Ship Chartering and Ship Broking Services.

COLL charter two new building MRs for NZ Coastal Trade

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 09:26:36 +0000

Two brand new tankers will soon be shipping petroleum products around the New Zealand coast. The new vessels will be chartered by Coastal Oil Logistics Limited (COLL) which transports petroleum products from Marsden Point Refinery to New Zealand’s ports on behalf of its shareholders BP Oil NZ , Chevron NZ, Mobil Oil NZ and Z Energy Ltd. The new-build vessels will replace COLL’s current tankers, the Torea and Kakariki. The Torea’s replacement, a 50,000 dwt products tanker, is due to arrive in February 2016. The Kakariki replacement, a 50,000dwt products/bitumen tanker, will be owned by ASP Ship Management Group (ASP) and will begin service in June 2017. COLL chief executive, Jon Kelly, says the new vessels will be substantially more fuel efficient than the older vessels they replace, resulting in a reduction in emissions. The new vessels will be time chartered into COLL from Silver Fern Shipping Limited, the New Zealand subsidiary of ASP Ship Management Group. Both vessels will be built at SPP, South Korea.

Ardmore Seafox

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 00:00:48 +0000

Ardmore Shipping Corporation announced 30th June 2015 that its latest newbuild vessel, the Ardmore Seafox, was delivered by SPP Shipbuilding Co., Ltd (“SPP Shipbuilding”) from the Sacheon shipyard in Korea on 25th June 2015.

The Ardmore Seafox is a 49,999 DWT IMO 3 product and chemical tanker, and her addition to the Ardmore fleet increases the number of Ardmore vessels on the water to twenty with a total tonnage of 819,519 DWT. Technical management of the Ardmore Seafox will be provided by Univan Ship Management Ltd.

Commenting on her delivery, Mark Cameron, Ardmore Shipping’s COO, said:
“We are pleased to take delivery of this sister ship to the Ardmore Sealion and we extend our thanks to SPP Shipbuilding for their hard work and dedication throughout the build process. The addition of the Ardmore Seafox realises our continued commitment to incorporating high quality, modern and efficient vessels to our fleet.

As with the Ardmore Sealion, the Ardmore Seafox is a high quality eco-design Ardmore vessel, fully equipped with a variety of fuel-saving measures including Skysails technology and offering the highest standards of performance for our customers. With an average age of under four and a half years, the Ardmore fleet is among the youngest in the industry.

This is the second of four newbuild vessels to be delivered from SPP Shipbuilding this year and we look forward to continuing to work closely with SPP Shipbuilding on the remaining two vessels in the series due for delivery in the second half of this year. We wish the Ardmore Seafox and her crew safe seas and fair winds as she goes on to fulfill her long and successful service within the Ardmore fleet.”

Australian Coastal Shipping Reforms

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 23:07:11 +0000

The Minister introduced the Shipping Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 to Parliament. This Bill provides industry with further insight into the details of the proposed coastal shipping reforms for foreign vessel owners. Watch this space for further updates or contact:

Steve Randall

+61 432 010698

steve@bridgewaterchartering.com.au

UNESCO World Heritage Committee not to place the Great Barrier Reef on its world heritage in-danger list.

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 08:37:49 +0000

The Australian Government strongly welcomes the final and unanimous decision of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee not to place the Great Barrier Reef on its world heritage in-danger list.

The final decision reflects the tremendous effort of Australia to carefully protect this iconic national and international asset through the development of the recently released Reef 2050 Plan.

This decision is great news for Australia. It’s great news for Queensland. And it’s great news for the Great Barrier Reef. The world’s umpire has declared the Great Barrier Reef is not in danger. It is Australia’s greatest natural icon and remains the world’s Great Barrier Reef.

Panama Canal – flooding of new Atlantic locks commenced

admin — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 07:53:28 +0000

The Panama Canal Authority and main contractor Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) have kicked off the initial flooding of the lower chamber of the Panama Canal’s new Atlantic locks, marking a major milestone in the multi-billion dollar expansion program.

June 12, 2015 by Mike Schuler

Egypt’s New Suez Canal will open on Aug. 6

admin — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 07:39:35 +0000

ISMAILIA, Egypt, June 13 (Reuters) – Egypt’s New Suez Canal will open on Aug. 6, its overseer said on Saturday, a project President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi sees as a potent symbol of national pride and a major chance to stimulate an economy suffering double-digit unemployment. The army began work 10 months ago on the $8 billion canal, flanking the existing, historic 145-year-old waterway and part of a larger undertaking to expand trade along the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

Z Energy to dominate NZ fuel market after $NZ785m Chevron deal

admin — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 09:36:40 +0000

Z Energy will control almost half the transport fuel market in New Zealand once it acquires Chevron New Zealand.
by Angela Macdonald-Smith
New Zealand petrol station owner Z Energy has capitalised on Chevron’s retreat from the Australasian fuel supply market, sealing a $NZ785 million ($734 million) deal that will give it control of almost half the country’s market for petrol, diesel and jet fuel.

In a deal revealed first by The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk online on Monday, Z Energy is buying 100 per cent of Chevron New Zealand, including 146 branded Caltex petrol stations, 73 truck stops, a 2 million-barrel inventory, 10 terminals and a lubricant sales and distribution business.

Z shares soared 22 per cent in Wellington as investors contemplated the increased dominance the former Shell business would secure in the New Zealand petrol and diesel market.

But the transaction has yet to get the green light from the Commerce Commission, amid warnings from some rivals and consumer groups that Z’s resulting 49 per cent share of the transport fuel market would give it power to influence prices.

Z chief executive MIke Bennetts said he was “confident there are strong grounds for clearance” from the competition regulator, insisting that the combination did not reduce competition, given competitive commercial markets and retailing markets.

The deal extends Chevron’s pull back from downstream oil refining and marketing activities in Australasia, having only last week sold its 11.4 per cent stake in New Zealand Refining Co, while in March it completed Australia’s largest ever block trade with a $4.73 billion exit from Caltex Australia. Its upstream exploration activities, including plans to drill in new frontier permits awarded late in 2014 by the New Zealand government, are not affected by the sales.

Z will finance the purchase through a mix of $NZ80 million of available cash, an additional $NZ540 million of dent and an underwritten pro rata equity raising of about $NZ185 million, to occur closer to the expected completion in late 2015, with the help of broker Goldman Sachs.

The deal, priced at 5.9 times estimated raw earnings in 2014, is expected to boost earnings for Z from day one. It is calculated to add 34 per cent to pro forma earnings per share ahead of synergies expected to amount to between $NZ15 million and $NZ25 million in terms of forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and fair value adjustments (EBITDAF) for fiscal 2017 and beyond.

Z is to operate two separate brands, Z and Caltex, and plans to continue its program of building new petrol stations on prime sites. However, use of the Caltex brand was only “transitional”, a presentation document said.

Mr Bennetts said the acquisition “is also a great fit with our longer-term market growth strategy”, because the scale of the combined operation would allow for expansion in the supply of biodiesel to a broader market.

Chevron New Zealand sold 1.765 billion litres of fuel in fiscal 2014, yielding revenue of $NZ2.235 billion and replacement cost EBITDAF of $NZ132 million. It had 21 per cent of the New Zealand transport fuel market, compared to Z Energy’s 28 per cent.