Marine Log - September 2008 - (Page 7)

Update INLAND • COASTAL OFFSHORE • DEEPSEA BIG DEALS TO RESHAPE SHIPBUILDING Aker Yards’ Helsinki shipyard is one of three involved in cruise ship construction biz NOTES MAN Diesel acquires Danish firm To strengthen its after-sales business, diesel engine manufacturer MAN Diesel SE, Augsburg, Germany, has acquired an independently owned Danish firm Metalock Denmark A/S, Copenhagen. Metalock specializes in mobile machining, the technique of machining engine components, particularly crankshafts, in situ. In Fiscal Year 2007, Metalock Denmark A/S employed 23 people and generated sales of EURO 4.6 million. Prior to the takeover, MAN Diesel was one of Metalock’s largest customers. ker Yards is now under the full control of Korea’s STX, after the company more than doubled its stake in Europe’s largest shipbuilder last month. Currently the sixth largest shipbuilder in the world, STX has spent some $1.27 billion to acquire its interest in Aker Yards. Holding company STX Norway AS controls 92.4% of the shares of Aker Yards. The move makes STX a major player in cruise ship and offshore service vessel construction. Aker Yards is second only to Italy’s Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. in cruise ship construction market share. For its part, Fincantieri isn’t A standing still either. It’s made a cash offer for the Manitowoc Marine Group in the U.S. (see “Shipbuilding Shakeup,” in this issue). Aker Yards comprises 15 yards in Brazil, Finland, France, Norway, Romania and Vietnam. In addition to 30% ownership in three yards in Germany and Ukraine. Aker Yards has some 16,000 employees. Plans are to rename the shipbuilding group STX Europe. Meanwhile, the world’s largest shipbuilder, Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd., is making a play for the third largest shipbuilder, Daewoo $8b Deal Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. As we went to press, Hyundai was expected to submit a letter to express its interest. The state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB) and a government agency, the Korea Asset Management Corp., are selling their combined 50.4% holding in Daewoo Shipbuilding in a move related to KDB’s own privatization plan. The sale is expected to fetch around $8 billion. Other interested parties include POSCO, the GS Group and Hanwha Group. One of the wealthiest Shipping magnate John Frediksen recently topped the list of Norway’s wealthiest individuals, according to Norway’s Kapital magazine. Fredriksen’s net worth was estimated at $10 billion. Through investment companies, Heman Holdings and Meisha, Fredriksen controls Frontline and Golar LNG. He also holds a minority interest in Overseas Shipholding Group and he’s the director, chairman and president of Seadrill. In 2007, Forbes listed Fredriksen as #104 on the list of the world’s wealthiest individuals with a net worth of $7 billion. Ironically, Fredriksen is now officially a citizen of Cyprus after turning in his Norwegian passport in protest over Norway’s tax system. See breaking news at: www.marinelog.com Bold pirates attacks off of Somalia T H E W AT E R S O F F O F Somalia continue to be the most dangerous in the world for commercial shipping. Last month, four ships were seized by armed pirates in a span of 48 hours, with almost 100 crew onboard taken hostage. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Center, which tracts piracy attacks worldwide, advised ships in the Gulf of Aden to maintain a strict visual and radar watch in order to detect pirates in the vicinity and to take measures to prevent boarding and www.marinelog.com request for assistance. The hijacked ships were Iranian, German, Japanese and Malaysian. The attacks were said to be launched from mother ships. These mother ships operate far out at sea and launch smaller speed boats to attack and hijack passing ships. The pirates can be armed with automatic weapons and even Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcers. Intelligence sources revealed that there are now two suspicious trawlers in the Gulf of Aden believed to be pirate mother vessels looking to attack ships with the intent to hijack. The suspected mother ships were described as long, white, Russian-made stern trawlers with the names Burum Ocean and Arena or Athena. IMB says Somali pirates are now attacking vessels in the northern Somali coast in the Gulf of Aden. The IMB maintains its advice that vessels not making scheduled calls to ports in Somalia should keep as far away as possible from the Somali coast, ideally more than 200 nautical miles. SEPTEMBER 2008 MARINE LOG 7 http://www.marinelog.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - September 2008

Marine Log - September 2008 Editorial Second Thoughts Update Contents Inside Washington Slick Cleanup The Women of WISTA Keeping Ships at Sea Connected Shipbuilding Shakeup Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Letters Marine Salvage

Marine Log - September 2008

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