Russian Fishing Sector Making Big Comeback
Russia’s fishing sector has made a comeback, despite the world-wide economic downturn. That was what Andrei Krainy, the head of the federal fisheries agency, Rosrybolovstvo, recently told a session of the international fisheries congress in Vladivostok, the Novosti news service reports.
Krainy reported that 2009’s fish and seafood catch was so far up by 12%; that investment in balance sheets overall was up 29%; while wages had risen 22% and working capital was up 25%.
Foreign participation in this year’s congress was said to have been up significantly, 18 foreign countries having been represented.
Li Chol Y, the head of the fisheries department of South Korea’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries, assured city and provincial authorities of his ministry’s commitment to encouraging South Korean investment in undertaking joint projects with the fish processing and catching companies of Vladivostok and Primorye Province, the PrimaMedia news service reported.
Earlier, Krainy had told the fisheries congress that the federal government saw the renewal of the nation’s fishing fleets as a state economic priority, and that it would be providing RUB 8 billion (C$290 million) for that purpose.
One industry insider told the ITAR-TASS news service that, according to his information, the state would be providing a total of RUB 20-30 billion (C$725 million – C$1 billion) for the fishing fleet renewal program.
Just for Pacific Russia alone, said Krainy, new vessels were needed just to ensure ability to properly exploit the nation’s exclusive economic zone waters, not to mention venturing further afield.
In the near future, said Krainy, domestic shipyards would be asked by the state to compete for contracts to build the needed vessels, small, medium and large tonnage.
Consortia of shipbuilding yards would be created with Norwegian yards, which are leaders in fishing vessel construction, Krainy said. He did not spell out the role of the Norwegian yards, but the context seems to suggest they would do the designing, and Russian yards the construction.
So far this year, RUB 650 million had been expended in connection with the above, with an additional RUB 4 billion projected to be spent/invested by the end of the year, RUB 1.2 bln on ship construction and RUB 1.8 bln on renewal of fish processing equipment.
Icelandic Herring Season Coming to a Close
HB Grandi’s pelagic fleet’s fishing on Atlanto-Scandian herring this year is coming to an end now that the whole of their 38,000 tonne quotas has been caught. Fishing has been inside the Icelandic EEZ and has exceeded expectations.
“Fishing in Icelandic waters has been excellent this summer and it’s very unlikely that we will need to make use of the fishing rights we have to take part of our quotas in Norwegian waters”, said Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson, head of HB Grandi’s pelagic division. He said that Ingunn landed 1000 tonnes in Vopnafjördur on Friday and on Sunday Lundey docked there with 900 tonnes.
“The situation now is that each vessel is scheduled to land one more trip in Vopnafjördur and we hope that the fishing will stay good enough for this to work out. The fishing has shifted a good way further east over the last few days and Faxi is now close to the Herring Loophole about 200 miles off Langanes, waiting for Ingunn to arrive. They are still freezing fish from Ingunn’s catch at Vopnafjördur and we don’t expect the ship will be back on the fishing grounds until late tonight, when freezing fish from Lundey will have taken over”, said Vilhjálmsson.
Arctic Oil Tempts Norway to Seek Drilling at ‘Gates of Hell’
Norway has started a push to explore for oil and natural gas in more remote regions like its Arctic volcanic island of Jan Mayen, as the country seeks to reverse almost a decade of dwindling North Sea output.
“We’ve explored an increasingly large part of the Norwegian shelf,” Oil Minister Terje Riis-Johansen said in an interview on a trip to the barren outpost on Sept. 23. “If we now wish to develop Norway as an oil and gas nation, it will have to be in other areas.”
Diminishing access to traditional reserves is prompting countries to turn to unconventional sources such as oil sands and shale-rock formations to meet demand. Russia, Canada, the U.S. and Iceland are vying for a stake of the Arctic, which may hold as much as 50 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil.
Crude output from Norway, the world’s fifth-biggest oil exporter, peaked between 2000 and 2001 and may fall 9.7 percent this year, according to the Petroleum Directorate. Norway gets almost a 25 percent of its economic output from oil and gas, which has made it the world’s second-richest nation and financed its cradle-to-grave welfare system.
Jan Mayen Island is reputed to have been discovered by the Irish monk Brendan in the 6th century, who sailed past it during volcanic activity and thought he had found the “gates of hell,” according to a hand-out by the oil ministry. “This is extreme exploration,” Bente Nyland, head of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, said in an interview on the island on Sept. 23. “You’re in an area where you have very little control, so you need to have a lot more knowledge before you can start any activity.”
