Suezmaxes in Black Sea and Mediterranean head both east and west Longhaul voyages boost the 1m barrel crude tankers
Aronnax@SMM: Small variation that can carry a huge cost FREE CONTENT: Differences in fuels' energy levels can mean a lot less bang for your buck
Week on Wall Street | September 12 FREE TO READ: Scorpio Bulkers launches a baby bond and Vantage scores a point over TMT
Vale and Cosco's 14-carrier deal casts doubt over Beijing ban on valemaxes UPDATE: Chinese state giant will buy four vessels and build 10 to ship Brazil iron ore
Globus eyes ultramaxes Bulker owner looks at acquisitions as it seeks to unload older panamax
Crunch time for Tehran as the UN revisits the regime's nuclear capability Will the US and Saudi Arabia let Iran resume exports as oil prices hit a long-time low?
Failed September rates push puts container firms back to square one This month's stalled bid makes a November GRI inevitable, say brokers
SMM 2014: Tanker owners risk detention for failing to comply with Ecdis Tardy retrofitting could leave almost half the world fleet without mandatory equipment
Extending the Jones Act by proxy Harsh penalties against BP for the Macondo oil spill create a barrier to foreign firms
SMM 2014: Singapore's Pioneer Marine places 22-ship ballast water system order Deal is believed to be the largest single order to date for soon-to-be-mandatory equipment
Stena Bulk saves $9m thanks to slow steaming and better fuel-efficiency Technical changes make all the difference to a 100-tanker fleet
Post-holiday blues as G6 cancels Asia-US west coast voyages APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai, MOL, NYK and OOCL pull CC2 and SC1 sailings
Suezmax tanker earnings have 'interesting' medium-term prospects, says Hånell Stena Bulk boss hails remarkable increases in daily rates as trade patterns change
FMC forum debates US port congestion Stakeholders head to Los Angeles to talk implications and solutions
CSAV to quit two MSC joint services to secure Brussels' approval European Commission reveals competition fears over Caribbean and west coast South America
It's normal for the FMC to probe vessel-sharing plans, says Jensen US antitrust body must approve both the 2M and Ocean Three tie-ups
Capesize market stalls Pacific basin crowded with available tonnage as Australian miner chartering activity drops
Will the Nicaragua Canal be a game-changer for containerised shipping? Planned waterway could mean new competition for the Panama Canal
Nasdaq announces NewLead delisting date Greece-based dry bulk operator was unable to meet exchange's milestones and loses exception status
US imports hit an all-time high Retailers stockpile as west coast stevedore contract agreement remains elusive
European Commission approves Hapag Lloyd-CSAV merger The European Commission has given conditional approval to the planned merger between Germany container line operator Hapag Lloyd and Chile's CSAV. It said that it had made its approval conditional on the withdrawal of CSAV from the Euroandes and Ecuador Express consortia but that the two companies
Xiamen secures PCTC pair Chinese shipyard Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry has signed a contract for one firm and one optional pure car truck carrier (PCTC) with compatriot shipowner Shanghai Zhongfu Shipping. The delivery date for the 2,100ceu vessel was not revealed but estimates put the likely date towards the middle of
Zhejiang Ouhua adds four NORD options China's Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding has added an order of four containership options from German owner Reederei NORD. Delivery of the four 1,700teu containerships is scheduled to start in the 2H 2016 and brings the total number ordered by the owner at the yard to 16. The original order of four
Shipping Corp of India cancels VLCC order Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), India's biggest shipping line, has axed one of its two 317,000dwt very large crude carriers (VLCC) ordered at China's Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Co Ltd after the yard slipped on delivery date of 17 July. A spokesman for the Mumbai-based company, owned by
Pan Ocean to sell Heungkuk Mutual Saving Bank stake South Korean bulker operator Pan Ocean has finally found a buyer for its stake in Heungkuk Mutual Saving Bank. The stake will be sold to Investor United for KRW2.2Bn ($2.12M). Pan Ocean, which went into receivership in June 2013 after incurring more than $5Bn in debt, has been looking for ways to
Emission control area proposed for Shanghai port Shanghai's municipal authorities are studying the establishment of an emission control area (ECA) for sulphur in the Shanghai port, a draft amendment to the local regulations on vessel pollution shows. The city, home to the world's busiest port by throughput, is organising and conducting the study
