Month: October 2009

Braemar Shipping Services – Unaudited Interim results for the six months ended 31 August 2009

Sean Moloney

27 October, 2009  

Braemar Shipping Services plc (“Braemar” or the “Group”), an international provider of shipping and marine services, today announces unaudited half-year results for the six months ended 31 August, 2009.  

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 
  • Strong results considering significantly different market conditions year on year
  • Improvement on second half of 2008/9 financial year
  • Revenue from continuing operations £57.1m (2008: £69.1m)
  • Pre-tax profit from continuing operations £7.0m (Interim 2008: £9.8m, Second half 2008/9: £6.4m)
  • Basic EPS from total operations 24.25p (2008: 33.51p)
  • Interim dividend of 8.75p per share (2008: 8.5p)
  • Strong balance sheet with cash of £9.8m (31 August 2008: £11.1m) and no debt

 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS  

  • Wide mix of shipping operations offsets downturns in particular markets
  • Non-broking activities now make up more than one third of operating profits before central costs
  • Strong performance driven by development in technical services (marine services, marine engineering services, loss adjusting), and energy-based activities
  • New forward-freight agreement (FFA) broking desk has commenced trading

 MARKET OVERVIEW 

  • Recent turmoil presents opportunities to build business further
  • Slow-down in ordering of new ships and possibility of some cancelled orders
  • Demand for iron ore in Far East showing some recovery after the recent slow-down

 Sir Graham Hearne, chairman of Braemar, said: “These are strong results considering the very different market conditions in which they were achieved. While they are down on the corresponding period in 2008 (a record performance for Braemar) they represent an improvement when compared to the second half of last year. Operating in more difficult circumstances, the Group has benefitted from the strategic decision to invest in a broader range of shipping services which now account for more than one third of the group’s operating profits before central costs. We have a solid platform from which to continue to build as markets gradually recover.”

 Alan Marsh, chief executive of Braemar, said: “I am extremely pleased with the performance of the Group in the first half. The adjustment to world trade brought about by the financial crisis and subsequent recession in most economies has been a difficult environment in which our shipping clients have had to operate. It is good to see that the Group has been resilient in this climate and that we are emerging with a stronger market position. All our businesses can be proud of their achievements to date and we expect them to continue performing well in the second half.”

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HUTTON’S OPENS ITS LARGEST UK DEPOT IN ABERDEEN

Sean Moloney

 PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

26 October 2009
 

Ref: 09053

 HUTTON’S OPENS ITS LARGEST UK DEPOT

 Britain’s leading ship supplier, Hutton’s, has responded to growing demand from the offshore oil and gas sectors by opening its biggest UK depot in Aberdeen. 

Hutton’s, which recently announced record sales figures, moved into the 13,000 sq ft (1300sq m) depot from a smaller 5,000 sq ft warehouse a month ago. 

Hutton’s need for expansion is a result of increased business from the offshore industry. 

The new facility is ideally located near Aberdeen harbour and provides Hutton’s with considerably increased capacity. In addition, the depot provides modern office space with up-to-date IT systems and hi-tech meeting facilities. Leased from the Harbour Board the unit is recently refurbished and houses 350 cu m of chilled and frozen freezer facilities and 382 ambient pallet places. 

Managing Director Alex Taylor explains: “This move is a great development for Hutton’s, both increasing our capacity and improving our facilities. It will result in the highest levels of quality and service for our customers. 

“We have invested in excess of £100,000 in the new warehouse and plan to invest an additional £250,000 in the next 12 months. Our Aberdeen branch opened only 3.5 years ago and starting from zero has built up an annual turnover of £2.5 million, making it the biggest of our branches in terms of sales,” he says.

Ends 

For Further Information Please Contact: 

Elaborate Communications: Debra Munford

Tel: +44 (0)1296 682356
Website:

www.huttons-chandlers.com

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Shipserv And ISSA Strengthen Partnership

Elaborate Communications

ShipServ, the leading maritime e-marketplace, has strengthened its partnership with The International Shipsuppliers & Services Association (ISSA), the association representing nearly 2,000 ship suppliers worldwide.

