Faststream Chief Executive Officer Mark Charman said “We’ve been active in the UK oil and gas sector since 2002 and I’m delighted that we will now be able to offer our clients a globally integrated service.”

“We have a strong database of candidates, a detailed knowledge of the industry and a team of proven specialist consultants so there is a strong structure behind this expansion”.

Faststream will service the market for upstream, midstream and downstream candidates on behalf of clients throughout the world. The group’s headhunting division The Meeting House will undertake specialist oil and gas search assignments.

Predicting that world seaborne trade will increase by a factor of 2.5 from 29,043 billion ton-miles in 2005 to 72,498 billion ton-miles in 2050, the OPRF says 830,000 seafarers will be required in 2050 “as a result of the increased number of vessels. If we assume that the supply of seafarers will remain the same as at present, the total will be 364,000 short of the required number,” it claims.

By 2050, the OPRF says that container shipments will show a particularly sharp rise during the period of just under six times that of 2005 levels to register 2,894bn teu-miles by 2050.

Predictions regarding intra-regional transportation show that shipments within Asia will increase by a factor of 10.7 from 18bn teu-miles in 2005 to 194bn teu-miles in 2050.

“However, these increases in global and regional seaborne trade are expected to cause heavy maritime traffic congestion and a shortage of skilled seafarers. Accordingly, there may be a corresponding increase in the number of accidents, posting severe risks in terms of safety and the environment,” it says (source: www.www.shipmanagementinternational.com).

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]]> http://www.thinkmaritime.com/2009/11/01/up-to-364000-seafarer-shortfall-by-2050-says-tokyo-think-tank/feed/ 0 http://www.thinkmaritime.com/2009/10/04/worlds-largest-cruise-ship-nears-completion/ http://www.thinkmaritime.com/2009/10/04/worlds-largest-cruise-ship-nears-completion/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:43:33 +0000 admin http://www.thinkmaritime.com/?p=1083 In a little more than two months, Oasis of the Seas will be cruising the waters of the Caribbean on its maiden voyage. For now, however, it is in a shipyard in Turku, on the south-west coast of Finland, with 2000 workers on board, busy putting the finishing touches to what is said to be the largest cruise ship in the world. Sea trials began in May and next month the liner is due to be handed over to its owners, Royal Caribbean.

On my visit to the shipyard, the ship’s gleaming white turrets of steel and glass dwarf the gantries and cranes perched alongside. Though the ship is 95 per cent finished, many fittings are missing and, as I move through the interior, I continually have to duck wiring, step over cabling and avoid workmen.

I get a better sense of the size of Oasis only when I emerge on the top deck, which provides view over Turku harbour.

“We made the ship 50 per cent bigger than anything we’ve ever done, in fact any other cruise ship out there, because we had so many things we wanted to do,” the chief executive of Royal Caribbean, Richard Fain, says. “On Oasis of the Seas, working together with the architects, with the shipyard, with our own engineers, we’ve been able to make much better use of the space than ever before.”

There’s certainly plenty of space – the ship is 360 metres long and 65 metres wide. The Oasis story is one of large numbers and cruising firsts.

There is the ship’s capacity, for a start: 6300 passengers and 2165 crew. There’s the accommodation: it includes 2706 staterooms, some of which span two decks and feature floor-to-ceiling windows with ocean views. The plant life: 12,000 plants, including 56 trees, some more than seven metres tall. The activities: on-board surfing, scuba diving, ice skating, shopping. And so the list goes.

Fain anticipates that the size of the vessel and the scope of activities and facilities will entice passengers on all budgets. Certainly he is encouraged by ticket sales despite the economic climate.

To accommodate all those people, the ship is divided into seven “neighbourhoods”, including Central Park and Royal Promenade. And there is no shortage of things to keep passengers entertained.

Among the attractions are an aqua theatre pool 5.4 metres deep, two rock-climbing walls, the obligatory casino and 21 swimming pools and jacuzzis. There’s also a carousel, ice rink, themed bars and restaurants, high-end shops, a nightclub, a Rising Tide bar that ascends three decks while you sip your martini, a wedding chapel, scuba diving lessons, two wave-flow riders for surfing, a jogging track, library and roaming entertainers.

Entertainment also includes stunt divers, swimmers and actors performing in the 50-metre-wide outdoor pool amphitheatre designed to seat 500 guests.

Royal Caribbean’s schedule has the first Oasis cruise starting in early December in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with ports of call that include Charlotte Amalie in St Thomas, Philipsburg in St Maarten and Nassau in the Bahamas.

Ready for that voyage is Captain William Wright, who began his seafaring career aged 16 and has taken the helm of several new cruise ships on debut at Royal Caribbean.

He had a sneak peak at the ship’s performance during the pre-launch “floating out” ceremony last November.