KKB Engineering forays into offshore business Malaysia-listed steel fabricator KKB Engineering has diversified into offshore structure business with the securing of a maiden contract by its 43%-owned associate, OceanMight. OceanMight had been awarded the MYR14.5M ($4.5M) contract by 2H Offshore Engineering for the provision of fabrication,
More offshore vessel orders than commercial ships in 2015 South Korea's 'big three' shipbuilders could see a rebound in offshore vessel orders in 2015, said Samsung Securities in a research note. Samsung Securities' analyst Youngsoo Han said: "Offshore [vessels] are expected to outshine commercial vessels next year due to three positives. First, offshore
Nam Cheong engages WFWAP for Latin American business Singapore-listed offshore services provider Nam Cheong has engaged international law firm, Watson, Farley & Williams Asia Practice (WFWAP) to lead counsel for the leasing and sale of an offshore support vessel in Latin America. The OSV leasing is by way of a Mexican financial leasing structure and
HHIC, GTT and DNV GL to co-study LNG boxship South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction (HHIC), French LNG tank specialist Gaztransport & Technigas (GTT) and classification society DNV GL will undertake a joint research project into LNG-powered ultra-large container ships. The three parties will collaborate to develop a
Freeport terminal to link to Manila port Subic Bay Freeport's New Container Terminal-2 (NCT-2) will formally become an extension of Manila port from today, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority said. This is part of ongoing attempts to solve the problem of port congestion in Manila. NCT-2 will be known as "Subic Bay Freeport-Manila Port
Southeast Asia piracy improves Singapore-based maritime piracy watchdog Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) reported an improvement in piracy incidents in August. Incidents in August totalled 11 cases, compared to 12 incidents reported in August last year. Of these
Falling Capesize rates defy active market Despite a busy week for iron ore shipments from Western Australia to the East Asia, Capesize rates continue to soften for another week. The Western Australia-China rate was yesterday assessed by the Baltic Exchange at $8.755/tonne, up from $8.459/tonne last week but down about 21 cents from
ABPmer identifies dredging solutions for Scotland's Grangemouth UK marine environmental consultancy ABPmer has identified cost-effective dredging solutions for Forth Ports' port of Grangemouth, Scotland's largest container port, which has experienced increased siltation around its entrance in recent years. Grangemouth handles about 150,000 containers annually
Wärtsilä clinches biggest ever BWMS order Singapore-based Pioneer Marine has ordered 44 Wärtsilä ballast water management systems (BWMS) for 22 newbuild bulk carriers - "the biggest ever single owner order to date for any BWMS manufacturer," Wärtsilä states. Each of the 38,000dwt vessels, being built by Yangzhou Guoyu Shipbuilding in China,
P&O Maritime takes over offshore operator Dubai-based maritime service provider P&O Maritime has taken a majority stake in leading Spanish offshore support vessel provider Remolcadores de Puerto y Altura (Repasa). A subsidiary of the DP World terminal operating group, P&O Maritime said that, following the takeover, it would be turning the
TSC exercises optional order for jack-up rig Hong Kong-listed TSC Group, an offshore solutions provider of drilling packages, has exercised an optional order for a Zentech R-550D jack-up drilling rig at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding. On 5 September, Alliance Offshore Drilling, a wholly owned subsidiary of TSC, placed order for a second
Congestion, new plants boost chemical freight rates Growing vessel queues in Jubail and Kandla ports of Saudi Arabia and India, respectively, as well as new plants beginning operations have caused chemical freight rates to surge. Brokers told IHS Maritime that freight rates have gained $1-2/tonne over the past week as congestion in Jubail has seen
Kaixuan 1 oil rig starts drilling in East China Sea China's jack-up rig Kaixuan 1 has started its oil exploration in the East China Sea since the beginning of September. The 15,000dwt rig, operated by China Oilfield Service, was built by the COSCO Nantong Shipyard in 2014, according to data from IHS Sea-web.com. IHS AISLIVE shows that the rig is now
U.S. container exports sink as worsening trade imbalance looms Global demand has not strengthened enough for U.S. containerized exports to grow on a consistent and substantial basis and a larger trade imbalance could be on the horizon. A significantly larger trade imbalance could complicate inbound and outbound freight flows and the movement of chassis and containers between U.S. ports and...
