Dec 9. (Repsol) Pembroke to US Gulf Tintomara , 37,000t, W390, Dec 14. (Chevtex) Algeciras East Coast Mexico Batavia , 38,000t, W385, Dec 8. (PMI) ...

Odfjell doubles share capital to harness renewed investor interest.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Jerry Frank NORWEGIAN parcel tanker giant Odfjell was set to double its share quota in Oslo this morning to harness renewed investor interest in shipping a day after loyal shareholders were thrown an extra...

Life is sweet for Donjon Marine.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Success in the muck business requires grit as well as depth – not to mention wits. Or Wittes, to be precise. Rajesh Joshi profiles Donjon Marine, the family-owned group that has become the biggest dredging...

There's no business like the maritime business for Witte Jnr.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) FOR John A Witte Jr, knowing what he wanted to do at an early age opened the door to an unusual education where he 'learnt how to learn' which, in turn, came in handy when he joined Donjon. The second Witte offspring...

Goal-based standards.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) TODAY, the International Maritime Organization takes a major stride along a path that may eventually lead to a fundamental overhaul of the global regulation of shipping. Over the next 10 days the IMO's Maritime...

Practical protocol for handling tricky and expensive FPSO claims.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Bruce McMichael OPERATORS now have over 20 years experience of handling floating production storage and offloading vessels in stormy relationships in yards and open waters. Many of the legal and...

Reduce severity of US personal injury claims by being methodical.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: When accidents happen, the way they are handled can make all the difference, writes Brian Glover STANDARD P'I Club recently discussed the rising cost of personal injury at a seminar for American members....

Tramp operators need to prepare for change in EU law.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) THE European Commission has published a White Paper setting out its proposals for the amendment of the regulation which applies the European Community competition rules to international maritime transport (Regulation...

A'P Group asserts retrenchment is strategy for sound financial footing.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Growth is the result of new market share while mothballed facility can remain so for 12 months and still be a viable operation if recommissioned, writes Hugh O'Mahony UK SHIPREPAIR market leader A'P Group has...

Caribbean and US windstorms cost club $11m.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) WINDSTORMS that lashed the Caribbean and east coast US earlier in 2004 cost Through Transport Club, a leading mutual insurer for ports, terminals and containers, around $11m gross, it has been revealed, writes James...

Maritime Museum to be updated.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Carly Fields A SWEEPING reform at the Greenwich National Maritime Museum promises to bring it into the 21st century. The collections reform programme, overseen by the museum's collections informal sub...

Silver lining emerges from TT Club's clouds.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: James Brewer MAJOR insurer Through Transport Club has emerged into the financial sunshine after a cloudy beginning to the decade. Premium volume, solvency ratio, underwriting ratio and profitability are...

Exporters in Indian sub-continent face higher charges from January.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) EXPORTERS based in the Indian sub-continent face higher freight rates in the trades to Europe from the start of next year, writes Janet Porter. In line with most other conferences around the world, the India...

Fewer illegal discharges in Baltic.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Sandra Speares ILLEGAL discharges into the Baltic Sea are on a downturn, according to the latest survey by the Helsinki Commission's Response group. There were a total of 292 illegal discharges in 2003...

Freight rate rises dismay Canadian shippers.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Large North Atlantic hikes to be implemented in three stages next year, writes Leo Ryan in Montreal CANADA'S shippers and freight forwarders have reacted with dismay over the large freight rate increases...

World Briefing.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Ukraine revote moves SOME form of new election in Ukraine appeared increasingly likely as a solution to political deadlock and mass unrest after a presidential poll the opposition insists was rigged. Even Russia,...

Last Word.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Champagne time POPPING corks and all that for the 'Docklands Duo' Gary and Rita Beckwith, founders and owners of Thames Riverboat operator City Cruises Ltd. The Southwark company, which operates dinner, lunch...

The prize for the most virtual marine insurance organisation goes to ...
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Sam Ignarski Quarterpoints IT was in connection with the future of insurance that a friend in the computer industry who works for companies in this field sent me the latest edition of Jakob Nielsen's...

Titan seeks to expand oil trading business.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Shareholder approval sought for subsidiary to buy oil company, writes Keith Wallis in Hong Kong TITAN Petrochemicals, which operates 29 very large crude carriers totalling 2.38m dwt, is seeking shareholder...

