IDEA•2 – the go-to shop for Marine Contracts

Have you ever needed to arrange a BIMCO contract but been at a loss about how to make sure that your contracts are authentic and comply with all the right legislation? It’s worth taking a look at IDEA•2, an online portal that lets you download standard maritime contracts with all the potential clauses you could possibly need. IDEA•2.

It’s a really useful web based portal that you can use to get access to the whole range of BIMCO’s standard contracts and clauses, all based around IDEA•2 is built a secure online version of Microsoft Word 2010.

All you have to do to create a BIMCO standard contract is create a company account and log into it, find the template you want to use and type into it. Although it’s not essential to be a member to use the contract templates, you can save a lot of money if you do set up an account so we recommend it. It’s compatible with Windows and Apple computers and you can access your documents from any computer and anywhere that has Internet access.

The files are stored on BIMCO’s highly secure web servers, and they even make sure that they are regularly backed up, and that the latest versions of all templates are always available. The whole point of a service like this is to give businesses secure and authentic copies of BIMCO contracts, saving time on having to proof check them all. You can edit the contracts to your needs but any changes will show up on the final agreed document so that all parties know where they stand, and whether there have been any changes to the standard wording.

It’s a great idea (see what we did there) and it makes life so much easier and less complicated for any business that wants to draft a contract securely and in the knowledge that they will be including all the relevant clauses. Why not give it a try?

For more information about the product, check out the website: https://www.bimco.org/Products/idea_2.aspx

The Pros and Cons of using LNG in Shipping

There has been a lot of discussion about Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a viable fuel option for the shipping industry, so we thought we’d take a look at some of the pros and cons. More than 100 vessels in merchant, offshore and ferry applications already operate on gas, and it’s likely to become more popular with new regulations and environmental legislation coming into force.

Advantages

• Natural gas is mainly made up from methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Using LNG as shipping fuel could reduce sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions by up to 95 per cent. The lower carbon content of LNG compared to traditional ship fuels gives a 20 – 25 per cent reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
• LNG is likely to cost less than marine gas oil. Lower LNG prices in Europe and the USA suggest that the price is likely to be price below heavy fuel oil even when taking the small-scale distribution of LNG into account.
• LNG is readily available - carriers move the natural gas from liquefaction terminals to re-gasification terminals at locations all over the world, making the fuel easily available from shore-based facilities. 
• There are Marine LNG import and export terminals everywhere, which means that LNG is available anywhere in the world. In addition to this, there are more terminals planned for the future.

Disadvantages

• LNG does need more storage space, and specific bunkering arrangements also have to be provided. 
• LNG is pumped from one location to another through pipelines in gaseous form or transported by sea as a liquid, and during the transformation phase from gas to liquid it requires cryogenic temperatures.
• The infrastructure can make things harder with LNG, and the ability to transfer it from terminals and into the vessels that need it. On the plus side, though, availability of LNG bunkering is spreading, especially in regions with a strong environmental awareness or where it’s more economical than other fuels.

What do you think about using LNG? Is it a viable option for your business?

Further Developments at Cockenzie

As we’ve mentioned previously on our blog, the future looks bright for the offshore renewables industry, which is expected to play a crucial role in Scotland’s energy mix in years to come. With this in mind, Scottish Enterprise is seriously looking at plans for the development of an Energy Park at Cockenzie. They believe that the site would be the perfect location for companies involved in the offshore wind supply chain.

The idea has been on the cards for some time now, since the announcement of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan (N-RIP) and the National Renewables Infrastructure Fund (N-RIF) in 2010.

Cockenzie is seen as an ideal location for many reasons, including its location close to major offshore wind sites, its history and potential for deep water berthing. In the long term, it’s also seen a good place for investment into jobs and economic development, with potential for further development in the future.

The project

Experts think developing an Energy Park at Cockenzie will help to establish Scotland as a European hub for the offshore wind industry.

The main plans for the site include:
• New marine infrastructure
• A new quayside
• Serviced plots and associated infrastructure
• Aggregate extraction.

