Defence group rejects Jones Act changes Puerto Rico's proposal to repeal the Jones Act as a way to help alleviate the territory's debt crisis would undermine national security, a US defence group has argued. A five-year restructuring plan released on 9 September by Puerto Rican governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla includes a request that
Kobe traffic rises in June The Port of Kobe in western Japan saw its cargo traffic increase 7.9% in June from a year earlier to more than 8 million tonnes, as domestic trade grew by double digits and foreign trade also rose solidly, according to preliminary figures released by the Kobe municipal government. Of the 8.057
G6 Alliance pulls five more Asia-to-Europe sailings Further cuts in sailings have been announced by the G6 Alliance in response to the market changes in the Asia-to-Europe trade route. The alliance has declared another five void sailings for the subsequent services and weeks as shown in the following. - Loop 6 service in weeks 44, 48, and 52
Mercator Lines files application against judicial manager Singapore-listed Mercator Lines has applied to the Singapore High Court for a stay of proceedings in a case that could see it put under judicial management. The Indian-owned dry bulk company has also asked for leave to convene meetings of its creditors no later than four months from the date of its
Maritime security: a common approach The greatest deterrence to armed robbery and piracy in the waters of the Southeast Asia may not be deploying multibillion dollar warships or having massive joint navy patrols up and down the regional shipping channels. It may lie instead in introducing a simple unified code of law and order, a
Marine insurance emerging from losses, but challenges ahead Shipowners are likely to continue to benefit from low premium rates for hull and machinery insurance amid high liquidity in the capital markets and abundant supply of risk capital for marine insurance. Speaking at the opening of the annual conference of the International Union of Marine Insurance
Evergreen orders 10 2,800 teu box ships at Imabari Taiwanese carrier Evergreen Marine Corp on 11 September inked a deal with Japanese shipbuilder Imabari for the construction of 10 2,800 teu container ships. These vessels are in addition to the 10 similar-sized vessels the carrier ordered at Taiwanese shipbuilder CSBC in August, with the first ship
China soyabean imports up 9.8% y/y during January-August 2015 China, the world's largest soyabean importing country, imported 52.4 million tonnes of soyabean during January to August 2015, up 9.8% year on year (y/y), showed data released by Chinese customs. In July, the country imported 9.5 million tonnes of soyabean, up 27% y/y. Of the 9.5 million tonnes,
XMH profit dives 47% Singapore-listed marine engine maker XMH Holdings' (XMH's) first-quarter 2016 profit dropped 46.9% year on year (y/y) to SGD740,000 (USD460,000). The company's revenue declined 7.8% y/y to SGD23.8 million, while its gross profit also dipped 4.8% y/y to SGD6.3 million. XMH attributed the decrease
Global Ports feels brunt of Russia's economic woes Country's leading box operator reports 32% drop in container throughput and 25% decline in revenues
Further VLCC rate rises anticipated on robust Middle East output Fewer than 50 VLCCs are available in Middle East for loading in September, favouring owners
Canal expansion offers bright future for Egypt The opening of the expanded Suez Canal last month was a moment of national pride for Egypt, but whether its ambitions for the future can be met remains to be seen
Onassis Laureates call for greater innovation in shipping Prize winners Stopford and Heaver single out shippers for sitting on the sidelines
DP World chairman singles out automation as the key to ultra large boxships Without it you can't handle them in the time necessary, says Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem
G6 confirms yet more cuts to Asia-Europe capacity Ten westbound services pulled between October and the start of 2016 as alliance looks to redress the supply/demand imbalance
Marine premiums up in many currencies A 3.6% fall in dollar terms masks improvement for many, says Seltmann
Precious faces Sainty bulker cancellations and delays Uncertainty over future of debt-laden China yard gets deeper
Angelicoussis books $300m of crude tanker orders at DSME Morale-booster for Korean yard brings Greek owner's orderbook to eight VLCCs and eight suezmaxes
US west coast ports report strong growth in August Port of Long Beach saw volumes jump by 23%
Tianjin blast could cost insurers $6bn Marine insurance world gathers for conference in Berlin this week
Customs and practices Signs that the stench of corruption is beginning to lift
Virginia port volume growth slows Container volume gains at the Port of Virginia slowed significantly in August from their torrid pace earlier this year, when the Southeastern U.S. port was flush with cargo diverted from the West Coast. Container traffic was up just 2.7 percent year-over-year last month. The port's terminals handled 220,069 20-foot-equivalents in August,...