Under the terms of an agreement signed at the ISSA54 Convention in Istanbul, ShipServ will work with ISSA on an ISSA “Zone” on ShipServ Pages, the online marine suppliers directory. ISSA members will also benefit from a special offer to join Pages.

Pages currently features more than 30,000 suppliers offering anything from stores and provisions to life saving equipment; from main engine spares to paint. The new agreement raises the profile of ISSA on Pages, highlighting its members to visitors.

“This cooperation represents an excellent opportunity for our members to reach new customers cost-effectively and trade efficiently,” commented Jens Olsen, ISSA President. “And as a progressive association it was important to us to have an influence in what added value services we are able to offer our members,” he said.

Maritime buyers use Pages to find suppliers for a wide range of uses, from locating new suppliers in unfamiliar ports to sourcing alternative suppliers for existing contracts. Trust is very often an issue in many transactions, especially when dealing with a new supplier. The ISSA Zone will exclusively feature those ISSA members signed up to Pages, giving prominence to a community of high quality, accredited maritime suppliers.

“Our community of buyers tells us that finding a new supplier is relatively easy but finding one you can trust is much harder,” said Paul Ostergaard, Founder & CEO of ShipServ. “With ISSA’s increased involvement with Pages, we can highlight those suppliers with ISSA accreditation, giving buyers greater peace of mind.”

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ITF, InterManager and Norwegian Unions Unite to Condemn Full City Decision

Elaborate Communications

InterManager, the ITF and Norwegian seafarers’ trade unions today joined to condemn what they are calling the worst case of seafarer victimisation since the Hebei Spirit.

According to the ITF, InterManager, the Norsk Sjømannsforbund, the Norsk Sjøoffisersforbund, and Det norske maskinistforbund, the treatment of two officers of the ship Full City, who were arrested in Norway when it ran aground at the end of July spilling some of its bunker fuel, is “legally and morally indefensible”.

The two men, Zong Aming and Qiland Lu, were expected to be allowed to return home to China this week but in a surprise u-turn the appeal court reversed an earlier court decision and altered their bail conditions to keep them in the country pending a trial for negligence that is unlikely to be held until next year.

Roberto Giorgi, President of InterManager commented: “This is looking all too much like another Hebei Spirit, where seafarers doing their job are hauled in front of a court to satisfy an illusory public requirement that someone gets punished when oil leaks onto water. This automatic reaching for the handcuffs is emphatically not the way to solve the fact that sometimes ships get into trouble, and actively undermines all the efforts everyone in shipping puts into making sure that safe is made paramount. Norway, a nation that understands safe shipping more than most, has shot itself in the foot by pandering to ignorance of the realities and a desire to blame someone, anyone, when things go wrong.”

David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary, added: “The criminalisation of seafarers – the vilification of workers for accidents that may be beyond their control – is one of the ugliest developments in shipping. We all support the investigation of accidents, the learning of lessons from them and the identification of blame where it is truly found to have played a part, but this goes beyond that. Sadly, it appears that once again we are looking at a knee-jerk response to an incident, which, more sadly still, is happening in the country where you’d least expect it.”

Captain Hans Sande, Director of the Norsk Sjøoffisersforbund (Norwegian Maritime Officers’ Association) explained: “There is a wealth of maritime experience in Norway and we hope that some of it will find its way into the judicial process. If that happens the court case will be dropped and the normal maritime investigation processes will be free to take action unfettered by political considerations or nods to public opinion. If common sense prevails then the lessons of the grounding will be identified and learned, and the cargoes that we all rely on to sustain our way of life in every country in the world will travel that little bit more safely. If not we will once again see, not just the criminalisation of these two men, but a new generation of potential ship’s officers deciding that the job isn’t worth the risk of being unfairly pilloried that increasingly seems to come with it.”

Johnny Hansen, Vice President of the Norsk Sjømannsforbund (Norwegian Seafarers Union) also added his voice to today’s protest, describing the Full City case as “an inexplicable over-use of law that is wholly removed from the realities of the actual case.”

Hilde Gunn Avløyp, General Secretary of the DNMF (Norwegian Union of Marine Engineers) added that: “It is impossible to understand how, when the court in Telemark ruled that both men could have their passports back and return home on payment of a bail sum of around US$172,000, they now are to be kept in Norway and their passports withheld.”

