NEWS / December 22, 2008

USA want more shipbuilding

U.S. Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, and U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., on Dec 19 wrote President-elect Barack Obama urging his Administration to support robust shipbuilding policies that would support the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard and re-energize commercial ship construction in the United States.

The letter, which was cosigned by 18 other senators, points out that while military leaders have documented a minimum national requirement of 313 ships to support America’s Navy and Marine Corps, the Navy’s fleet has declined to 284 ships. In order to attain 313 ships, 12 ships need to be budgeted annually. “Expanding American shipbuilding has the duel benefit of strengthening a critical branch of our national defense while bolstering our strained economy,” Sen. Landrieu said. “Attaining the minimum 313 ships that military leaders advise means we will have a naval fleet that competes with those of our potential adversaries. At a time when American manufacturing jobs are moving overseas, we have an opportunity to create highly-skilled jobs for the American manufacturing workforce here at home. I look forward to working with the Obama Administration to ensure that we support our military by building the necessary ships to protect our homeland and advance security needs abroad.” “With the smallest number of ships in the United States Navy since before World War II, I am deeply concerned by the insufficient size of today’s fleet and that funding for shipbuilding has not been adequate to achieve the 313 ships necessary to meet national security requirements,” Sen. Collins said. “We must maintain the skilled workforce necessary to expand and modernize our naval fleet to counter existing and emerging threats. Building more ships would also boost our economy by creating and preserving thousands of good jobs. As the new Administration prepares its budget, I hope our bipartisan letter will encourage adequate funding for shipbuilding.” In pressing their argument for an increased budget for defense and commercial shipbuilding in the United States, the senators highlighted both the economic and homeland security benefits that would accompany such a policy. An estimated 400,000 people in 47 states are employed by the shipbuilding industry, which consists of six major shipbuilding yards, several smaller ship construction and repair yards, and more than 4,000 major manufacturers of ship components and systems. One such shipyard is Northrop Grumman’s Avondale shipyard on the West Bank in New Orleans, which is the largest manufacturing employer in Louisiana with about 5,000 workers. This fall, Sen. Landrieu secured $933 million in the Continuing Resolution for the next LPD-17 ship to be built at Avondale. The funding is for construction of the 10th ship in the 11-ship program. While the President requested just $1.3 million for the program this year, Sen. Landrieu has pushed for its full funding at $1.7 billion. Without the funding for the LPD-17 program at Avondale, about 1,000 manufacturing jobs would have been at risk. The senators also highlighted the national security benefits to increasing America’s shipbuilding. “While America’s naval fleet is in decline, the navies of potential adversaries are on the rise,” the letter reads. “Russia has made rebuilding its naval power a priority, and the navy of China is expanding rapidly. By 2015 the Chinese Navy is projected to be larger than ours, and Russia has stated its intention to have the second largest Navy in the world by 2022. These countries may be building their naval forces to deny America access to critical regions and to limit America’s influence around the world.


Fincantieri reconsider delivery date

Italy’s Fincantieri revealed, it has recently been requested the late delivery of the cruises by some cruise companies.An official at Fincantieri said that it is mainly due to the jump in raw material prices followed by weakened USD exchange rate. He confirmed that company has already lost a very important super-large cruise order. It has been worrying about not being able to cash the two cruises ordered by Grimaldi Lines.


Orders drop in Japan

Shipyards in Japan, the world's third-largest shipbuilding nation, received 83 percent fewer orders last month as the global financial crisis cut demand for new vessels.The yards received orders for 219,823 compensated gross tons in November, the Japan Ship Exporters Association said today on its Web site. That compares with 1.27 million tons a year earlier. Orders this year have slipped 11 percent to 8.69 million compensated gross tons. The deepening financial crisis has dried up funds and global demand for commodities, prompting owners and operators of vessels to hold back purchases. The Baltic Dry Index, a benchmark of demand for shipping dry goods such as iron ore, has fallen more than 90 percent from a May record. "Enquiries by shipowners for new ships have declined due to the global financial crisis and a slump in the shipping markets," Masamoto Tazaki, chairman of the 20-member Shipbuilders' Association of Japan, said today at a press conference in Tokyo. Members of the group include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. and closely held Imabari Shipbuilding Co. While contracts have dipped, there have been no reports of order cancellations at Japanese shipyards. The nation's shipbuilders are under no pressure to sign new contracts as they have four years of order backlogs, he said. Compensated gross ton is an industry measure of ship size, the time required and materials used in production. Meanwhile, DryShips Inc., whose ships carry raw commodities, canceled an agreement to buy four Panamax-class vessels for US$400 million and retained the right to purchase the ships by the end of next year. The company will lose US$55 million in deposits for the four vessels, which are owned by entities controlled by DryShips Chief Executive Officer George Economou, according to a statement. The original agreement was made in July. The company also paid US$105 million for the option to buy the ships by the end of next year for US$160 million more, according to the statement. Panamax carriers usually haul 75,000-ton cargoes.