Strong Oakland August volumes suggest shippers are returning Laden containers imported through the Port of Oakland in August rose 15.1 percent year-over-year, giving the port its sixth straight month of inbound traffic gains and suggesting shippers may be returning some cargo to the West Coast during the peak shipping season. Total container traffic, which includes empty containers, last month...
New CSX terminal allows Schneider to increase intermodal cross-border footprint CSX Transportation's newest terminal outside Montreal is allowing transportation providers such as Schneider l to offer intermodal shippers more direct connections between Canada and the U.S. The Salaberry-de-Valleyfield terminal, now just four months old, is the first to offer north-south service out of Montreal, bypassing longer reroutes through the Great Lakes...
US contract truck rates rising, but not as far as once expected Contract truckload rates in the U.S. continue to rise, but they won't rise as fast or as far as shippers once feared, according to an investment research firm and a pricing index. Excluding fuel surcharges, contract linehaul truckload rates rose 3.7 percent year-over-year in August, despite a drop in spot market...
Mombasa government pushes for steep port fees Shippers moving good through the rapidly-growing port of Mombasa may soon have to pay steep new fees if the governor of the port's county has his way, a move that could shift cargo to rival Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Gov. Ali Hassan Joho is seeking fees on Mombasa port use totaling...
India to permit foreign ro-ro vessels for coastal operations New Delhi on Monday approved relaxing its cabotage law to allow foreign roll-on, roll-off ship operators to offer coastal services, another big step by the Narendra Modi-led government to reduce supply chain bottlenecks. The new cabotage rights, which apply to all ro-ro vessels as well as car and project cargo carriers,...
Impact of dimensional weight pricing less than expected With e-commerce retail growing at more than 15 percent per year, and with the parcels moved by UPS and FedEx becoming lighter and bulkier as a result, a change in pricing for bulky packages was necessary to align shipping charges with the cost of delivery. The implementation of dimensional weight pricing...
Jacksonville considers moving TraPac to slash dredging costs TraPac Terminal, Port of Jacksonville. Credit: Jaxport JACKSONVILLE, Florida - The Port of Jacksonville, seeing an opportunity to save hundreds of millions on harbor deepening, has asked a terminal operator to consider relocating closer to the mouth of the harbor. With state and federal budgets tight, the port sees the move as...
Global Ports, revenue, profit slump on Russia economic woes Global Ports' Petrolesport Terminal, St. Petersburg, RussiaLONDON - Global Ports' revenue shrank by a quarter in the first half of the year as Russia's largest container terminal operator posted sharply lower cargo volumes as the nation's troubled economy continued to contract. The London-listed company attributed the decline in revenue to $214.3...
RFID energizes inventory tracking at Interstate Batteries Apparel and footwear retailers aren't the only companies that have learned to appreciate the potential benefits of RFID systems. Take, for example, the case of Interstate Batteries, the leading brand of auto-replacement batteries in North America. Based in Dallas, Interstate sells more than 17 million SLI (starting, lighting and ignition) batteries...
HMM adds Khalifa to Korea-Middle East service Hyundai Merchant Marine BangkokHyundai Merchant Marine extended its Korea-Middle East, or KMS, service to include a regular call at Abu Dhabi Terminals-operated Khalifa Port Container Terminal, starting this month. The new KMS port rotation is as follows: Kwangyang and Busan, South Korea; Ningbo, Kaohsiung and Yantian, China; Hong Kong; Singapore; Port...
Cheap fuel erodes mega-ship slot cost benefits, Drewry says Bunker fuel is cheap enough to siphon off the slot cost merits of operating mega vessels.HONG KONG - The falling price of fuel has turned on its head the assumption that mega vessels automatically generate lower slot costs than smaller vessels, as data from Dreary shows that the slot cost...
New round of canceled Asia-Europe sailings by G6 carriers NYK and its G6 Alliance members have announced yet another round of blanked sailings. HONG KONG - The G6 Alliance has announced another raft of canceled sailings on Asia-Europe in October and November as carriers sail into the slow final quarter on the battered trade lane that will round off a...
Good news hard to find in China's slowing economy HONG KONG - China's economic indicators continue to portray a country struggling against weak domestic and external demand with growth in factory output falling short of market expectations and offering little encouragement to declining exports.Data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China released at the weekend showed that industrial...
"Include shipping in Paris deal" European environmental groups have urged ministers of the EU to include international shipping in a global climate deal at Paris.
TNG fixes out MR Croatia's Tankerska Next Generation (TNG) has found work for one of its MRs coming off a charter with Stena Weco.
