US sees Jones Act burden on LNG exports Sabine Pass. Credit: CheniereHigher costs to build and operate LNG carriers in the US could put millions of tonnes of future American liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports at risk, according to a US watchdog group. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO), which evaluates economic policies on behalf of Congress, found that...
HSH Nordbank sees 'core' business on track Credit: PAGerman state bank and shipping lender HSH Nordbank recorded a sharp fall in profits in the first nine months but maintains that its restructuring is on a good path nonetheless. Its pre-tax earnings dropped to EUR110million, from EUR 460million during the corresponding period last year, chiefly because of fluctuations...
3600 ESI vessels operate more efficiently than required Some 3600 vessels have registered, five years after the International Association for Ports and Harbors (IAPH) developed the Environmental Ship Index (ESI). All these vessels operate more efficiently on emissions than legally required. In addition, these vessels are eligible for rewards from 40 so-called 'incentive providers' supporting the ESI. On 4...
North Adriatic port terminal proposed to allow mega-ship access Port of Ravenna. Credit: Igor MalushkoNorth Adriatic ports should pool resources and develop an offshore terminal to allow mega-ship access, an Italian port official has said. The solution was conceived by Paolo Costa, president of the Venice Port Authority. He announced to the audience at the Marintec China conference that North...
Hubei Huahai wins three cargo vessels China's Hubei Huahai shipbuilding yard has secured its latest contract from compatriot owners for a series of general cargo ships, The order for two firm 6,600dwt vessels plus one option was placed by Dalian Sincere Nice International ltd with deliveries scheduled for Q4 2016. Based on the north shore of the Yangtze...
South Korea's shipping companies need restructuring to survive, says minister Hanjin is one of Korea's main shipping companies. Credit: Southern Cross MaritimeIn the wake of several highly publicised financial difficulties experienced by South Korean shipping companies, the country's Minister of Oceans and Fisheries has called on them to undertake voluntary restructuring. Minister Kim Young-suk said this is crucial to surviving what...
Busan North Port terminal operators to unite Credit: Busan North PortThe companies operating the four terminals in Busan North Port are to be merged as the port undergoes redevelopment. Busan Port Authority announced on 4 December that Dongbu Pusan Container Terminal Co., Ltd, Busan International Container Terminal Co., Ltd, CJ Korea Express Busan Container Terminal Co., Ltd and...
Hyundai Mipo Dockyard corners mid-sized LPG carrier segment Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. Credit: HMDSouth Korean mid-tier shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has virtually become the market leader for the mid-sized LPG carrier market, with 23 orders year-to-date, capturing a market share of almost 80%. In November, HMD won four mid-sized LPG carrier orders from Greek owner Eletson Group, hitting 85% of...
Kolkata port looks to cut dredging bill with new technology India's state-owned Kolkata port on the Hooghly river has been battling low depths and increasing siltation for many years, but it is now pursuing a plan to cut its huge annual dredging bill with the help of Chennai-based Indian Institute of Technology. "What was happening was that the dredge site and...
North Atlantic Drilling in talks with Singapore yard over rig future Jurong Shipyard, Singapore. Credit: Krispen Atkinson/IHSNorth Atlantic Drilling Ltd (NADL), the NYSE-listed harsh environment drilling company managed from Norway, has entered talks with Jurong shipyard in Singapore over the future of a newbuilding it has on order there that may turn the shipyard to majority owner of the unit. NADL has...
Australian mega train hauls record load The Port of Newcastle welcomed Australia's biggest grain train - a 1.25 km long, 5,000 tonne delivery on 2 December to the wharves bound for Southeast Asia. The record load was by Newcastle Agri Terminal (NAT), an independent grain export terminal operator and logistics company set up by locals Jock Carter...
Tanjung Pelepas to invest USD118 million in new equipment during 2016 Malaysia's port operator Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) has proposed MYR500 million (USD118 million) for capital expenditure (capex) on machinery and facilities refurbishment in 2016. Most of the capex will be directed to investments in new rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes and the refurbishment of key cranes. So far, the port operator has...
US lawmakers elevate ports in funding bill US Congress. Credit: PAAmerican port representatives saw significant benefits in a congressional funding bill that would inject close to USD11 billion into port-related infrastructure over the next five years. A joint committee of the US House and Senate chambers released on 2 December a conference report allocating USD305 billion for the...
