Very little news is good news for shipping EDITORIAL COMMENT AND NEWS REVIEW
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N the UK Budget held in March, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that his
budget was fiscally neutral and was designed to meet three key objectives - ensuring long-term investment and environmental sustainability; encouraging work and savings; and supporting families. Most of the changes apply from 2008-2009,
with only a few measures taking effect from 2007-2008. ‘There do not appear to be any significant implications for the shipping sector, which is good news,’ says Sue Bill, shipping tax partner at London-based shipping accountants and consultants Moore Stephens. The Chancellor's business tax reform
package makes changes to onshore and small companies' corporation tax rates and the capital allowances regime, and increases the levels of enhanced deductions available to companies on their qualifying expenditure for research and development. UK ship owners are unlikely to be paying
significant amounts of UK corporation tax. Either they will be in the UK tonnage tax regime, or alternatively they may have decided not to elect into the regime due to the availability of capital allowances on their ships. Therefore it is unlikely that measures such as the proposed reduction in the rate of corporation tax will significantly affect UK ship owners. Some owners may, however, be adversely
affected by the reduction in the rate of writing- down allowances for plant and machinery which will be reduced from 25% to 20%, if their ships are in the general pool. ‘Whether or not this applies to all ships will depend on the detailed rules’ noted Ms Bill. Shipping is in a positive mood and it is good
news that overall the Government has not made any drastic changes to the UK tax rules which might adversely affect this sector. Cheryl Saponia
FINCANTIERI LAYS KEEL OF FIRST MEGAYACHT - At the beginning of March, the keel laying ceremony for the first Fincantieri megayacht, which was ordered in May last year, was laid at the company’s shipyard in Muggiano- La Spezia. When the vessel is delivered in 2010, this 134m
yacht will be one of the largest in the world and one of the most technologically advanced. The project was developed by Fincantieri
Yachts team, departing from a revolutionary concept design by Espen Oeino for the owner – the creator of some of the world’s most famous yachts. The vessel, designed in accordance with the
highest class of international merchant shipping regulations for the safety of passengers, will have seven decks, a hangar, and two helicopter landing platforms, in addition to a huge sea water pool that can also be used for tender docking. She will also have a submarine for immersions of up to 100m and 4500m2 including 2700m2
of interior space, of luxury space designed by
Studio Pascale Reymond Langton Design, one of the most trend-setting interior designers of large pleasure craft.
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Two revenue cutters for the Procurement Agency of the German Federal Customs Administration are to be built by Nordseewerke, part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The first boat (pictured) is scheduled for delivery in November 2008, and the second in June 2009. The SWATH vessels will have a length of 49m, a moulded breadth of 19m, a moulded depth of 9m, and a displacement of 1000tonnes. They will be fitted with diesel electric propulsion.
IHC HOLLAND BECOMES MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER IN NEW YARD - IHC Holland Merwede has announced that it has decided to participate as a majority share holder, together with Van Sluisveld Beheer, in a newly established company. The new company, Verenigde Scheepswerf
Heusden BV (VSH), will be located in Heusden, The Netherlands, on the location of the former Heusden Shipyards. VSH will take over nearly all 75 permanent employees that were already working at the location. VSH will rent the real estate from Van Sluisveld. Considerable production and pre-fabrication
facilities, as well as two slipways, are located on the grounds of the yard. Based on the current order book and the market outlook, IHC Holland Merwede momentarily is in need of expansion of in particular pre-fabrication and section building capacity. VSH will concentrate primarily on preparing
and section building for the other IHC Holland Merwede yards. In addition, both slipways offer the possibility to build complete vessels.
AMPHIBIOUS SHIP PARTNERSHIP THE SAFE OPTION- The Tenix/Navantia partnership bidding for the $2b Australian Amphibious Ships project said today its ship design and build strategy provides the lowest risk and highest capability option for Australia. Navantia’s fourth-generation amphibious
ship design provides Australia with the greatest capability, the two companies claim. At the same time, the build strategy they have developed incorporates an appropriate balance between construction in Spain and Australia, providing an optimised low-risk solution for on-time delivery. Tenix and Navantia are combining their
capabilities and commitment to this project, and discussions have confirmed that the Tenix/Navantia team is achieving the high standards set for it.
Construction of the Spanish Navy’s amphibious ship – the design basis for the Australian bid – is well underway.
LANDING CRAFT TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATOR CONTRACT WON - QinetiQ has been awarded a four-year contract by the UK Ministry of Defence to design, construct, and carry out test and evaluation trials on a technology demonstrator vessel, which will be a contender for the next generation of fast landing craft. The build of the technology demonstrator will
be subcontracted to the marine industry through competitive tender. If selected, the high-speed Partial Air Cushion Supported CATamaran vessel (PACSCAT) will be used to support future amphibious operations. The new generation of fast landing craft will
play an integral part in the primary role of the Royal Navy’s new Landing Platform Dock (LPD) vessels, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, to support Royal Marine Commandos during amphibious operations. The LPDs will be used to transport, deploy, and recover troops and their equipment. The concept of PACSCAT vessels was
developed by John Lewthwaite of Independent Maritime Assessment Associates (IMAA) Ltd. The technology demonstrator will be built to the same dimensions as the Landing Craft Utility Mk10 currently in use with the UK's Royal Marines, and trials are expected to begin with 11 Amphibious Trials and Training Squadron based at Instow, north Devon, in 2008. The PACSCAT craft will be capable of a
variety of roles where high speed and high payload capacity are required and its low and variable draught will give it exceptional beaching qualities. Trials already conducted with a 1/3 scale manned model have proved it to be capable of
SHIP & BOAT INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 2007
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