BP, Europe’s second-largest oil company, estimates the Arctic Ocean may hold around 200 billion barrels of oil equivalent, or 25 percent to 50 percent of the world’s undiscovered hydrocarbons.
Last year, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the area to hold 90 billion barrels of oil.
Tuna Vessels Prepare Anti-Piracy Defence
Spanish tuna boats operating in the Indian Ocean will now use hired guns to ward off Somali pirates by hiring private security guards armed with high-powered rifles. The Defense Ministry said Spain cannot station Marines on fishing boats – as the industry has requested and France is doing – because Spanish law does not allow the military to be used for protecting private property.
Instead, Spain has allowed Spanish flag tuna boats, operating in the Indian Ocean, to hire armed security guards, to provide protection against Somali pirates. There are 14 Spanish fishing vessels operating in the area, where about 20 percent of the world tuna catch is taken. The Spanish boats are over 200 feet long and have crews of about two dozen sailors. Last year, one of these boats was taken by Somali pirates, and was ransomed for $1.2 million. Several other tuna boats managed to escape pirate attacks.
Deputy Defense Minister Constantino Mendez explained that most of the 14 Spanish tuna trawlers operating in the Indian Ocean are based in the Basque country. Spain has had a number of encounters with pirates over the past two years, and Spanish navy vessels and a reconnaissance plane are taking part in an EU anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia. The waters off lawless Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden are notoriously dangerous, with pirates hijacking merchant ships and holding crew members for ransom. The International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur says there have been 156 attacks so far this year.
Earlier this year, Spain said it would allow guards, armed with pistols, on these fishing ships. The fishing boat owners protested, pointing out that pistols would only be useful once the pirates were actually boarding. So this has been changed to allow rifles, as the pirates are usually armed with machine-guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers.
As always, the most important defense against pirates is alertness. That means spotting the pirates before they get too close, and staying in touch with the anti-piracy patrols, and other commercial ships in the area, who can provide information about where the pirates have been seen operating. The increased fear of pirates is largely because the pirates are operating over a much larger area.
Littoral Ships, Other Weapons Cut in New U.S. Navy 5-Year Plan
The U.S. Navy has proposed a new five-year budget that cuts by almost half its purchases of a new warship that operates close to shore, a potential blow to Lockheed Martin Corp. and General Dynamics Corp.
The Navy would buy 15 of these ships through 2015, down from 29 in its plan of a year ago, and trim spending overall by 4.5 percent, according to an unreleased budget document. That’s the goal set by top Defense Department officials.
Lockheed and General Dynamics are the prime contractors for the new Littoral Combat Ship. Each has a contract to build two and would have to compete for contracts for the next 15. The Navy’s proposal is being reviewed, along with those of the other services, in keeping with the Pentagon’s intent to submit in January its long-range budget to the White House in conjunction with its detailed fiscal 2011 budget.
The Navy’s proposed cuts reflect the pressure on the military services to meet spending targets that allow little growth beyond inflation. Top Navy officials say they still plan ultimately to increase the fleet to 313 ships, up from 286 now, and to buy the initially planned total of 55 littoral ships.
The ships are designed for mine clearance, submarine hunting, humanitarian relief, and other missions in shallow coastal waters called littorals. They have a draft of no more than 20 feet, enabling them to operate close to coasts in the Persian Gulf, Korean peninsula and elsewhere.
The service’s proposal to trim planned spending from 2011 through 2015 to $666.3 billion from $698 billion reflects Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s guidance calling for modest growth with emphasis on improving the security of nuclear weapons and upgrading the capabilities to conduct irregular warfare and cyber defense. President Barack Obama assigned Gates to rein in defense spending, which now consumes about 19 cents of every dollar of the federal budget. Adjusted for inflation, defense spending has grown about 43 percent since fiscal 2000. When war costs are included, the number increases to 72 percent.
Navy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Sean Stackley told reporters last week the service remains committed to buying 55 littoral ships. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead told reporters Sept. 15 the service remains committed to a fleet that totals 313 vessels.
The Navy, in its new plan, proposes “significant reductions” in planned purchases of Raytheon Co. missiles and other weapons.
Purchases of Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon air-to- air missiles, Jsow-C cruise missiles, the latest version of the Standard Missile-6 and lightweight MK-54 torpedoes all are cut in the five-year plan.