Looking for capacity in the wrong places When you lose your keys, do you find yourself looking in the same two or three places over and over? Doing this, we never find them. Today, most shippers looking for lost trucking capacity keep going back to the same old places, not finding what they're looking for. Frustrating, sure,...
Chassis shortage could lead to gridlock at LA-LB, terminals warn When APL earlier this week informed customers that the APL Norway was being diverted from Los Angeles "due to congestion at Global Gateway South," it caused shippers that use the Los Angeles-Long Beach gateway to cringe. Would other terminals at the nation's largest port complex plunge into another round of...
NY-NJ port's summer was 'much better' Congestion and labor shortages remain issues at New York-New Jersey container terminals, but the East Coast's busiest port made through the summer without the widespread gridlock of the previous summer or last winter. "It wasn't an accident that we had a much better summer," said John Nardi, president of the New...
House bill would test 100 percent container scanning at two US ports Legislation introduced Thursday in Congress would use federal funding to test whether 100 percent container scanning is feasible at two U.S. ports. The Scan Containers Absolutely Now Act, or SCAN Act, introduced on the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, is an effort to show that "the technology exists today to...
Yang Ming extends charter terms for five 14,000-TEU ships Taiwanese ocean carrier Yang Ming Line has confirmed that the fixed-rate time charter terms for five 14,000-TEU container ships, currently being built by CSBC Corp., will be extended to 10 years, with one two-year option, according to Seaspan. Two of these vessels previously had been allocated to Seaspan, and three had...
Port of Seattle CEO takes reins amid dropping volumes and market share The new CEO at the Port of Seattle takes over at a time when the port is losing volume and market share to competitors to its north and south. The Port of Seattle's import volume plummeted 43 percent from 49,201 TEUs in August 2013 to 27,876 TEUs in August 2014. Full-size chart Ted...
With $700 million to spend, what will XPO Logistics buy next? Transportation analysts hailed the $700 million investment XPO Logistics won from three global funds yesterday. The question, they said, is what XPO will buy with that money. The third-party logistics operator has acquired 13 companies over the past three years, and plans to buy several more to get its revenue run...
ILA, NY-NJ employers to appeal waterfront case New York-New Jersey port employers and the International Longshoremen's Association said they will appeal a federal judge's dismissal of their lawsuit challenging new hiring rules set by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. The ILA, the New York Shipping Association and the Metropolitan Marine Maintenance Contractors Association renewed their complaints...
SCFI: Spot rates drop across the board despite GRI effort Full-size-chartAll major trade lanes saw a dip in spot rates for the week ahead, according to the latest reading of the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, as carriers' September's general rate pushes failed to hold. SCFI spot rates from Asia to northern Europe dropped by 6.6 percent this week, down $74 to...
More carriers add congestion surchages to Port of Sohar, Oman More container lines have announced congestion surcharges for shipments moving to Sohar, Oman, to compensate for the extra costs caused by berthing delays and cargo processing bottlenecks. Hapag-Lloyd in a trade notice said it will charge $100 per 20-foot container for dry cargo and $200 per 20-foot container for reefer shipments,...
NYSE warns Cal Dive Offshore vessel owner Cal Dive International has received a warning from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) that it is out of compliance with listing rules.
New CEO joins board Capital Product Partners' new chief executive officer has now taken a seat on the company's board.
Legatum in Golar slice Legatum has unveiled a sizeable minority stake in Golar LNG after tycoon John Fredriksen sold off most of his shares in the company.
Sanctions hit Russian energy The European Union and United States slapped sanctions on several Russian energy companies, some of which are significant charterers.
Bourbon extends deal Oceaneering International has exercised both one year options on one multi-functional unit owned by France's Bourbon Offshore.
Nissen notches two Japan's Nissen Kaiun has been linked to another bulker order at Shikoku Dock.
Bull by the horns We take a look at what was said in the market over the past week.