Depressed BDI drives China newbuilding prices to record low State-owned yards are hurt less than private ones due to Beijing's scrapping subsidy
Asia-Europe box rates crash by 50% Spot rates fall below $300 per teu again as lines fail to push through GRIs
NLRB stands firm in Portland labour dispute ruling US National Labor Relations Board reaffirms that ILWU had violated federal labour law with Portland go-slows
Bradford takes over at TasPorts Former Port of Melbourne Corporation chief takes helm with two new directors in Tasmanian ports operator shakeup
VLCC rates on Middle East-Japan route hit seven-year high Positive sentiment is spilling over to suezmax and aframax markets
China Merchants Energy Shipping to order 10 VLCCs Orders will be placed at three Chinese yards
US ports to benefit from freight provisions in FAST Act Provisions to mostly enhance linkages from US seaports to surface transportation network across the nation
Courage Marine disposes of subsidiaries and shuts Taiwan and Shanghai offices Dry bulk outfit to centralise operations in Hong Kong
Sri Lanka's CICT inks strategic pact with China's Zhanjiang Port Group Agreement signed during 2015 China Marine Economy Expo
TMS Cardiff Gas exercises options for two more very large gas carriers LPG vessels due for delivery in fourth quarter of 2017
April opening remains target for new Panama Canal locks Full details of commercial operations start date promised in a few weeks
Dorian LPG charters VLGC to Asian oil major Time charter commenced in fourth quarter of 2015
Cargoship held outside Duluth amid US Customs probe Bulk carrier under investigation for unspecified violations of US environmental regulations
Latest Arcbest acquisition expands asset-light business Transportation holding company Arcbest strengthened its non-asset arm by acquiring Bear Transportation, a truckload brokerage, for $26 million. Fort Smith, Arkansas-based Arcbest acquired the $120 million company through its ABF Logistics subsidiary, founded in 2013. The acquisition follows a strategy Arcbest has pursued for two years to expand its non-asset or...
WWL signs 30-year contract with Port of Baltimore Roll-on, roll-off carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics has replaced its existing contract with the Port of Baltimore with a 30-year agreement that commits the company to serve the port through 2025. The new contract replaces an existing 20-year contract that was due to expire in 2021. WWL is the port's highest-volume ro-ro carrier,...
Asia-Europe, Trans-Pacific spot rates fall below break-even point Freight rates in the major east-west trade lanes of Asia to North America and Asia to Europe continued to slide last week and are considerably below what carriers say are needed to break even financially in two of the world's largest trade lanes. According to the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index which...
NY-NJ port terminal battles congestion Heavy volume has been causing long delays for trucks at the only major New York-New Jersey container terminal accessible to ships that are too tall to squeeze under the Bayonne Bridge. Truckers have complained of turn times of up to eight hours this week at the GCT Bayonne terminal, which has...
Ship line consolidation won't dent trans-Pacific competition If CMA CGM acquires Neptune Orient Lines and its APL brand, the new entity will potentially be the new market leader in the trans-Pacific eastbound trade lane, the latest jolt to this market that already this year absorbed the frontal assault of a longshore labor meltdown. NOL and its largest shareholder,...
Brazil president impeachment wouldn't stop port concessions, analysts say Impeachment proceedings against Brazil President Dilma Rousseff and even her potential exit aren't expected to derail the government's port concession process, which is expected to raise 1.1 billion reais ($292.53 million) raised next week via public auction for four port terminals, according to maritime insiders. Rousseff is accused of doctoring government...
New Container Weight Rules: Are Shippers Ready? When the International Maritime Organization in 2014 said it would require all containers to be weighed and bear validation before loading aboard a vessel, it put the onus on shippers for compliance. Like data-transmission regulations imposed after the September 11 attacks, these safety-related rules, which will take effect on July...
2016 Outlook: Trucking and Intermodal Rail Optimism among trucking executives is on an extended run. Supply and demand are largely in balance, giving carriers much-desired pricing power. In general, trucking is outperforming the general U.S. economy and the international trade market, and profits are growing sharply. Truckload and less-than-truckload rates rose in 2015 as capacity tightened...
Offshore terminal proposed to handle mega-ships in Adriatic North Adriatic ports should pool resources and develop an offshore terminal to allow mega-ship access, an Italian port official has said. The solution was conceived by Paolo Costa, president of the Venice Port Authority, who announced it to the audience of the Marintec China conference. North Adriatic ports are currently only...
2016 Outlook Container Shipping The volatility ocean carriers, shippers and intermediaries experienced in 2015 may have been severe, but it's becoming more evident that such unpredictability is the new normal. 2015, of course, was marked by several industry-changing events: the protracted ILWU labor negotiations that led to the worst West Coast port congestion in...
