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MARITIME ADMINISTRATION NEWS APL Asks MarAd Permission For Slot-Sharing With Mitsui, Nedlloyd, Orient Overseas American President Lines, Ltd., (APL) is asking MarAd's permission to charter slots on foreign-flag ves- sels operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, Ltd., Nedlloyd Lines BV, and Orient Overseas Container Line Inc. APL and the other lines propose to par- ticipate in the Asia-Atlantic Alli- ance Agreement, a reciprocal slot exchange and coordinated sailing agreement, and a master slot char- ter agreement. The geographic scope of the trade in U.S. foreign commerce of the Asia- Atlantic Agreement is between Ja- pan, Taiwan, and the Pinang-Pusan range in continental Asia and ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S. via the Panama Canal. The geographic scope of the trade in U.S. foreign commerce of the mas- ter slot charter agreement is be- tween Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Ja- pan and ports on the Atlantic coast of the U.S. and the Caribbean via the Panama Canal. All-water ser- vice under the agreement is to be performed entirely with vessels of the three foreign parties. Persons or firms interested in commenting on the section 804 as- pects of this application, designated Docket S-916, should submit three copies of their comments to the Of- fice of the Secretary, Maritime Ad- ministration, 400 Seventh Street SW, Room 7210, Washington, D.C. 20590. Lykes Seeks Permission To Charter Four Ships Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., Ltd., has asked MarAd for permission to time charter up to four foreign reg- istered containerships in the trade between ports on the U.S. Gulf and East coast and North Europe. The vessels are being built in a German shipyard for a U.S. documented citi- zen owner. Each will be able to carry 2,400 TEU. The first ship is scheduled for delivery in March, and the others at three-month in- tervals thereafter. Lykes has com- mitted to long-term time charter the ships. The vessels would likely call at the ports of Galveston, New Or- leans, Miami, Charleston, Norfolk, New York, Boston, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, and LeHavre, Lykes said in its applica- tion. Section 804 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, pre- cludes subsidized U.S.-flag opera- tors or their affiliates from operat- ing foreign-flag vessels which com- pete with essential U.S.- flag ship- ping services unless the Secretary of Transportation waives the provi- sion of this section for a specific period of time. MarAd Releases Port Report MarAd released its annual re- port, A Report to Congress on the Status of the Public Ports of the U.S. 1992-1993. U.S. ports are a critical element in our national transportation system and impor- tant contributors to our national economy and security. They handle over 95 percent of the nation's for- eign commerce and nearly a billion tons of domestic commerce. The report is divided into three sections: • Section one provides an overview of the U.S. public port industry; • Section two discusses the key issues facing the U.S. port indus- try; • Section three describes several related developments of interest or concern to the port industry, in- cluding matters pertaining to the 1993 Midwest flood, trade within North America, and national de- fense. Copies of the report are now available from MarAd's Office of Port & Domestic Shipping, room 7201,400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590; tel: (202) 366-4357. OMI Seeks Operating- Differential Subsidy Agreements On behalf of itself and Vulcan Carriers, Inc., OMI Corp. has asked MarAd for the necessary approvals to operate under operating-differ- ential subsidy agreements six tank- ers now operated by Vulcan. The request includes permission to assign the subsidy agreements to OMI, a waiver to permit OMI to continue operating foreign-flag ves- sels and permission for OMI to con- tinue operating vessels in the coastwise trade. A notice of the request, designated Docket S-914, has been published in the Federal Register. Section 805(a) of the act prohibits subsidized operators and their affiliates from participating in domestic shipping activities with- out written permission from MarAd. MarAd Approves Section 9 • Western Overseas, Inc., an Ohio corporation, was given approval to sell the cargo vessels Ruth Lykes and Letitia Lykes to Ruby Enter- prises, Inc., a British Virgin Islands corporation, for resale to P.R. Ship Breaking Corp., an Indian partner- ship. The vessels were built in 1966 and 1968, respectively. The vessels will be transferred to the St. Vincent and The Grenadines registry for one ballast voyage for ultimate scrap- ping in India. • Chenco International, Inc., a Washington corporation, but not a citizen of the U.S. within the mean- ing of section 2 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1916, as amended, has been given approval to sell the 8,421- gt cargo vessel Robert C. Norton and the 10,849-gt bulk carrier William A. Reiss to Electra Maritime Jersey Limited, a British corporation, for scrapping in India. The vessels were built in 1943 and 1925, respectively. Application Withdrawn Marine Car Carriers has with- drawn its application to MarAd to change the registry of the 11,315-gt car carrier Marine Reliance. Contract Canceled The Maritime Subsidy Board has authorized the termination of Atlas Marine Company's Title V contract relating to the American Heritage. The vessel was built in 1976 with the aid of construction- differential sub- sidy (CDS). It is being sold solely for the purpose of scrapping and may not be used in any other capacity. Atlas is required to comply with all applicable provisions of the CDS con- tracts and the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended. Applications Received • MarAd has received an applica- tion from Dorado Offshore Limited Partnership, One Market Street, San Francisco, Calif, for permission to sell and transfer to Liberian registry the jack-up drilling rig Sonny Voss. The proposed purchaser is Triton Holdings Limited, of the British Vir- gin Islands. The vessel would be used in offshore oil and gas drilling. It was built in Singapore in 1980. Fishing Vessel OK'd For Russian Registry MarAd has given approval to Mark F. Maring Enterprises II, Inc., Seattle, Wash., to transfer to Rus- sian registry the 452-gt fishing ves- sel Arctic Discovery. INDUSTRY TRENDS by James R. McCaul, President IMA Associates, Inc. LNG shipping is a highly concentrated market segment — with a dozen top carriers representing 78 percent of total LNG shipping capacity and 59 of the 86 LNG ships now in operation. Energy Trans Shell NYK Gotaas-Larsen Algerian Gov't Malaysian Shpg Kawasaki Alsoc Chemikalien Humolco Trans Argent Ahrenkiel 8 6 4 2 No. of LNG Ships 200 400 600 800 1000 000's of Cubic Meters Source: IMA Associates, Shipbuilding Industry Outlook, 1995 Edition 20 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