Giant ships, small impact A major VLOC pact between former rivals Cosco and Vale is not the end of the world for a capesize market recovery, Arrow says.
New VLEC deal signed A grouping of companies has signed a fresh letter of intent for a series of five very large ethane carriers (VLECs) worth around $600m.
Bulker breaks loose A loaded bulker drifted into the shipping channel at Gladstone in Australia after its mooring lines parted.
Seaspan stretches charters Seaspan Corporation has rejigged contracts with Yang Ming of Taiwan to charter out 10 eco-boxship newbuildings for 10 years.
Hoegh director resigns Jon Erik Reinhardsen has resigned from his position as a director of Hoegh LNG after eight years.
Cosco to order 10 VLOCs for Vale Mining giant Vale has revealed a pact with China's Cosco to build 10 huge new bulkers, signalling a potential shift on China's Valemax ban.
DP World buys Repasa DP World subsidiary P&O Maritime has snapped up the anchor-handling tug (AHT) fleet of Spain's Repasa.
Pan Ocean takes bank hit Diversified shipowner Pan Ocean has finally found a buyer for its stake in Heungkuk Mutual Saving Bank at a knock-down price.
MAIB warns over charts Another grounding in UK waters related to poor navigation has prompted a warning from accident investigators over the use of electronic systems.
Check your specs Reed Smith lawyer Mark O'Neil has warned owners of the costly legal consequences of getting ship specifications wrong in charter talks.
Inui adds one MOL-linked Inui Steamship has reportedly ordered a 60,000-dwt bulker at Japan's Onomichi Dockyard.
Ningbo Marine eyes three Shanghai-listed Ningbo Marine is lining up a bulker fleet renewal deal worth $83m.
Xiamen wins PCTC duo Shanghai owner Zhongfu Shipping has contracted two pure car truck carriers (PCTCs) in China.
IEA trims crude estimates The International Energy Agency (IEA) has trimmed its forecast for the rise in oil demand this year for the third month in a row.
TOO investor builds stake Neuberger Berman Group has increased its stake in Teekay Corp offshore spin-off Teekay offshore Partners.
EU rules on merger of Hapag-Lloyd, CSAV container businesses The transaction will make Hapag-Lloyd the fourth largest container shipping company in the world, with some 200 vessels, an annual transport volume of 7.5 million TEUs, and a combined turnover of about 9 billion euros ($11.6 billion).
ILA, employers appealing decision in favor of NY Waterfront Commission
Commerce hits more Russian companies with trade restrictions
XPO snags $700 million in financing for acquisitions
Portsmouth terminal reopens in Port of Virginia
Airports see cargo bump in July
U-Freight expands in Hong Kong
U.S. Customs fills key HQ positions
G6 carriers void two Asia-U.S. West Coast sailings
Digital trade linked to 3-4% boost in U.S. GDP
NIT League supports Surface Transportation Board reform
Weekly Global Market Report A weekly price roundup from bunkering hubs around the world.
Shell aims to make LNG 'more competitive' Financially 'unable to compete with traditional fuel oil'.
Prices display mixed trends in Europe 'Average demand' in Gibraltar.
Prices close week soft in Fujairah Prices soft in Cape Town.
DNV GL to class ethane carriers Class society and others agree on $600 million carrier order.
Tanker operator remains focused on bunker savings 'Cost of bunkers accounts for more than 60% of freight costs,' says Stena Bulk as it recommits to slow steaming.
Industry frustrated by lack of clarity on ECA enforcement Maersk, ICS complain they've had little feedback from port state authorities about how they will approach implementation.
Fossil-free ship aims for renewables cargo market Working demonstrator of ship type to be delivered for 'global end user'.
ARA fuel stocks tumble EU sanctions come into force but players report 'good resupply' from Russia.
Asian IFO rates end week with little changes Offices in Tokyo Bay to close for a holiday on Monday.
Maersk Line in talks to keep alliance on track 'There are worries that the scheduled launch early next year may be delayed.'
'Eco' cruise liner idea floated Shipping name to head project's supervisory board.
Engineering firm receives patent for dual fuel ship Vessel is under construction at a US shipyard.
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