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The Kra-Canal Project

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Proposed route of the Kra-Canal through southern Thailand
Proposed route of the Kra-Canal through southern Thailand

Article written by Luc Verley MIIMS

The Kra-Canal project, sometimes also called the Thai-Canal, is an ambitious plan that would create a connection between the South Chinese Sea on the East in the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea in the West by passing through Southern Thailand.

This would shorten shipping distances by 1,200 Nautical miles around peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Ships would avoid passing through the piracy risky area in the Strait of Malacca. The Strait of Malacca is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with 60,000 passages annually.

At the narrowest part of peninsular Thailand, in Kra Isthmus the width is only 44 kilometres, the challenge however is a mountain stretch which reaches 75 metres above sea-level. Therefore, most proposals for the Kra-Canal vary with lengths between 50 to 100 kilometres in order to minimise the excavation.

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British Marine Federation says growth continues in the UK leisure marine sector

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British Marine Federation says leisure marine industry growth is set to continue
British Marine Federation says leisure marine industry growth is set to continue

According to new statistics published by the British Marine Federation at the 2015 CWM FX London Boat Show, growth continues in the UK leisure marine sector.

For the third consecutive year, the industry posted growth in 2013/14, with total revenue in the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry totalling £2.93bn (a 1% increase on 2012/13).

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Alang shipbreaking workers operate in poor conditions

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A new study says that Alang shipbreaking workers continue to work in appalling conditions. Photo courtesy of The Hindu Business Line
A new study says that Alang shipbreaking workers continue to work in appalling conditions. Photo courtesy of The Hindu Business Line

The working and living conditions at the Alang shipbreaking yards in India, remain alarmingly poor, argues a new study published in the Economic & Political Weekly, a well known Indian Social Science journal. The research was commissioned and financed by the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) and was coordinated by Dr Geetanjoy Sahu from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). TISS’ findings are based on intensive field work in Alang from April 2013 to May 2014 including interviews with 300 shipbreaking workers as well as stakeholders from the industry, trade unions and authorities.

The study finds that the “costs to workers’ health and the environment are alarming” while the profit margins for both the yard owners and the contractors providing the labour force are extremely high. Dr Sahu reports that the approximately 35,000 unorganised migrant workers at the Alang shipbreaking yards continue to live in shanty dwellings without adequate facilities for drinking water, sanitation and electricity. The authorities have set up only 12 showers and six toilets. As a result, “workers are forced to defecate in the open”.

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Panama Canal expansion now 84% complete as gate installation begins

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The Panama Canal expansion program is gathering pace with the arrival of the massive new lock gates. Photo courtesy ACP
The Panama Canal expansion program is gathering pace with the arrival of the massive new lock gates. Photo courtesy ACP

The last gate to arrive has now completed the transfer of the eight gates to the Pacific construction side as the Panama Canal expansion gathers momentum. The transits began on October 22 to move all eight gates through the waterway aboard a barge from the Atlantic temporary dock to the Pacific, assisted by Panama Canal tugs.

Once finished, the Panama Canal expansion program will have added new locks that in total have 16 rolling gates, eight in the Pacific and eight in the Atlantic. Since August 2013, the gates have been arriving in staggered shipments from Italy on a Post-Panamax vessel to a temporary dock in the Atlantic side. The last shipment arrived in November 2014.

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ClassNK register passes the 230 million gross tons mark

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ClassNK has announced that its register has surpassed the 230 million gross tons mark in 2014 for the first time
ClassNK has announced that its register has surpassed the 230 million gross tons mark in 2014 for the first time

Leading classification society ClassNK has announced that its register topped 230 million gross tons for the first time. The announcement was made following a meeting of the Society’s Classification Committee, which certified that the NK Register listed 8,826 vessels totaling 231.34 million gross tons at the end of November 2014.

As ClassNK finished 2013 with some 220.9 million gross tons on its register, the achievement means that ClassNK has added a net total of more than 10 million gross tons to its register in the first 11 months of the year, continuing the leading classification society’s stunning growth over recent years. Continuing recent trends for the Society, transfers of vessels from other classification societies accounted for more than one third of the vessels joining the ClassNK Register, setting a new record for the Society.

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Royal Huisman to build 56 metre classic ketch

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An impression of what the new 56 metre classic ketch to be built by Royal Huisman will look like
An impression of what the new 56 metre classic ketch to be built by Royal Huisman will look like

A classic ketch for family oriented Caribbean cruising and more is being built for an American couple, Royal Huisman has announced. The 183’7” (56-metre) megayacht, to be christened Aquarius, is set for delivery in late 2017.