At the moment there’s no timescale for the plan, as so many aspects of it are yet to be agreed, and the planning consents needed to take the project further haven’t been obtained. The Energy Park could accommodate a wide range of end-users, and because they haven’t yet been identified, plans for the development have to stay very flexible.

The proposed development requires a number of consents before it can go ahead;
• Application for Planning Permission in Principle
• Application for Marine Licence (under the Marine Works
• Application for Harbour Empowerment Order.
(A Proposal of Application Notice, relating to the application for Planning Permission in Principle, was submitted to East Lothian Council on 2 June 2014.)

Consultations

If you want to have your say on the proposals, or just want to know what’s going on, there are consultation events at every stage of the development.The first consultation events have already been held - on 16 June 2014 in Prestonpans Library and 18 June 2014 in Port Seton Community Centre. There will be a second round of consultation events in early 2015, before the planning applications are made. At these events, anyone interested will be given information about how to view the formal documents.

After the applications have been submitted there will be another round of consultations and ongoing consultations will happen at milestones in the development process.

We’ll keep you up to date with any developments as the news comes through.

The Forth Crossings

With the construction of the new Queensferry Crossing due to be completed in 2016, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at the history of the Forth crossings – and look at how things are coming along for the newest stage in that history.

There was great news at the beginning of October – the cost of building the crossing is going to be a hefty £50m lower than previously thought. How often does that happen? The revised budget has been reduced to a top limit of £1.4bn from the previous £1.45bn, according to Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on her recent site visit. Ms Sturgeon said that the progress made since construction started in June 2011 meat that there would be £195m worth of savings, and she praised the “sound management and delivery of the scheme.”

The crossing will be the centre piece of a major upgrade to the cross-Forth transport corridor. It will be 1.7 miles across, making it the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world. The current Forth Bridge celebrated its 50th were seen off in style with a ‘river of fire’ made up of 2,014 torchbearers and a stunning firework display. The Forth Bridges Festival was a ten-day festival which also commemorated three centuries of world-class bridge engineering on the Forth.

History of the Bridge

The Firth of Forth was first bridged in 1890, but research didn’t begin on a road bridge until 1929. At the time, a tunnel was mooted as an option too. It wasn’t until 1958 that the green light was given for the Forth Bridge as we know it now, and construction started in 1960. People flocked to see the bridge while it was under construction in the early sixties. It was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth on 4th September 1964 to a 21 gun salute, and 16,000 people attended the opening ceremony (not including all the members of the public who turned out.)

It was the fourth longest suspension bridge for 78 days, until the opening of New York’s Verrazano Narrows Bridge on 21 November knocked it back down a place. During the 1990s repairs were needed – due to the increasing volume and weight of traffic over the bridge, the structure had to be strengthened, and there were problems with corrosion and repairs needed to the cables.

In March 2001 the Forth Road Bridge was designated a Category A listed structure.Plans for a new crossing were made public in 2007, and construction started on the new crossing in 2011.

New Sulphur rules a worry for the shipping industry

 

New legislation designed to help reduce CO2 emissions comes into force next year, and it looks like causing a headache for the shipping industry. The 0.1 percent sulphur in fuel requirements in Emission Control Areas regulation will come into effect on 1 January 2015.

The maximum sulphur content in bunker fuel permitted in ECA zones will reduce from 1 per cent to 0.1 per cent, which means that ship operators will be forced to switch to tanks of distillate fuel, which is around 50 per cent more expensive.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) estimates that total greenhouse gas emissions from global maritime transport have already reduced by around 20 per cent between 2007 and 2012, but the sector is still looking at the implementation of mandatory global regulations for CO2 emissions, which are targeted at reducing CO2 in the future.

International Chamber of Shipping Secretary general Peter Hinchliffe said,

"The shipping industry fully recognises that governments expect even greater CO2 efficiency improvements in the future. Given the very high cost of fuel which is soon set to increase by around 50% due to separate new rules on sulphur the industry already has every incentive to deliver this,"

The introduction of these strict regulations is problematic for the shipping industry, with regulations banning ships from burning sulphur port in due to the environmental impact. This is likely to have an even greater effect on large vessels with more 4000 containers.

