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GAC, the world’s largest independent shipping and transport services provider, has broken new ground with the expansion of its network of global alliances into Venezuela. 

On March 1, 2004, GAC’s Global Network Alliance agreement with Vensport C.A., a prominent Venezuelan shipping agency, swings into action in the South American country that boasts one of the world’s largest known oil deposits. In addition to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), Venezuela’s ports attract bulk carriers, LNG tankers, and container and general cargo ships.

Lars P. Heisselberg, Group Vice President, GAC Shipping Services says, “The GAC-Vensport alliance strengthens our worldwide coordination of port and ship agency services. With a firm partner in Venezuela that is committed to identifying and introducing cost-effective solutions, our global network is further enhanced, allowing us to provide customers with even better services for their ships - wherever they go.”

Ruben Ortega, Vensport C.A.’s Managing Director, says that entering into an alliance with such a well-reputed organisation as GAC will enhance Vensport’s market coverage and strengthen its understanding of the maritime sector’s goals around the world.

“Sharing our resources will allow us to provide an even more cost-effective and reliable operation,” notes Ortega. “It is our firm belief that all our clients will benefit from this new venture which is based on financial strength, educated and experienced shipping professionals, and full understanding of customer needs,” he adds. 

With alliances already established in North, Central and South America, the GAC-Vensport deal brings GAC a step closer to complete port coverage in the Americas. In the past 12 months, GAC has rapidly expanded its Global Network Alliances to complement its own port coverage in the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, Asia, Africa and key locations in the US, Europe, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. 

LONDON: Iraq opened its second Gulf oil port this week, clearing the way for it to boost crude exports by up to 20 per cent and generate more funds for post-war reconstruction. The port could allow Iraqi exports to rise back to two million barrels per day (bpd), levels last seen before the US-led invasion last spring. An Iraqi shipping official said that the Khor Al Amaya terminal was now open and the first crude tanker had already arrived there for loading.

MUSCAT: The Omani government has approved the design and construction by Septech Emirates of two floating docks for fishing harbours in Al Asharaka, south of Muscat, and Lima, in the Khasab region. "Currently, access to land at these two sites is straight onto the beach," said managing director of Septech Emirates, David Heffernan. The docks in Oman will receive a multitude of boats, from traditional dhows, patrol vessels and recreational boats to large, commercial fishing boats.

MANAMA: Bahrain's Interior Ministry planes will be used to patrol the coasts to check the re-emerging piracy in the region, the ministry's top officer has announced, after suspected pirates snatched a Bahraini-owned fishing boat. "The ministry's planes will operate along with the coastguard boats to help deter pirates and ensure the safety of Bahraini waters," Undersecretary Sheikh Duaij Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa was speaking during a meeting with representatives of the Fishermen Society. Armed assailants had earlier raided a Bahraini boat in the Abu Luthama area and threw the fishermen overboard. Three fishermen were rescued by a passing Saudi ship.

DAMMAM: A passenger shipping line will soon start operating between Dammam and Dubai, and the King Abdul Aziz Port Authority has approved plans for the construction of a passenger berth at the port. The transport minister and chairman of the board of directors of the port, Dr. Jabara Al Seraisry, said a committee headed by KAA Port Director Naeem Ibn Ibrahim Al Naeem has been set up to supervise the construction. The port at present only handles commercial liners and tankers. There has been demand for passenger service from Dammam for quite some time.

BAGHDAD: The Iraqi government has plans to set up a special insurance company to cover shipping, with post-war traffic to the country's ports flourishing in the absence of sanctions, finance officials said. The creation of a new company to provide cover for ships and the goods they carry is under consideration as part of a revamp of the insurance sector which shrank in real value as the 12-year embargo caused inflation and poverty. The private sector is expected to have a stake in the overhauled insurance sector as the US-backed interim government last year announced plans to open up all sectors except natural resources to private investments.