The purchase of air-to-air missiles is cut to 849 from 1,033; the Jsow-C is reduced to 1,879 from 2,663; the Standard Missile-6 is cut to 637 from 688 and torpedo quantities drop to 770 from a planned 1,336.
On the other hand, purchases of Raytheon’s advanced Sea Sparrow weapon for intercepting anti-ship missiles, an international program involving nations including Australia, Denmark and Germany, will be boosted to 236 from 62.
Purchases of Alliant Techsystems Inc.’s air-launched advanced anti-radar missile scheduled to enter service in 2010 will be cut to 719 from a planned 954.
Like the Air Force, the Navy would cancel the Joint Tactical radio communications program for ships and planes that is managed by Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin.
The Navy also proposes to delay purchase of the EP-X replacement for its Lockheed Martin EP-3 Orion surveillance aircraft, according to the document. The program is in a stage of early development, and no contractor has been chosen. Altogether, $3.4 billion would be cut from research and development, including $1.6 billion for the EP-X program.
The Navy would trim about $25 billion through 2015 by deferring or cancelling weapons programs, including a total of about $18 billion in its shipbuilding account, which includes the littoral ship. The Navy also would cut to 132 from 150 its purchases of the V-22 tilt-rotor plane built by Textron Inc. and Boeing Co. and would buy 15 of 28 planned Lockheed KC-130J refueling tankers.
The Navy plan also would cut through 2015:
- Six of seven planned amphibious warfare ships. These include one of two that would be capable of carrying the Marine Corps’ new Lockheed F-35 vertical takeoff plane and V-22 Ospreys and all five “mobile landing platform” vessels that would carry pre-positioned equipment. Northrop Grumman Corp. is building the first ship; no construction contracts have been awarded for the other five vessels.
- Two new ships intended to replace aging command ships such as the USS Mount Whitney. The first vessel was planned for 2012. General Dynamics and Northrop have received contracts for design studies but not for construction.
- Two of 11 planned high-speed, shallow-draft troop and cargo vessels managed by the Navy to transport Army and Marine Corps units and helicopters. Austal USA is building the vessels in Mobile, Alabama.
- One of 10 planned Virginia-class submarines made jointly by Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics.
In addition, the Navy would save as much as $825 million by retiring 20 ships one year ahead of schedule, including the USS Halyburton that in April helped free the American captain of a container ship hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. The Halyburton would be decommissioned in 2013 instead of 2014.
Icelandic Catch Volume Reached 112,000 Tonnes in August 2009
The volume of the catch of Icelandic vessels decreased by 11.9% in August 2009 compared with August 2008. Total catch of Icelandic vessels in August 2009 was 112,550 tonnes compared to 142,123 tonnes in August 2008.
The demersal species catch was led by cod at 13 thousand tonnes, haddock 6 thousand tonnes, saithe 6 thousand tonnes and redfish 3 thousand tonnes.
The pelagic species catch was led by herring with nearly 63 thousand tonnes and mackerel with 13 thousand.
The data is prepared by the Icelandic Directorate of Fisheries.
Marport Has Excellent Results At World Fishing Exhibition
The World Fishing Exhibition, held September 16 – 19 in Vigo, Spain solidified its position as the world’s greatest commercial fisheries exhibition.
The success of WFE Vigo 2009 is due to the dedication of the conference’s planning committee and many volunteers. The results of their hard work were reflected in the quality of the exhibitors, the number of attendees who came, and the overall organization of the World Fishing Exhibition. Despite the status of the economy, the exhibition was crowded with attendees showing a continued interest in everything from sea to plate.
Marport presented our latest technical advances and cost-effective solutions for catch control and gear monitoring.
We thank all of our present and future customers who stopped by our booth during the show.
Shooting Down Aircraft With Torpedoes
Developers are working on weapons that enable submerged submarines to attack aircraft overhead. There was recent successful test of the U.S. Tomahawk Capsule Launching System (TCLS) releasing a AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air heat seeking missile. This is all part of an effort that began during the Cold War, particularly for non-nuclear subs. While most of this work halted when the Cold War ended in 1991, it has since been resumed.
Last year, for example, Germany successfully tested launching anti-aircraft missile from a submerged submarine (U-33, a Type 212 equipped with Air Independent Propulsion). The IDAS (Interactive Defense and Attack system for Submarines) missile used is 7.6 feet long, 180mm in diameter and weighs 260 pounds. It has a 29 pound warhead and a range of at least 15 kilometres. The main targets are ASW (Anti-Submarine) helicopters and low flying ASW aircraft.