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Cape Cod Times (Oct 13th)

Sean Moloney

Nantucket board backs untested erosion plan

By JOSHUA BAILING The Inquirer and Mirror October 13, 2009

NANTUCKET – The Nantucket Planning and Economic Develop­ment Commission has reaffirmed its support for a so-far untested plan to curb erosion of the island’s beaches by sink­ing man-made structures beyond the surf.

The commission voted unani­mously last week to support the development of a pilot project by island visitor and international marine-salvage operator Joe Farrell, and instructed its staff to assist in the planning process and site selection.

Farrell, the head of Resolve Marine Group, one of the world’s largest ship-salvage, marine fire protection and hazardous-mate­rials response companies; plan­ning director Andrew Vorce; and marine superintendent Dave Fronzuto have identified four potential sites for the test proj­ect: a stretch of the north shore adjacent to Dionis, off the end of Madaket Road, the area off the former Navy Base in Tom Nev­ers and off Fishermen’s Beach in Surfside.

Under Farrell’s plan, remov­able concrete barges weighing 800 to 1,400 tons would be posi­tioned offshore in such a way to deflect the energy of ocean waves before they reached the beach, thereby minimizing the impact of erosion.

Farrell estimated it would cost roughly $5 million to $8 million a mile to install the concrete structures, and he would work with the town to seek private funding from impacted property owners to pay the bill.

While he admits it’s unproven technology, he’s sunk more than $375,000 of his own money into monitoring the currents and ocean floor off Madaket, and the results have led to endorsements from scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he said.

“I love the island, and I can reverse what is happening out here, and it’s only from getting my butt kicked by the ocean for 30 years. My problem has always been getting rid of sand,” Farrell said.

“I’d like to do some test proj­ects on town property. Let me try to figure out how we get funding. There are enough people with property at risk on this island, they might be willing to come forward with funding to move this project forward.”

Farrell said the barges would be constructed in such a way to also become fish habitat, so they would be a boon to island anglers as well. As for the proposed locations, Fronzuto said there were several criteria.

“They had to be town-owned properties, with no or minimal impact on endangered species, and two of those areas have abandoned septic systems. At the Navy base, there is some stuff out there that there is no way to get out of the water. As part of the permitting process, those areas could be cleaned up.”

Farrell acknowledged that most people probably don’t con­sider erosion an issue on the north shore, but the Dionis proj­ect would be the simplest one to undertake, with a strong likeli­hood of private contributions.

“It’s simpler on the north shore. There are little waves and big money on that side of the island,” he said.

After spending about 15 min­utes debating how much effort the planning staff should invest in moving the project forward, the commission gave it its bless­ing.

ISSA Backs Managers’ Call For Owner Transparency Over Late Payments – Maritime Executive, October 8th

Elaborate Communications

The head of the trade body representing the world’s ship suppliers and chandlers has supported calls by InterManager President Roberto Giorgi for ship owners to be more upfront and transparent with their managers and suppliers when it comes to settling bills.

He will be seeking a meeting with the world ship managers’ body to look at ways both organisations can work together to ensure that cash flow problems can be minimised. Jens Olsen, President of the International Shipsuppliers & Services Association (ISSA), said ship managers and ship suppliers “find themselves in the same boat” when it comes to dealing with ship owners’ cash flow problems. Owners should be more upfront with their suppliers if they are experiencing problems as late payment can have disastrous effects on suppliers’ own cash flow and ability to supply ships in the world’s major ports, he warned.

Late payment, and in some cases the non‐payment of ship supply invoices, is a growing concern for ship chandlers in the world’s ports and has been a focus of attention for the new Presidency of the International Ship Suppliers and Services Association (ISSA).

“This causes us further concern now we are in the midst of the global downturn and the slump in shipping movements. We are working as an Association to help our members by showing owners the impact their slow paying has on the ability of companies to continue to supply them. Other innovative ideas are under active consideration to get around this problem but it remains our principal cause of concern on behalf of our members,” Mr. Olsen stressed.

“Ship managers and ship suppliers are in the same boat when it comes to relying on efficient cash flow. It is crucially important that ship owners are more open and transparent when they experience cash flow problems because only then can we try and resolve the situation,” he added.