SALT team boosts stake Executives of Scorpio Bulkers (SALT) have continued to show their faith in the company's stock by completing the fifth incremental share buy since late July.
Bulker under the hammer A bulker under arrest in India since June has been put up for sale at auction.
Wiernicki's top priorities Incoming chairman of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Christopher Wiernicki has pledged to focus on three crucial areas during his reign.
Oil output to drop The International Energy Agency (IEA) is forecasting a drop in oil output of 0.5m barrels per day (bpd) from non-OPEC countries in 2016, the equivalent of a suezmax cargo every two days.
PDVSA tanker detained Venezuelan authorities arrest vessel owned by domestic state oil company over alleged fuel smuggling.
Maersk a good bet Clarksons Platou Securities has upgraded shares in AP Moller-Maersk from neutral to buy amid the promise of counter-cyclical growth.
Global Ports slides Russian container terminal operator takes a hit in the first half amid domestic economic slump.
ITF targets Asia again The ITF union has launched its third action week in east Asia to check pay and conditions on board ships.
Holm steps up Finland's Wartsila has appointed a new president to lead its marine solutions business.
Boxship hit by fire A boxship operated by Martime of Germany has suffered a blaze at the port of Manila in the Philippines.
Ocean Installer into Africa Ocean Installer has broken into the African market with a first major installation work contract in the region.
Tax boost for OSG Restructured Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) has received a big boost from the US tax authorities ahead of its third quarter results.
Cochin wins ferry deal Indian shipyard seals $211m state order to build vessels for Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Mercator fights HSH filing Singapore-listed bulker owner Mercator Lines wants further meetings with creditors to discuss restructuring after HSH Nordbank filed an application to have the company managed by a court.
Samsung raises $26m Loss-making Samsung Heavy Industries has disposed of a non-core property to raise KRW 31bn ($26m).
CPLP set for two more Capital Maritime & Trading Corp has expanded the dropdown pipeline to its US-listed MLP Capital Product Partners (CPLP).
West coast imports surge The ports of Los Angeles the Long Beach have both reported large surges in container volumes for the month of August.
Milaha names new CEO Qatar-based company wastes little time finding new man to lead diversified shipowner.
IMO makes limited progress on fuel use data collection Intersessional meeting leaves next MEPC to do the heavy lifting, though some consensus building on simplified metrics.
CO2 and Shipping: Time for action, say greens European parliamentary committees calls for shipping to be included in Paris climate deal.
Scrubbers to be fitted on newbuilds Clean Marine is to supply exhaust gas cleaning systems to two reefer/fishing support vessels.
Pour point depressant for MGO Fuel additive specialist develops 'cold flow improver' for marine distillates.
Cap draws in new players to marine gas market Spanish company swaps domestic for marine demand.
Venezuela: Ships held for alleged fuel smuggling One ship controlled by oil company PDVSA.
Bank wants dry bulk operator 'under judicial management' Mercator Lines says it will fight the application.
Box lines facing gloomy outlook In spite of falling bunker prices.
Politics seen overruling shipping interests at IMO Desire for more cost/benefit analysis of new regulations both for shipping and wider economy.
Singapore bunker sales hit 2015 peak Demand for low sulphur marine gasoil more than tripled.
Hong Kong supplier expands operations to Shanghai New office supported by three staff, Sea Trader International tells Platts Bunkerworld.
Shipping expected to 'come under attack' at Paris climate talks ICS calls for bunker levy in response to the 'political pressure cooker' building ahead of crucial UNFCCC meeting.
ING makes vessel arrests at Singapore In a bid to claim over $400,000 of unpaid bunker bills.
Z Energy: Newbuild oil tankers 25% more fuel efficient Fuel savings to offset higher upfront cost of vessels, says spokeswoman.
Colombia: Fuel oil storage tanks to open this year State-owned Ecopetrol exporting product to Singapore, Europe, and the US for marine use.
Shipping preparing for 'attack' at Paris climate talks ICS calls for bunker levy in response to the 'political pressure cooker' building ahead of crucial UNFCCC meeting.
Storage tank leak spills bunker fuel into Philippines river Roughly 2,000 litres was spilled.
IEA: Cheap oil is 'forcing the market to behave as it should' Expects demand to catch up with supply by H2 2016.
- Via Raffaele Paolucci 17r/19r - 16129 Genoa - ITALY
phone: +39.010.2462122, fax: +39.010.2516768, e-mail
VAT number: 03532950106
Press Reg.: nr 33/96 Genoa Court
Editor in chief: Bruno Bellio No part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher