Lenders agree to extend Torm's instalment deferral Danish shipping company Torm A/S said that its banks agreed to extend a deferral of instalments on its US$1.8 billion of debt to Feb 15 and it hoped to reach a comprehensive financing solution to secure its future.
Baltic index falls on weaker China iron ore demand The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity shipping costs, fell below 1,000 for the first time since January 2009 on signs Chinese demand for iron-ore cargoes is slowing, worsening a glut of vessels.
Glut of supertankers shrinks to 14-month low A glut of supertankers competing to load cargoes of Persian Gulf oil shrank to a 14-month low on Chinese crude purchases and persistent tensions over a possible closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
TAAG Angola adds temporary service to Porto Starting today (18 January), TAAG Angola is adding a third weekly service to Porto (Portugal). The service, which utilises Boeing B777-200ER aircraft, rotates between Luanda, Porto...
Airbus marks 2011 with record order and delivery numbers Beating its previous record set in 2010 by 24 aircraft, Airbus delivered 534 commercial aircraft to 88 customers (ten new) and booked 1,419 net orders in 2011, making it the tenth...
Albacor Shipping (USA) organises transport of heavy transformer Albacor Shipping (USA) Inc, the US member of the Worldwide Project Consortium WWPC, through their branch in Banning, CA, was involved in a very unique transportation project of a t...
Rhenus: Bingen site receives IFS Logistics certificate The Rhenus branch office in Bingen (Germany) received the International Food Standard Logistics (IFS Logistics) certificate from TÜV NORD (Technical Inspection Agency North) at the...
New partner in Medcenter Container Terminal Gioia Tauro On 16 January 2012 Contship Italia signed an agreement for the sale of 50% of CSM Italia-Gate SpA, the sub-holding company controlling 66.7% of Medcenter Container Terminal in Gioi...
Italy: truck drivers to strike Truck drivers in Italy want to go on strike for five days from next Monday (23 January). The protest is due to massive increases in fuel and motorway costs. The Italian union Trasp...
Intelligent truck parking system in Denmark Denmark recently inaugurated the first intelligent truck parking system (ITP) at the Ustrup east lay-by on the E45 motorway. The ITP is intended to boost the capacity of the parki...
Oskar Schunck's doyen celebrates 80th birthday Horst O. A. Schunck, chairman of the supervisory board of Oskar Schunck celebrated his 80th birthday on 17 January. The eminent business man has been guiding the fortunes of the M...
Italy's Messina Straits bridge: to be or not to be? The government of Italy's new prime minister, Mario Monti, earmarked around EUR 3 billion for construction and infrastructure projects in the first six weeks in office. However, th...
New manager at Lufthansa Cargo Center Frankfurt Lufthansa Cargo appointed Dr Mohammad Ali Seiraffi as vice-president handling Frankfurt at the beginning of the current year. He is responsible for Lufthansa Cargo Center (LCC) in ...
Kombiverkehr, Cemat and Bohemiakombi launch direct Czechia-Italy intermodal train service This week Kombiverkehr, Cemat and Bohemiakombi are launching the first-ever direct intermodal road/rail service that links the industrial regions in northern Czechia and southern P...
RCA's rail freight subsidiary Linea to become Rail Cargo Italia Linea SpA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Rail Cargo Austria corporation (RCA), has been renamed Rail Cargo Italia Srl. The Italian RCA subsidiary is part of the Austrian rail se...
Ecu Line opens four new offices in China At the beginning of January 2012 , the new Ecu-Line offices in China became fully operational. In early 2011, the Ecu-Line group decided to complete the China network with its own ...
Airport Authority Hong Kong welcomes proposed new air quality objectives Airport Authority Hong Kong said it welcomes and supports the proposed new air quality objectives (AQOs) recently announced by the island's government. Following the conclusion o...
Global refinery demand for crude down for first time in two years Poor economy and warm winter lead to refinery throughputs being revised down
Strong Chinese dry bulk demand is guaranteed for the 'next decade' Seanergy chief Dale Ploughman has faith that China will meet self-imposed targets for economic growth
IHO warned of Ecdis errors New investigation into reported glitch in upgrading software
Information overload Complex bridge systems could be increasing the risk of navigation failure
VLCC owners cash in as China's chartering rush is boosted by Iran supply fears Spate of bookings ahead of Chinese new year also pushes up Atlantic and Middle East markets
NITC to be targeted by sanctions Hard evidence that links the operator to Iran's nuclear weapons programme has been found, say diplomatic sources
Cuba will start first drilling for oil next week US politicians raise environmental fears over exploration close to Florida coast
Tanker market desperately needs improved demand picture Ban on NITC trade could tighten chartering markets
EU to implement ban on Iranian oil imports on July 1 Plan is in line with US sanctions
Floating storage is almost exclusively for Iranian crude on NITC tankers OSG and Euronav ULCCs have both discharged cargoes while clean petroleum storage remains non-existent
Pressure on Iran targets P&I cover Diplomats claim sanctions have forced NITC has to seek 'sham' coverage
NITC ban to benefit rival tanker owners Iranian giant is the world's fourth-largest VLCC operator
Döhle takes stake in bulk carrier newbuilds German owner to acquire 55% share in four 92,500 dwt post-panamax bulkers under construction at Chinese yard
Costa Concordia will bring extra regulatory cost, not hard market Broker RFIB argues that this one event alone will not tip the balance
Insurers face huge compensation bill if Costa Concordia claims are tried in the US It is impossible to calculate what third party liability costs could run to
Scerni falls on his sword Costa Concordia casualty claims its first scalp
Australian iron ore expansion created 290 extra capesize cargoes last year All three major Australian mining companies broke production records in 2011
Two tier containership chartering market develops for geared vessels Lines paying more money for 2,500 teu-3,500 teu boxships with cranes on board
Controversy over Costa Concordia course continues Vessel sailed within 500 m of Giglio in August while all other operators steered clear
Marco Polo debtors bring adversary complaint against Top Ships New front in New York Chapter 11 case
Investors support plan to buy back Dr Peters fund's tankers Move to reacquire two aframax tankers is being watched closely by beleaguered KG industry
Putting the squeeze on ship finance With shipping classed as high-risk, banks will not back new players
OECD indicators point to further slowdown Most major economies expected to contract
Time for a Singapore Spring? Business-friendly state faces growing clamour for political change
EU rules cause KG ripples GERMANY's KG ship finance industry faces wide regulatory challenges this year, with stringent EU rules nearing for alternative investment funds
CSAV halfway to goal CHILEAN box liner CSAV has raised $659M in its rights offering, with capital-raising efforts now shifting toward overseas investors
HSH adds more capital SHAREHOLDERS of German shipping bank HSH Nordbank today voted for a €500M ($640.8M) capital increase to satisfy EC conditions for the state bail-out of the bank
Sietas maps out leaner future HAMBURG's Sietas yard announced a layoff today but said it hopes to emerge out of receivership and continue its businesses with reduced capacity
Marubeni to pay $54.6M in Nigerian bribery case MARUBENI, the major Japanese trading house, has agreed to pay a $54.6M criminal penalty to resolve bribery charges, according to the US Department of Justice
Essar substitutes Saudi for Iranian oil ESSAR is the latest Indian group to stop buying Iranian crude since international sanctions were applied against Tehran
Euronav runs up $96.4M in losses for 2011 ANTWERP'S tanker operator Euronav racked up after-tax losses of $50.74M, to take its full-2011 losses to $96.38M, according to preliminary results
BDI sinks past 1,000 THE BALTIC Dry Index has fallen below 1,000 points, as it increasingly appears that there is little upside for drybulk shipping in 1Q2012
VLCC charterers rushing toward holidays CHARTERERS rushing to fix VLCCs before the start of Lunar New Year are forking out more money amid tighter tonnage availability and high bunker prices Chinese COAs continued their momentum, with Unipec taking six ships
BHP sets iron ore mark AUSTRALIAN mining giant BHP Billiton has followed its competitors in announcing strong iron ore production figures for most recent quarter
Mississippi grounding sparks cut in draught DRAUGHT limits on the lower Mississippi River are reduced today to 12.8m from 13.4 after a Panamax bulker ran aground
Chevron rig burns off Nigerian coast A BLAZE that started on a Chevron offshore rig exploring oil and gas fields off Nigeria's coast is still burning
Not easy to take STX Europe's stake in STX OSV HIGH PRICE for STX Europe's 50.75% stake in Norwegian shipbuilder STX OSV could make it challenging for anyone to make an offer, Singapore securities firm DMG & Partners said today
TORM and bankers extend financial accords TORM AND its lenders have agreed to extend deferral of installments and a covenant standstill to 15 February
Ambassador Bridge Traffic Decline Gives Owner Ammunition The 2.5 percent year-over-year decline in truck traffic on the Ambassador Bridge in 2011 gives the bridge's owner ammunition in...
Philadelphia Sees Strong Container, Auto Traffic Growth The Port of Philadelphia in 2011 saw container traffic rise 6.7 percent year-over-year and auto shipments skyrocket 85 percent in...
World Bank Says Trade Growth to Slow to 4.7 Percent The World Bank on Wednesday said international trade will expand only 4.7 percent this year and 6.8 percent in 2013,...
US Beer Shipments Fell 1.5 Percent in 2011 The beer market appears to have gone flat, with total U.S. beer shipments dropping 1.5 percent in 2011 to 204.9...
