…NYK Selling 50% of Cruise Business to Anchor Ship Partners***
Global shipping community are still shocked by a sudden
disappearance and the impossible to trace tanker vessel, the NAMSE
BANGDZOD, more than one month after its declared missing by the Indonesian
authorities.
Though missing since December 2018, the product tanker was
on January 7 officially declared missing, by Indonesian Maritime
Authorities.
Operated by Surabaya Shipping Lines, the tanker with 12
crew, and loaded with palm oil, had left Sampit, southern Kalimantan, bound for
Jakarta, sometimes in December.
The shipping community is shocked because the area neither
within the dreaded Bermuda triangle, yet extensive-scale search across Java sea
woefully failed to yield any results yet.
The Strange thing was that the ship’s AIS re-emerged on
Marinetraffic.com on Jan 6, and then abruptly panned out, making efforts at
tracking a rather hectic and kind of, confusing one.
“Search is still under way, with all Indonesian
shipowners and ships being on alert. But still, nothing. Tanker can’t sink in
minutes, like dry cargo ship in case of cargo shift and capsizing.
“This one couldn’t explode or be gutted by fire,
either, considering its’ palm oil cargo. Also, major fire in Java sea couldn’t
be overlooked, Java sea is too populated for that. So sudden instantaneous
sinking without a trace is an unlikely event”, a Fleetmon report
indicated.
The world, particularly Indonesia waits. The only
creditable explanation tills towards piracy. But even that notion is gradually
thinning out!
In the meantime, Japanese shipping giant NYK has decided to
sell a 50% stake in its cruise subsidiary, NYK Cruises, to compatriot
investment firm, Anchor Ship Partners (ASP).
The transaction, revealed on January 24, also includes an
agreement on the joint operation of the cruise business.
As a result, in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ending
March 31, 2019, NYK expects to record a gain on the transfer of shares of
around JPY 9 billion (USD 81.9 million) in non-consolidated accounting and JPY
8 billion (USD 72.8 million) in consolidated accounting.
In its medium-term management plan, announced in March 2018,
NYK listed three basic strategies, which include optimization of business
portfolio, securing stable-freight-rate business, and increasing efficiency and
creating new values.
“Based on this, we have sought the future of the cruise
business to conclude that it is best to develop the cruise business with ASP as
a partner in order to further improve ASUKA CRUISE brand and sustain
high-quality growth by investment to the cruise business in the future,” NYK
said.
The parties did not unveil the price tag behind the deal,
which is expected to be finalized by the end of March 2019.
Established in 1989, NYK Cruises provides ASUKA CRUISE to the Japanese market and now operates the cruise ship ASUKA II.
Additional report from World Maritime News