TEHRAN:  According to Iran's State News Agency IRNA Iran's first shipment of kerosene headed from this southwestern port for Umm Qasr in southern Iraq this week, the head of the city's Ports and Shipping Office said. The consignment, including 3,000 tons of the oil product, was taken by the Panama-registered tanker C Angel from a jetty near Abadan refinery, Hedayatollah Fez-Mahdavi said. He said the shipment followed an agreement reached between the two neighbouring countries' officials to meet part of the Iraqi people`s fuel demands from Iran.        

TEHRAN: A new shipping terminal is to be built in Iran’s Kaveh Port, Qeshm Island. According to the Deputy Director of the Qeshm Free Zone in logistic affairs, Fereydoun Alimoradi, the primary studies are over and the first phase of the terminal will cover an area of 50 hectares. The official referred to the economic privileges of the Qeshm Island and its location in the South-North Corridor as the main reasons behind the construction of the terminal there.

MUSCAT:  Arabian Maritime and Navigation Aids Service LLC has been entrusted with the responsibility to maintain Aids to Navigation for assisting vessels in Oman territorial waters, a press release said. Oman has a vast and a complex coastline, which requires an extensive array of ATON — lighthouses, buoys, beacons and racons to render the waters safe for shipping. Sophisticated computerised systems and management arrangements are in place to issue Navdues Certificates to ship agents/owners. Ship agents/owners are expected to produce these certificates as part of their port clearance procedures.

AMMAN: The Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese transport ministers will hold a meeting this month to discuss ways to enhance tripartite co-operation in the transport sector, a senior official has said. In the maritime domain, the three ministers will study ways to boost co-oporation among the countries' ports overseeing the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, said Batayneh. The three countries have earlier discussed the possibility of Syria and Lebanon relying on Jordan's sole maritime outlet of Aqaba to receive exports from Asia and for Jordan to rely on Syrian and Lebanese ports to receive exports heading from the West.

ABU DHABI:  The UAE Navy is to purchase six advanced corvettes worth more than $500 million under a contract signed with a local company. The Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding Co (ADSB), which was created by the UAE Offsets Group as a joint-stock firm in 1996, will supply the vessels to the Navy under the deal — the biggest naval contract to be awarded to a Gulf company. The contract involves the design and construction of a new class of multi-purpose corvettes for the UAE Navy called the Baynunah Class.

TEHRAN: Deputy Head of Iran`s Industrial Development and Renovation Organisation Abdolhossein Fahmi has said in Tehran that the first Iran-German ship will be delivered to Islamic Republic of Iran`s Shipping Lines in April 2005, IRNA has reported. Fahmi told IRNA that under the contract six ships will be built on an order by Iran and Germany. He said one of the ships will be produced in Germany and five others in Iran.

RIYADH:  Saudi Arabia's National Chemical Carriers (NCC) has signed a SR250 million  contract with South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard for the building of two new chemical carriers. This deal brings the number of chemical carrier newbuildings ordered by NCC this year to six, with a total investment of SR800 million. NCC also signed contracts for chartering four new carriers with Saad Al Arifi, chairman of International Shipping and Transportation Company, a Sabic affiliate.  

LONDON: The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has elected Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt and Turkey to be members of its Council for the 2004-2005 biennium, stated a press release. The announcement was made at IMO’s 23rd assembly session held at its London headquarters from November 24 to December 5, 2003. IMO is responsible for the safety of international shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships. The organisation is also commissioned with providing machinery for co-operation among governments in the field of governmental regulation and practices relating to shipping engaged in international trade

ABU DHABI:  Norway’s Farstad Supply has reached an agreement to sell platform supply vessel Far Sun to Seaport International Shipping in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The vessel is scheduled to leave for the Emirates immediately after the purchase is completed next month. Far Sun, a BP operated vessel since 1993, is a 1,500 tonne DW Platform Supply Vessel and is worth approximately $4 million, stated a company news release.         