Gazpromseeks funding for Yukos unit bid.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) RUSSIAN gas monopoly Gazprom is seeking funding from international markets to help finance a bid for Yukos' core production unit, Yuganskneftgaz, during the December 19 auction, writes Martyn Wingrove. The government...

COCKETT BUNKER MARKET REPORT.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) BUNKER MARKET REPORT Compiled for Lloyd's List by Cockett Marine Oil Ltd November 17, 2004 PRICES are current and based on live, average sized, bunker deals. The Cockett Bunker Price Index is based on 1000...

BUNKER QUALITY REPORT - November 11, 2004.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) BUNKER QUALITY REPORT - November 11, 2004 U'F = unfilterable This Bunker Quality Report is based on samples analysed by DNV Petroleum Services and is an abstract from their more detailed fuel quality statistics...

HANSEN BUNKER MARKET REPORT.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) HANSEN BUNKER MARKET REPORT November 9, 2004 Compiled for Lloyd's List by Egil Bjorn-Hansen, Oslo CONTINENT: Prices firmer on the back of higher crude prices. AFRICA'MIDDLE EAST: Market a bit...

Gas Market Report.
December 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) NORTHWEST EUROPE: The large propane market is gradually rising on the back of continued strength of crude but keeps finding resistance with lack of ullage for prompt tons. Talk in the low mid $440s has not come to...

Czech press survey.
December 1, 2004... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - The Czech Republic's EU entry on May 1 has been demonstrably advantageous for the country, "but this is not that unequivocal where the adoption of the euro is concerned," Martin Komarek writes...

Considerable Growth Expected in Coming Years.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Venislav YOTOV, management board chairman of the Association of Bulgarian Insurers THIS year again we expect that insurance market growth will exceed the rate of economy growth. However, we should keep in mind...

Investment Conditions to sImprove further.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Nikola ABADJIEV, chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Security Companies THE LAWS and statutory regulations are the basis for development of supplementary pension insurance. Therefore...

Dynamic Processes Accompany Insurance Sector Development.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Gergana IVANOVA DYNAMIC and somewhat unexpected processes have accompanied the rapid development of the insurance sector in Bulgaria in 2004. The branch started the year without a supervisor; the traditional...

Year of Challenges for Social Security Branch.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Gergana IVANOVA IF we have to describe the year 2004 for the pension insurance branch in Bulgaria in just one word, it will be 'challenge'. The year started with the process of account transfer, provisions in...

Voluntary Health Insurance Market Develops Rapidly.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Gergana IVANOVA THE YEAR 2004 has been interesting for the voluntary health insurance market. Five companies have received licences this year alone, which has raised their total number to eleven. The data for...

Prospects before Health Insurance in Bulgaria Murky.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Mimi VITKOVA, chairwoman of the Association of Licensed Voluntary Health Insurance Companies THE PROSPECTS for development of voluntary health insurance in Bulgaria remain murky. It is more than obvious that...

Current Account Gap Improves by 23.3% Y/Y Jan-Sept.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Ekaterina MARCHOKOVA FDI to Bulgaria at 1.079bn for the first nine months BULGARIA'S current account deficit dropped to EUR 568 million at the end of he third quarter, an improvement of 23.3% compared to...

DSK Bank Names Violina Marinova CEO. Net Profit to Rise 39% in 2005.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Valentina ILIEVA DSK BANK appointed Violina Marinova chief executive officer, bank representatives said. She will replace Krasimir Angarski as of January 1, 2005. According to the company's official statement...

UBB Takes EUR 10m Loan from EBRD.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Valia ILIEVA UNITED Bulgarian Bank (UBB) signed an agreement for a EUR 10 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to finance agricultural goods producers, CEO Hristos Katsianis...

Nove Holding's Structure Allegedly Buys 30% of NMB.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Iliana TONCHEV and Tanya RAYCHEVA THE MINORITY package of shares in Bulgaria's maritime carrier, Navigation Maritime Bulgare (NMB), will be bought for compensatory instruments on the bourse by Transimpex if no...

Amendments Open Bulgarian Land Market.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Nadya MARINOVA THE LAST debatable amendments to the Bulgarian Constitution were approved by the ad-hoc parliamentary committee Tuesday. The majority decided that both citizens of the European Union (EU) and of...

Bulgarian Mutual Funds Form Up Association.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Violeta IVANOVA and Anna BRANDIYSKA ALL THE EIGHT mutual funds operating in Bulgaria set up Association of the Mutual Funds yesterday. The aim of the new organisation is to inform about and promote the...

Two Bulgarian Companies to Print Toll Stickers.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Maria MALAKOVA DEMAX AD and BNB's mint have been chosen by Bulgaria's Road Agency to print the toll stickers that will replace the road tax from 2005. Demax will produce the annual stickers, BNB's mint, the...

Excise Duty on Gas Incites Chaos.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: a PARI daily's team THE PROBLEM with excise duty on gas for households transformed into a total mess yesterday. The parliament voted its cancellation on second reading, but it postponed the decision on the...

EU Parliament Greenlights Bulgarian Entry.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: a PARI daily's team EUROPEAN Parliament greenlighted the report on Bulgaria's EU accession yesterday evening. Bulgaria stays thus already on the threshold of becoming a full-member. The final decision was...

Compensatory Notes Break BGN 0.70 Level.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Anna BRANDIYSKA MAXIMUM PRICE of compensatory instruments broke the psychological level of BGN 0.70 for a BGN 1.0 in face value on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) yesterday. Housing compensatory notes...

EBRD Extends EUR 25m to Maritsa Iztok 2.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Stela NENKOVA A CREDIT agreement between Maritsa Iztok 2, the thermal power plant, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was signed at Bulgaria's energy ministry Tuesday. The EBRD...

LUKoil Europe Corrects Tender Offer.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) LUKOIL Europe Holdings B.V. to offered BGN 27.83 a share in its corrected tender offer to the minority shareholders in the Bulgarian subsidiary LUKoil-Neftochim, according to the news bulletin of the Bulgarian Stock...

Energy Sector Needs EUR 6.6bn by 2007.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) THE BULGARIAN energy sector needs EUR 6.6 billion investments until 2007, calculations of the energy ministry show. The funding is needed for reconstruction, expansion of existing capacities and construction of new ones....

ProCredit Offers Higher Interests on Deposit Packages.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Valentina ILIEVA A CHRISTMAS package for each deposit opened by December 31, 2004 is offered by Bulgaria's ProCredit Bank. During the Christmas promotion, the bank gives preferential interests on deposits,...

Bulgartabac Boosts Profit to BGN 18.6m.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Elina GEORGIEVA THE CONSOLIDATED profit of Bulgaria's Bulgartabac Holding for the first nine months of 2004 amounts to BGN 18.6 million, company data show. The financial result is 5.6% lower than a year...

Security Check-up Proposed for Candidate Ministers.
December 1, 2004... (From PARI Daily) Byline: a PARI daily's team BULGARIA'S defence minister Nikolay Svinarov will propose amendments to the Classified Information Act which will oblige all political parties to provide a list of their potential ministers...

Gazprom to Bid for Yuganskneftegaz.
December 1, 2004... (From The Moscow Times) Gazprom will bid for Yuganskneftegaz as the Kremlin forges a massive state-controlled oil and gas major to include Yukos' main production unit. The gas giant's new oil unit, Gazpromneft, will bid for...

AIDS Just Beats Out Books in Budget.
December 1, 2004... (From The Moscow Times) Russia's AIDS epidemic -- larger than in any other country in Europe or Central Asia -- may begin killing hundreds of thousands of people in just two years, with dire effects for the economy. But despite the...

Village Answers SOS to Give Kids a Fresh Start.
December 1, 2004... (From The Moscow Times) TOMILINO, Moscow Region -- Eleven-year-old Kristina has been playing violin for three years. Her eyes follow the notes on the score as she performs the Hunter's Chorus from Weber's opera "Der Freischutz." But her...

Franchisees Buy Into a Risky Business.
December 1, 2004... (From The Moscow Times) Buying a business franchise could be thought of as entrepreneurship with a manual. Most franchisers lend support, ranging from instructions on decorating the space to finding suppliers. So in comparison to...

Ask a Stupid Question.
December 1, 2004... (From The Moscow Times) What is the procedure for two foreigners to have a civil marriage in Russia? You may simply be able to tie the knot at one of your countries' embassies. However, some embassies, for example the U.S. Embassy, do...

AIDS Is Not as Simple as ABC.
December 1, 2004... (From The Moscow Times) To Our ReadersHas something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage? Then please write to us. All we ask is that you include your...

Why Putin Worked Yanukovych's Corner.
December 1, 2004... (From The Moscow Times) An acquaintance of mine, a world karate champion, once told me that when you're competing on enemy territory the judges will never let you win on points. You've got to win by knockout. To Our ReadersHas...