Two IDAS missiles fit into a metal frame that in turn fits into a torpedo tube. The IDAS missiles take about a minute to reach the surface, ignite its rocket motor, spot any target within range and go after it. If the IDAS misses, an air bubble from the torpedo tube launch of the missile, will reach the surface, indicating where the sub is. At that point, the helicopter or aircraft can drop a torpedo. The sub has countermeasures for these torpedoes, but these devices are not guaranteed to work every time, or against every type of torpedo (some are better at detecting, and getting around, countermeasures.) So using something like IDAS, or TCLS, is a gamble.
The sub commander would use IDAS if he calculated that a helicopter was likely to spot him with active sonar sonobouys or dipping sonar. IDAS can also be aimed at a surface ship (as in the bridge or a helicopter sitting on the platform at the rear of the ship). This is done using the fibre-optic link, which can use used to designate a target. Otherwise, the missile uses its heat seeking sensor.
In June 2009, delegates at the Undersea Defence Technology [UDT] Europe conference in Cannes learned that the German Navy had allocated funding to take the IDAS submerged-launched precision weapon into production.
Developed by the ARGE IDAS consortium – comprising ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems’ Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) division, Diehl BGT Defence and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) – IDAS is supported by Germany’s Federal Office for Defence Technology and Procurement. The German navy is planning to retrofit IDAS into its Type 212A submarines. Four of the HDW-built boats were commissioned between 2005 and 2007, and two more are expected to enter service in 2013.
Littoral Combat Ship Down Select Announced
The General Dynamics-built littoral combat ship Independence (LCS 2)underway during builder's trials, July 2009. (Photo: General Dynamics)
The U.S. Navy said this past Wednesday that it will select either Lockheed Martin Corp. or General Dynamics Corp., but not both, to build a fleet of small, speedy Littoral Combat Ships.
As part of its new strategy, Navy acquisition chief Sean Stackley and Vice Admiral Barry McCullough said only one defense contractor will be picked in fiscal 2010, not two as initially planned, due to rising costs. The contractor with the winning design will be awarded a fixed-price contract for up to 10 ships, two of which will be built in the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Lockheed Martin, based in Bethesda, Md., and General Dynamics, based in Falls Church, Va., have each been building separate, and very different models of the ships.
The Navy said it canceled its previous competition to buy three ships in fiscal 2010 due to affordability concerns. In total, the Navy wants a fleet of 55. Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said selecting one contractor will help improve affordability and allow the service to buy the ships at a “realistic cost.”
The service has been trying to stabilize the Littoral Combat Ship program while maintaining affordable pricing through competition, after costs for each ship more than doubled from initial estimates of $220 million. The program is also subject to a cost cap of $460 million on each new ship, starting in the new fiscal year.
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 30-0 to slash funding for the ship program. It would give the Pentagon about $1.1 billion to order two littoral combat ships, rather than the three requested by the Navy in its fiscal 2010 budget request. Even so, the bill still has many more hurdles to face before the defense budget is complete.
Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Jen Allen said the Navy’s approach will make it possible to cut costs even further on the ship program. A spokesman for General Dynamics was not immediately available to comment Wednesday evening.
No Change Expected in Norwegian Fishing Policy
Norway is expected to continue with its tough no-nonsense fishing policy following the re-election of its centre left governing party earlier this week.
The result handed a narrow win to Premier Jen Stoltenberg who has managed to steer Norway through a difficult recession with the lowest unemployment rate in Europe at only three per cent.
Mr. Stoltenberg has indicated that it will be business as usual on all fronts including fishing and fish farming which are still important to Norway’s economy despite massive oil and gas reserves. The only question is whether Helga Pedersen, Norway’s highly successful fisheries minister will remain in her job or be moved to another government post.
Although Norway is not in the EU, Pedersen has effectively campaigned against Europe’s controversial policy of fish discards to the extent that major change is now on the cards in European waters. With more than 20 million tonnes of fish thrown back into the sea she described the practice as a terrible waste of a valuable food resource in a hungry world. Ms. Pedersen has also been successful in helping to reduce the overfishing of cod in the Barents Sea.
Over the past few decades Norwegian fishing has moved from a largely unrestricted industry into one that is highly regulated with quotas and licensing arrangements. The Norwegians are very protective of their grounds even though some European and UK (mainly Scottish trawlers) do have limited access. Norwegian fisheries has also won several plaudits from the Marine Stewardship Council for its stock management.