“It’s clearly one of the most stable ships we have built,” he says. “The size has allowed us to … demonstrably increase the safety of the ship, which is really nice to know. It helps us captains sleep at night.”

Other safety features include smoke and heat detectors and a Hi-Fog water mist fire-extinguishing system.

The ship will have three doctors, five nurses and one medical assistant on board.

It is equipped with 18 life boats – or “rescue vessels”, as Wright prefers to call them – each with a toilet on board. “That’s a first, I can assure you,” he says (source: www.theage.com.au).

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The decision has shocked the Danish shipping community. Ship officer students at Svendborg and Marstal carried out a media stunt, putting up Villa Anna – the house where Mr A P Møller founded the company – for sale.

A P Møller-Mærsk has 3,000 officers employed, of whom 800 are Danish citizens. “I don’t think that the 800 Danes are any better than the 2,200 officers of foreign nationality”, says Henrik Sloth. It has not yet been revealed if the 170 Danes are to be laid off or transferred to other units within the group, or offered land employment (source: www.ShipGaz.com).

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The layoffs are expected to begin by Oct. 30, according to a mass layoff notice filed Aug. 25 with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

Sturgeon Bay-based Bay Shipbuilding is a manufacturer of marine vessels, dredges, and dredging support equipment, along with bulk cargo self-unloading systems. The company is a subsidiary of Fincantieri Marine Group LLC of Marinette.

The company previously announced a small number of temporary layoffs at the Sturgeon Bay facility that were expected to be less than six months in duration. However, recent business conditions have necessitated an extension of the earlier layoffs, as well as additional furloughs, according to the company.

“The company is continuing to try to mitigate these layoffs by aggressively seeking new business,” the notice states.

If business conditions improve, layoffs to the extent indicated in the filing may not be necessary, company management said (www.bizjournals.com).

]]> http://www.thinkmaritime.com/2009/08/25/bay-shipbuilding-to-lay-off-405-employees/feed/ 0 http://www.thinkmaritime.com/2009/08/22/the-worst-jobs-in-history-the-maritime-age-part-4/ http://www.thinkmaritime.com/2009/08/22/the-worst-jobs-in-history-the-maritime-age-part-4/#comments Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:49:54 +0000 admin http://www.thinkmaritime.com/?p=1034

The company has chartered two ships from Global Maritime, the 820-passenger Marco Polo from the beginning of 2010, and the 800-passenger Ocean Countess from April.

Based at London Tilbury, the Marco Polo’s 2010 programme starts with a 30-night West Indies itinerary departing 2 January, followed by the six-week Amazon and Orinoco cruise from 1 February.

It continues with a 14-night sailing to the Land of the Northern Lights, and then a 14-night Easter cruise to the Canary Islands.

The ship’s other 2010 itineraries include the Iberian Peninsula, the British Isles and the Baltic.

The first voyage of the Ocean Countess, meanwhile, will be a two-night weekend break to Amsterdam, departing on 18 April from Tilbury and sailing back to Hull.

Then, until the end of October 2010, the ship will offer a series of cruises from different UK ports, with departures from Hull, Newcastle, Leith (Edinburgh), Greenock, Liverpool, and Plymouth.

Itineraries include Hull to the Norwegian Fjords, Newcastle to the Baltic, Leith to Iceland, Greenock to Ireland, Liverpool to Cork and Plymouth to the Canary Islands and Madeira.

The Cruise & Maritime Voyages 2010 programme goes on sale on 1 September (source: e-tid.com).

The seagoing recruitment division has been established due to the high demand for this type of service from Faststream’s shipping clients. Headquartered in Faststream’s North East base in Massachusetts, the seagoing division will also operate through Faststream’s other US regional headquarters in Fort Lauderdale and Houston.

The division has already been launched in Faststream’s global headquarters in the UK. Planned future expansion will see this business area span across other Faststream operations in the Asia-Pacific and Scandinavia.

Heather Twiss will be heading up the seagoing division throughout The Americas. Heather was the former Director of Career Services at Massachusetts Maritime Academy where she provided career guidance and placement opportunities to both cadets and alumni in both seagoing and shore-side maritime employment opportunities. She is also a graduate of Massachusetts Maritime Academy and has sailed on seismic vessels.

Mark Charman, Group CEO and Founder said:

“This is an exciting chapter in Faststream’s development. Although this is our first planned step into the seagoing market we’re certainly not wet behind the ears. We are shipping people through and through and our specialist consultants hold a wealth of knowledge of the shipping industry in its entirety”.

“Our business is based around supply and demand. Our clients have a huge demand for seagoing staff. The quantity of enquiries we’ve received about providing seagoing recruitment over the years had reached a level where launching a stand alone seagoing division was a must”.

“From what we hear, the seagoing market lacks a quality recruitment model. Industry knowledge is all very well but it’s critical that this is combined with best recruitment practice and Faststream are in a perfect position to provide both” (source: www.faststream.us).