It has been eerily quiet at Redcar's steel plant over the recent months, and the mighty blast furnace of Teesside Cast Products' (TCP), once at the heart of North East steel production, has stood idle... 

But, there is now hope that all that will change.

Mr Kirby Adams, MD and CEO of Corus, is optimistic that a deal on the table between Corus and Thailand's SSI will soon have the proud and skilled plant thriving again.

Last week, he sat down with SSI president Mr Win Viriyaprapaikit to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the takeover of TCP and, if successfully concluded, the deal is expected to rekindle Teesside steel making, create a significant number of new jobs and provide a long term future for the operation. 

While it may take several months to finalise the small print, Mr Adams said that the marriage on the table between Corus and SSI offers the opportunity of a sustainable future for TCP. He added that...
 
 
In the early hours of tuesday morning, a Ukrainian Officer was tragically killed by pirates aboard the Monrovia flagged Cancale Star.

Pirates boarded the vessel in darkness, 18 nautical miles off the West coast of Africa. The officer was shot dead in an onboard confrontation, the pirates escaping with the contents of the ship's safe. 

The tanker's Master, Captain Semenovics, reported that around six or seven pirates had approached the tanker in a speed boat.

"They came on deck" he said, "pointed a pistol to the head of one of the sailors, marched him to my cabin" (they) "asked me to open the safe and they collected all the cash" 

The Master did not state directly how much money the pirates stole.

The vessel was reportedly carrying some 89,000 m3 of Crude from Nigeria's Niger Delta.

The tanker's owners Chemikalien Seetransport have issued a statement from Germany confirming that the vessel's chief officer "has tragically lost his life in a piracy attack off the coast of Benin in the early hours of November 24th"
 
 

IMS is very excited to be moving to its new home at the Abbey Road Business Centre in Durham.

All enquiries and interest may now be directed to:

International Marine Survey
Abbey Road Business Centre
Abbey Road
Durham
DH1 5JZ

The Team at IMS would like to thank everyone who has helped make the last year an exciting one and are looking forward to the months ahead.

 
 

Sims Metal Management, the world's largest listed metal recycler, recently announced that it had completed its acquisition of UK based recycler All Metal Recovery Ltd (AMR).

Founded in 1986, AMR's competitive approach placed it as one of the fastest growing metal recyclers in the UK, securing supply approval from Corus as well as worldwide export custom.

Tom Bird, Sims UK Managing Director stated "We are delighted ... and look forward to welcoming the team from AMR ... We have been looking to build our presence in the strategically important central location of the West Midlands for some time ... The AMR acquisition will build upon Sims metal recycling business in Halesowen, and is consistent with our strategy to source tonnes for our major facilities in the UK."

In addition to the two metal recycling yards in Smethwick, AMR's operations include a nearby four acre dedicated rail link facility for transporting ferrous and non-ferrous metal to UK steelworks and ports.

 
 
 
 

Just a quick note to all of our site visitors to advise that the IMS privacy policy has been upgraded. As always you can be assured that your information will never be passed to any third parties and we hope to continue making improvements to the site based on your feedback and changing needs. 


Best Regards


The IMS Support Team

 
 

Well, as New Years Eve approaches many of us will be taking the opportunity to look back over the last year and review our plans for the future. Despite some worrying economic times we hope that it has been a good period for all of our partners and customers and that 2009 brings you and your business a host of new opportunities.

Let us know some of the challenges you have faced this year. 

What are your current marine survey bugbears? 

If there is something we can do to improve the service you receive, we want to know.

Till then, 

Best wishes for 2009 and a profitable New Year

International Marine Survey

 
 

Thanks to a ruling by the Supreme Court, there has been some great news for the Indian ship-breaking industry. The recent decision means that Indian ship breaking companies can now claim heavy deductions from their taxable income and it would seem that it's all down to how one interprets the small print and the question of whether 'ship-breaking is a production process or recycling'.

According to the Business Standard (India), the legal tussle related to whether the ship-breaking industry produced anything new and distinct, one of the conditions for claiming a tax deduction. In this battle between the Income Tax Department and a large ship breaking company, the prize to be won was up to 20 per cent of profits and gains.

The Income-tax Department rejected the claim  for deductions, stating that ship-breaking activity does not produce new article. The Supreme Court of India however, is of the view that production has much broader connotations and includes all byproducts, intermediate products and residual products that emerge in the course of manufacturing, and thus as well as dealing with the production of new article it should also encapsulate the production of a very desirable byproduct, scrap.

 
 

On Saturday 11th October 2008 gale force winds battered Gibraltar's Europa point. During the early hours of the morning the MV FEDRA realized she was dragging her anchor. Unable to start her own engines three tugs were dispatched to the Liberian registered vessel's assistance but were unable to prevent the ship from running aground. Fortunately Spanish and Gibraltarian authorities were able to rescue all 31, however shortly after the last crew member was hoisted to safety the ship broke in two, reportedly spilling around half of its remaining oil into the surrounding seas. 

Expert photographer David Parody was on hand to capture the scene.

BONUS: Play the entire slideshow to view David's photography of the MV Flame sinking in the Gibraltar Straits early this year.

Photo © DM Parody

 
 

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