Port of New York and New Jersey beefs up workforce, aims to add more Employers in the Port of New York and New Jersey have hired 935 longshoremen, marine clerks and mechanics in the last 20 months and are working to add more, said John Nardi, president of the New York Shipping Association. The NYSA is compiling data from marine terminals in preparation for a...
US highway bill expands national freight network to rail, ports WASHINGTON - The passage of a U.S. highway bill on Friday not only provides dedicated funding for freight projects, but will update a freight strategy and network to go beyond the nation's highways and look at rail and port connections. FAST, or the Fixing America's Surface Transportation, Act, builds on the...
Black Sea port volumes decline deepens Port of Novorossiysk, RussiaContainer volume declines at Russia, Georgia and Ukraine seaports deepened in the third quarter while traffic at Bulgaria and Romania ports stayed virtually flat compared to the second quarter, according to a report from Russia shipping analyst Informall BG. The economic weakness in Russia and Ukraine, exacerbated by...
US highway bill expands national freight network to rail, ports WASHINGTON - The passage of a U.S. highway bill on Friday not only provide dedicated funding for freight projects but will update a freight strategy and network to go beyond the nation's highways and look at rail and port connections. FAST, or the Fixing America's Surface Transportation, Act, builds on the...
Slide show: Top shipping trends that shaped 2015 From a near-meltdown at U.S. West Coast ports to a wave of mergers and acquisitions, with hints of more in the container line industry, 2015 has been full of plenty of surprises. Not all of them have been bad for shippers, such as the plunge in oil prices and the...
South Korea minister tells domestic liners to restructure In the wake of highly-publicized financial difficulties experienced by South Korea shipping companies, the country's Minister of Oceans and Fisheries has called on them to undertake voluntary restructuring. The restructuring is crucial to surviving what will be a prolonged downturn in shipping, Minister Kim Young-suk said. Speaking at a gathering of Korea...
Brazil president impeachment wouldn't stop port concession process, analysts say Impeachment proceedings against Brazil President Dilma Rousseff and even her potential exit aren't expected to derail the government's port concession process, which is expected to raise 1.1 billion reais ($292.53 million) raised next week via public auction for four port terminals, according to maritime insiders. Rousseff is accused of doctoring government...
West coast Latin America ports expand amid fierce competition Terminal Pacífico Sur Valpara'so As more terminal capacity comes online and volume remains muted, port operators along South America's west coast, principally in Peru and Chile, are expecting competition for cargo to be fierce in 2016. "Considering the weak outlook for our industry in 2016 and beyond, and the injections of more...
Heavy flooding cripples Chennai port operations Nearly two weeks of heavy rains and unprecedented flooding have crippled supply chains and industrial activities in and around India's southern port city of Chennai. Sources in Chennai said though marine terminals at Chennai Port remain partially operational, shippers are unable to move their cargo to and from the harbor due...
OPEC to keep ouput at near record high Crude prices soften on reports that collective output may rise.
Charges laid in long-running fraud case Legal ban prevents release of company's name.
Dry bulk sector : 'Profits to remain elusive for at least another year' Freight rates still falling.
Charterers 'guided by emissions data' Less efficient vessels will find themselves idled as 'a form of natural selection'.
Researchers: Nano-pulse technology more cost-effective than scrubbers Initial tests show NOx and PM emissions respectively down by 90% and 75%.
Concept hybrid-powered carbon fibre ferry under construction Vessel will operate at the fjord region at Norway.
More in fleet to undergo energy management solution upgrade System will be installed on board on an additional 16 vessels, says spokesman.
OPL Singapore: Vessels need to be sure where they anchor, say lawyers Several instances of Masters mistaking territorial waters for international zone.
Fuel System Check for 'Peace of Mind' Uncompromised 'Housekeeping' & Care for Vessels can be delivered through a robust Fuel System Monitoring Programme.
Bunker tanker arrives at Valparaiso Will allow AGUNSA to resume bunker supply by barge in the area.
Bankrupt Bunkers International in lawsuit against Greek vessel Seeking payment for fuel worth over $270,000 supplied in June this year.
Oil futures rise on ULSD strength, US dollar crash North Sea oilfield repairs and speculation about an OPEC production cut also supported higher crude prices.
Adani secures major stem off Colombo Says delivery to VLCC was one of the largest stems supplied in the region.
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