 Some ships are finding fuelling to be a big problem already; there have been reports of vessels actually plugging into power sources when arrive at shore – this also proves to be an expensive option so it’s not a viable solution. Other ships have been turning to LPG instead of diesel in order to cut costs, or other fuels, but this is only possible when a ship runs on a line - there is no guarantee that alternative fuels will be available at all ports.

On top of this, there are even greater worries ahead about availability of fuel, and the impact of legislation on the cost, with a  0.5 percent global cap on sulphur due to take effect in 2020. Experts believe that an increase from the shipping industry in the demand for diesel grade fuel could even have an impact on land based industry .

MV Windsor Castle now in Leith

We're excited to be shipping agents for the iconic ship MV Windsor Castle, which has recently been bought by the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The beautiful ship came to Leith all the way from Falmouth and the RYB has some exciting plans for the ship – the company has said that they plan to invest almost £1 million to turn the classically designed ship into a 25 bedroom floating luxury hotel which will sit alongside Britannia and will be permanently berthed in Edinburgh's historic port of Leith.

The 239 feet long vessel is almost two-thirds of the size of Britannia, which has been Scotland’s top visitor attraction for nine years, and the UK’s No.1 attraction (according to TripAdvisor 2014.)

The MV Windsor Castle was previously berthed in the River Fal.

Launched in August 1963, she was the last ship to have been built by Glasgow’s Blythswood Shipbuilding Company and was previously the Northern Lighthouse Board's (NLB) tender Fingal.

The ship spent 30 years working out of Oban for NLB, and was then moved to Stromness, Orkney, where she stayed for six years.  The vessel was then sold to Tamahine Shipping and has been very well maintained at her berth on the River Fal ever since.

The ship arrived in Leith at the end of August where she will now undergo an 18-month conversion, and the ‘boatique’ style hotel scheduled to open in spring 2016.

Britannia's chief executive Bob Downie said,

 "After many years of searching for the right ship, we are delighted that we have been able to acquire this iconic vessel and look forward to opening Scotland's first 'boatique' hotel. As a youngster growing up in Oban I have very fond memories of seeing the Fingal and I am delighted that the long-term future of another much-loved classic vessel has been secured."

Railway sleepers for raised flower beds

If you’re looking for an attractive and inexpensive way to spruce up your garden, have you thought about creating raised flower and plant beds using railway sleepers? We have a stock of used railway sleepers that could well be ideal for your gardening projects.

Creating a raised bed out of railways sleepers is becoming popular – probably due to the fact that a well-made bed made from sleepers is strong, will last you a long time, and looks lovely and natural in any sized garden.

Our sleepers are Sleepers are 8'6" x 10" x 6" and weigh about 80kgs each, and they can be used horizontally, or cut them lengthways and lay them as if they were timber posts. Either way they’ll be ideal.

When you’re building your raised beds, remember that railway sleepers are wide, so you will have to reach across them to get to the soil in your beds. For this reason, some people also lay them on their edge. They are easy to use and will only cost you £22 + VAT per sleeper.

Some of the advantages of using railway sleepers are:

• They look great
• They last a long time – sometimes up to 15 years.
• The extra width gives you somewhere else to sit!

You do need to remember that:
If you use them lengthways, you can only make square or rectangular beds
They can be heavy – ask a friend to help!
If you’re interested in getting hold of some sleepers, we can deliver (costs vary depending on your location). If you prefer, you can also collect them from our storage facility in Cowdenbeath, Fife.

Creosote
Our treated sleepers are treated with creosote which means that they shouldn’t be used anywhere there is risk of constant skin contact. Don’t use them inside buildings on playgrounds, or to make toys, garden furniture or picnic tables.
This video is really helpful if you want ideas about how to make your own raised flower beds with railway sleepers.