ISTANBUL: “Sept. 11 showed how planes could be turned into bombs. Think how much damage a tanker carrying 50,000 tonnes of petrol could do. And hundreds of them pass within 300 meters of the center of Istanbul every year.” Tuncay Cehreli knows what he’s talking about. In 1994, he was part of the salvage crew sent to prevent the tanker Nassia, crippled and burning, from drifting into the heart of the city. Now he’s in charge of a new maritime security system that went into operation on the Bosphorus. “The previous system didn’t cover some of the most dangerous sections of the passage. Now we can monitor vessels as small as 20 tonnes all the way from the Black Sea to the Aegean, 320 kilometers to the west.”

MUSCAT:  Oman's shipping agents have formed a group with the goal of developing the maritime industry in the Sultanate. The Professional Grouping of Shipping Agents (PGSA) is a partnership of about 20 well-established shipping agencies. The association would also serve as an interface between the authorities, the import/export community, ship operators and their representatives, said CM Najeeb, general manager of Towell Barwil and president of the PGSA.           

TEHRAN: One of Iran's major shipping enterprise, the Bonyad Shipping Company (BOSCO), is to start from November 1 a container service from the Belgian port of Antwerp to Iran and vice-versa.  BOSCO will be represented in Belgium through its general agent, Naviran. Due to the importance of Antwerp as the hub for general cargo and container shipment in Western Europe, especially for Iranian shipping, BOSCO has decided to centralise its European operation center in Antwerp, Reza Najd Javadipour, president of Naviran, told IRNA in Brussels  

RIYADH:  The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA) reported its net incomer grew to SR 132 million ($35.2 million) in the first nine months of 2003, compared with SR 68.9 million ($18.4 million) in the same period a year earlier.  The company operates a fleet of nine very large crude oil carriers (VLCC) with a total capacity of 2.7 million DWT. It also owns 16 chemical carriers and four container vessels .

DOHA: Qatar Shipping Co has signed a $223.3m mandate with Credit Lyonnais (CL), a leading international French bank for long-term financing for its fleet expansion. The Export Import bank of Korea (Kexim) is with CL, an Export Credit Agency lender and this is the first transaction for Credit Lyonnais with Q-Ship, said a press note.  Kexim will finance 70 per cent of the loan and the balance of 30 per cent is to be a commercial loan. CL will syndicate this 30 per cent portion with other commercial banks.

TEHRAN:  Iran has offered its facilities to serve as the main gateway for the major inland destinations of Iraq after being successful is providing similar service to Afghanistan’s northern and western areas.  Iran is well situated for passage of the goods to Iraq. Iran’s adequate port facilities and sufficiently good trucking fleet, the short distances to various cities and also the wide experience that Iran has, will streamline and facilitate transit of the cargoes to Iraq, whose ports do not have big capacity to receive containers, said Armond Gigola, delegate of the International Transport Companies Association of Iran, while addressing the FIATA World Congress.  

TEHRAN: Iran-Hesabi (cargo) ship that has been busy transiting goods and offering sea services en-route Persian Gulf- European ports is anchored at Italy's Naples port, where it is being loaded for its next destination under quite normal conditions. According to the public relations bureau of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Shipping Lines (IRISL), the Italian news agency ANSA's earlier report regarding the threats posed against the Iranian ship are null and void, and the Iranian ship is following its pre-scheduled activities quite normally. The 23,000-tonne capacity Iranian cargo ship that travelled at 16.5 nautical miles speed was manufactured in Iran in 1998, when it joined the modern fleet of the IRISL. ANSA had announced that Iran-Hesabi's front side had plunged into the sea 12 degrees quite unexpectedly.  

CAIRO:  The US Trade and Development Agency has authorised a $257,000 grant to study needed improvements in navigation and traffic management on the Nile River between Cairo and Aswan. The study will focus on maximising river transport as an efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of enhancing Egypt's economic infrastructure, reported Washington File. Historically, river transport has played an important role in sustaining the Egyptian economy. Maximising river transport on the Nile River offers a number of advantages: an environmentally-friendly means of transportation, a reduction in road traffic and congestion and the increased safety, fuel and maintenance savings, a cost-effective means of transportation, increased employment opportunities as river transport becomes available 24 hours per day and increased efficiency in transporting commodity cargo.