Aquarius bears styling and naval architecture by Dykstra Naval Architects. The wood clad deckhouse, teak decks, long overhangs, rich-blue hull, and oval ports give her the profile the owners wanted. Royal Huisman has yet to release full specifications on her sailplan and structural dimensions, though the yacht is intended for good performance in light airs. Aquarius may further participate in some bucket regattas.

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Fincantieri Yachts delivers one of the tenth largest mega yachts in the world

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Fincanteiri Yachts has delivered one of the tenth largest mega yachts in the world and the largest to be built in Italy
Fincanteiri Yachts has delivered one of the tenth largest mega yachts in the world and the largest to be built in Italy

Fincantieri Yachts delivers one of the tenth largest mega yachts in the world. At 140 metres long, the “Ocean Victory” is the largest yacht ever built in Italy and, according to the sector rankings, one of the tenth largest ever built in the world. The new mega yacht is positioned on the top market segment in terms of quality and performance and is characterized by complexity, high technology content, innovation, extreme care to details in the interior and exterior design.

The new ship has been acquired also thanks to the commitment of Alex Lees Buckley, broker with more than 30 years of experience in the most prestigious projects of the internationally renowned brokerage company Camper & Nicholsons. “Ocean Victory” has been designed on the basis of a new, unique concept, brainchild of the Monaco based naval designer Espen Oeino and the Paris based interior designer Cabinet Alberto Pinto. The new unit has been developed by the team of Fincantieri Yachts – business unit of Fincantieri specifically focused on this area.

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USMRC and ClassNK sign MOU for future technical cooperation

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USMRC and ClassNK have signed an MOU to work together for future technical cooperation
USMRC and ClassNK have signed an MOU to work together for future technical cooperation

The United States Maritime Resource Center (USMRC) based in Middletown, Rhode Island and ClassNK, a leading ship classification society located in Tokyo, Japan, are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) laying out a framework for future technical cooperation to carry out joint research and development activities for the maritime industry.

This will mark the first time a major ship classification society has teamed with a prominent marine operations simulation center engaged in specialized training and research in North America.

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Transport & Environment says new EU climate emissions law is weak

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The new EU climate emissions law is weak says Transport & Environment
The new EU climate emissions law is weak says Transport & Environment

For the first time, all shipping companies calling at EU ports will have to measure and publicly report carbon emissions under a law approved by an overwhelming majority of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee. Sustainable transport group Transport & Environment says that the new EU climate emissions law is weak – it only monitors fuel consumption instead of directly reducing it, and only covers CO2 and not air pollutants like SO2 or NOx – but it can still trigger fuel savings indirectly.

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New Chemical Tanker Safety Guide published by ICS

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New Chemical Tanker Safety Guide published by ICS
New Chemical Tanker Safety Guide published by ICS

A fully updated edition of the definitive industry guidance on the safe operation of chemical tankers (Tanker Safety Guide) has just been published by the shipping industry’s global trade association, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).

The new edition of the ICS Tanker Safety Guide (Chemicals) replaces the previous edition issued in 2002. ICS recommends that a copy is carried on board every tanker engaged in the carriage of chemical cargoes, and that copies are also held within shipping company technical departments.

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Ben Ainslie Racing teams up with Red Bull Advanced Technologies

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Ben Ainslie Racing teams up with Red Bull Advanced Technologies. Photo: Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images
Ben Ainslie Racing teams up with Red Bull Advanced Technologies. Photo: Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images

Ben Ainslie Racing teams up with Red Bull Advanced Technologies (RBAT), a division of the Red Bull Formula One group, as it progresses with its campaign to claim the 35th America’s Cup.

Operating as a Design House, RBAT is based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK. Founded on the group’s impressive F1 DNA, which has resulted in eight Formula One World Championships in the last five seasons, RBAT excels in advanced simulation and mathematical modelling. Ben Ainslie Racing is collaborating with RBAT to draw on this expertise and knowledge.

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State-of-the-art Shannon class lifeboat launched by the RNLI

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The RNLI has delivered a new Shannon class lifeboat to Hoylake. Image courtesy of RNLI
The RNLI has delivered a new Shannon class lifeboat to Hoylake. Image courtesy of RNLI

Hoylake RNLI volunteers are preparing for a new era of lifesaving with the eagerly anticipated arrival of their state-of-the-art Shannon class all weather lifeboat, which arrived on Monday 1 December.

The £2M new Shannon class lifeboat, named Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood, arrived by sea at the end of a five day journey from the lifeboat charity’s headquarters in Poole.

Hoylake is only the fourth RNLI lifeboat station in the UK and Ireland to receive a Shannon class vessel, which is the first modern RNLI all weather lifeboat to be propelled by water jets instead of propellers. Designed by an in-house RNLI team, it is the most agile all weather lifeboat in the charity’s fleet and has been developed with the safety and welfare of RNLI volunteer crews as a key priority.

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