South Korea Expects Air Cargo Rebound in 2012 South Korean air cargo traffic in 2011 fell 1.9 percent year-over-year, but government officials expect various international events, including the...
Antwerp Container Traffic Rose 2.3 Percent Last Year Antwerp's container traffic rose 2.3 percent year-over-year in 2011, pushing total volume at Europe's second-largest port up 5 percent. ...
US Industrial Production Rebounds 0.4 Percent U.S. industrial output in December bounced back at 0.4 percent year-over-year, as manufacturing production rose 0.9 percent, the briskest pace...
CSAV Raises $659 Million for $1.2 Billion Capital Plan Troubled Chilean ocean carrier CSAV announced its shareholders raised $659 million in the first stage of a planned $1.2 billion...
Truckload Carriers Eye Increase in Driver Pay Truckload carriers struggling to find and keep drivers are increasingly convinced driver pay needs to increase significantly, Transport Capital Partners...
Russia's National Container Saw Growth Stall in 2011 National Container Company, Russia's largest container stevedore, said traffic growth stalled in 2011, reflecting the disruption of Balitic Sea shipping...
Maersk Upgrades India-Middle East-Europe Service Maersk Line is upgrading its Europe-Middle East 3 (ME3) Service between India, the Middle East and Europe, effective this month....
Maersk Raises India to Africa Rates Maersk Line imposed general rate increases on cargo shipped from India to Mombasa, Kenya, and ports in West Africa. ...
CP Raises Capital Spending Goal to $1.2 Billion Canadian Pacific Railway, demonstrating a drive to increase profitability while beset by a proxy war, will spend up to $1.2...
Diesel Prices Rise for Second Week Diesel prices across the United States increased for the second week in a row in the week ending Jan. 16,...
Duisburg underlines transfer of cargo operations away from Benelux coast Europe's largest inland port Duisburg increased its container terminal traffic by 11.1% last year, up to 2.5 million TEU, emphasizing the trend of transferring ...
Panama Canal expansion work halted Work on the expansion programme for the Panama Canal, which involves the construction of a third set of much bigger locks, has been suspended for two days. An escalating ...
Trailer Bridge's plan to beat bankruptcy sees SEACOR become greatest shareholder US Jones Act carrier Trailer Bridge has come up with a plan to save it from bankruptcy which includes Florida-headquartered SEACOR Holdings, whose varied ...
Indian exporters facing a tough year Despite a 6.7% year-on-year spurt in India's exports in December and an on-track 20% growth forecast for its fiscal year end [March 31,2012] the government has ...
LA/LB 2011 imports strike a flat note The combined loaded imports of the US west coast ports of Long Beach (LB) and Los Angeles (LA) for 2011 was flat compared to 2010 - a sign of the difficult economic ...
World Bank slashes global growth forecast The Washington DC-based World Bank has sharply cut its global economic growth forecast for 2012 to 2.5% from its previous prediction of 3.6% citing the eurozone ...
Suez Canal Authority posts good results The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has announced an improved amount of traffic and revenue compared with 2010. Total turnover of USD5.2 billion and net tonnage transits ...
Final rule for Great Lakes steamship marine diesel engine programme Programme would cut CO2 emissions and automatically permit the use of residual fuel, through December 31, 2025.
Prices generally falling in European ports 'Limited activity' in Hamburg.
Fujairah prices firm slightly Durban suppliers still not quoting.
Socar to apply for Fujairah bunker licence National oil company wants 'foothold' in marine fuel market.
Regulations face operators with 'difficult' choices Decisions on how best to comply with ECA sulphur caps not to be 'taken lightly.'
Fuel oil arbitrage volumes to reach 'seven-year high' But Singapore bunker market to remain under pressure, say traders.
Prices firming in key Asian ports Demand mixed at major Asian bunkering hubs.
US research vessel switches to biodiesel fuel First US research ship to use the alternative fuel, says University of Rhode Island.
Bunkering resumes in Novorossiysk As weather conditions improved at the port.
WFS shares downgraded Investment bank lowers ratings to 'hold' from 'buy.'
Indian port starts cold ironing operations Supply of onshore power to cruise vessel Amet Majesty a 'beginning.'
Lanka IOC's bunker tanker in drydock Bunker tanker SP Berlin will be drydocked for two months, says Lanka IOC.
Bunker supplier makes Pakistan's 'first' bonded lube oil delivery Zak Bunkers deliver Total's Atlanta Marine D3005 to MV Star Cosmo at Karachi port.
Belgian tanker firm maintains slow steaming policy Bunkers continue to be 'extremely expensive' relative to freight, says Euronav.
HK bunker supplier moves to new office Bomin Bunker Oil moves to a new location.
The Suez Canal Authority has announced that it will introduce surcharges on transit tariffs through the Egyptian canal for most major cargo vessels, effective July 15.
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