ISSA is always encouraging ship owners and managers to look upon their ship suppliers as partners without whom their vessels simply could not operate.

The problem of the financial crisis and its effects on the shipping industry will be at the centre of the debate at next week’s International Shipsuppliers & Services Association (ISSA) Convention in Istanbul.

ISSA is the international trade association for the world’s ship supply sector with a membership of nearly 2,000 ship suppliers throughout the world. It has 43 national associations of ship suppliers as full ISSA members and associate members in 52 other countries where no national association exists. Quality operation is an essential prerequisite to ISSA membership and as a result, ISSA members have to undergo a rigorous vetting procedure before gaining admittance. Our members and the goods and services they offer can be found in every major port in the world. The Association was formed in 1955 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2005 of half a century of service to the maritime industry.

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ISSA backs managers’ call for owner transparency over late payments

Sean Moloney

The head of the trade body representing the world’s ship suppliers and chandlers has supported calls by InterManager President Roberto Giorgi for ship owners to be more upfront and transparent with their managers and suppliers when it comes to settling bills. 

He will be seeking a meeting with the world ship managers’ body to look at ways both organisations can work together to ensure that cash flow problems can be minimised. 

Jens Olsen, President of the International Shipsuppliers & Services Association (ISSA), said ship managers and ship suppliers “find themselves in the same boat” when it comes to dealing with ship owners’ cash flow problems. Owners should be more upfront with their suppliers if they are experiencing problems as late payment can have disastrous effects on suppliers’ own cash flow and ability to supply ships in the world’s major ports, he warned. 

Late payment, and in some cases the non-payment of ship supply invoices, is a growing concern for ship chandlers in the world’s ports and has been a focus of attention for the new Presidency of the International Ship Suppliers and Services Association (ISSA). 

“This causes us further concern now we are in the midst of the global downturn and the slump in shipping movements. We are working as an Association to help our members by showing owners the impact their slow paying has on the ability of companies to continue to supply them. Other innovative ideas are under active consideration to get around this problem but it remains our principal cause of concern on behalf of our members,” Mr Olsen stressed. 

“Ship managers and ship suppliers are in the same boat when it comes to relying on efficient cash flow. It is crucially important that ship owners are more open and transparent when they experience cash flow problems because only then can we try and resolve the situation,” he added. 

ISSA is always encouraging ship owners and managers to look upon their ship suppliers as partners without whom their vessels simply could not operate. 

The problem of the financial crisis and its effects on the shipping industry will be at the centre of the debate at next week’s  International Shipsuppliers & Services Association (ISSA) Convention in Istanbul. 

Ends 

For further information, please contact:
Elaborate Communications
Sean Moloney                                                                     +44 (0) 1206 682124
International Ship Suppliers and Services Association
Spencer Eade
General Secretary                                                              +44 (0) 20 7626 6236

Notes for Editors

  • ISSA is the international trade association for the world’s ship supply sector with a membership of nearly 2,000 ship suppliers throughout the world.
  • It has 43 national associations of ship suppliers as full ISSA members and associate members in 52 other countries where no national association exists.
  • Quality operation is an essential pre-requisite to ISSA membership and as a result, ISSA members have to undergo a rigorous vetting procedure before gaining admittance. Our members and the goods and services they offer can be found in every major port in the world.
  • The Association was formed in 1955 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2005 of half a century of service to the maritime industry.

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Jamaica making island a global shipping centre (Exim India Oct 6)

Sean Moloney

The government of Jamaica is working towards making the island a global shipping centre.

Discussions were held with specialists to develop and operate the shipping centre on a sustainable basis, Rear Admiral Peter Brady, Director-General of the Maritime Authority, said.

The Authority has the mandate for the regulation and development of shipping under the Shipping Act, and is spearheading the project.

“There is strong demand for our maritime facilities, particularly because Jamaica is strategically situated at the centre of an 800-million people market in the western hemisphere, including the largest market in the world-the US,” he stated.

“We intend to make Jamaica a ‘one-stop shop’ for shipping in the Caribbean region and indeed for this hemisphere!” he added.

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