ABP Southampton announced on 24th June that it completed the purchase of Marchwood and Cracknore Hard Industrial Estates. ABP had an offer for the site accepted in December with the Marchwood Industrial Park previously being owned by Oceanic Estates Limited. The site adjoins Marchwood Military Port. Meanwhile the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) has acquired a 10% direct interest in Associated British Ports. The news comes after GS Infrastructure Partners (GSIP), part of Goldman Sachs, and Infracapital, a subsidiary of Prudential, sold their stakes in the group, which operates 21 ports in the UK. The two investment companies have sold their combined 33.33% stake to Canadabased Anchorage Ports, which comprises Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Hermes Infrastructure. The ABP group is now owned 33.3% by Canada-based infrastructure investor Borealis, 33.3% by Anchorage Ports, 23.3% by Singapore’s Cheyne Walk Investment and 10% by the KIA.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is building the world’s first icebreaker tankers, 16 in total, to carry liquid natural gas (LNG) between Europe and Asia via the Arctic passage. LNG tankers to date been escorted by icebreaking ships that clear the way through the Northern Sea Route. The Yamal LNG project, run by companies in Russia, France, and China, proposes drilling more than 200 wells in the Arctic to produce 16.5 million tons of LNG per year, supported by Daewoo’s first Arc7 tankers.

Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation has announced an order for two 319,000dwt VLCCs and five 72,000 dwt product tankers from Cosco Dalian, the tanker shipping arm of the China Cosco Group. The financial details of contract were not disclosed. The newbuildings will be designed to feature fuel saving and energy efficient technology. 

ESVAGT was announced as sold by AP Moller-Maersk for $610m on 7th July. Maersk bought a controlling stake in the 1981-founded company three years ago. ESVAGT, which has a fleet of 43 vessels and more than 800 employees, has been purchased by 3i Infrastructure plc and AMP Capital. 

Hoegh Autoliners: The Höegh Target, the world’s largest Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) with a deck space of 71,400sqm and carrying capacity of 8,500 car equivalent units, was delivered at the beginning of July. The ship is the first in a series of six Post Panamax vessels under the company’s New Horizon design. The remaining five PCTCs in the series are expected for delivery throughout the next 18 months. The vessel has a higher door opening than Höegh Autoliners’ current vessels, enabling cargo up to 6.5m high and 12m wide to be loaded. Extra ramp strength allows for cargo weighing up to 375 tonnes to be loaded over the stern ramp and 22 tonnes over the side ramp.

On 16th July the 87,803gt bulk carrier Cape Canada collided with the 64,654gt bulk carrier Mei Hua Hai in the English Channel 30 nautical miles off The Lizard. Both ships were on same course, but a human error by the duty officer caused a collision. Both ships suffered some damages to the hull, but without breaches. After the accident the ships remained drifting at the scene before an inspection by the UK Coast Guard allowed them to resume their voyages. The Cape Canada was en route from Dunkerque to Sept-Ilies, Canada, while Mei Hua Hai was en route from Hamburg to Baltimore. 

Torm, the Danish product tanker operator, has been taken over by private equity company Oaktree Capital Management, which now holds more than $500m worth of Torm’s shares after finalising a takeover of the product tanker company in July. Oaktree will be issued with shares with a net asset value of $511m, in exchange for 25 Oaktree vessels and six newbuildings being placed into Torm’s fleet. As a result, Torm will run a total fleet of 74 vessels, one of the largest product tanker fleets in the world. 

Svitzer ordered two more ASD 3212 tugs from Damen in June for large vessel towing operations. The 80 tonne bollard pull capability is ideal for escort and towing operations on the Thames and Felixstowe. The 32m long/14 knot duo is being built at Damen’s state-of-the-art Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam and will be delivered to Svitzer UK in October 2015. For propulsion, they are equipped with two Caterpillar 3516C HD TA/D engines with a total power of 5,050 bkW at 1,800 rpm. Svitzer UK ordered its first ASD 3212 tug in 2014, a model outfitted with a fixed-pitch propeller in combination with a forward winch. Svitzer UK’s tug fleet now totals 21 Damen tugs including these three ASD 3212 vessels. The 180-year-old towage and salvage company has more than 430 vessels in over 100 locations worldwide. 

Valemax Approval: China’s Ministry of Transport and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) together released a notice at the beginning of July in which they officially approved a total of seven berths in Dalian Port, Tangshan Port, Qingdao Port and Ningbo Port to receive 400,000dwt Valemax ships. The seven berths are located in Dagushan port area of Dalian, Caofeidian port area of Tangshan, Dongjiakou port area of Qingdao and Ningbo’s Majishan terminal and Shulanghu terminal. Lianyungang Port, which received a Valemax in 2013, is not included in the notice. The notice also warned port operators not to receive Valemax ships and expand terminal capacity without permission. The first of four 400,000dwt VLOCs acquired by China Ore Shipping from Brazilian ore giant Vale, the 201,284gt/2014 built Yuan Zhuo Hai, arrived at Dongjiakou Port in Qingdao in early July and became the first Valemax to unload at a Chinese port for two years.