Shipping News

The Panama Canal expects to complete a billion-dollar construction of a new water reservoir within six years that will help ensure the passage of 36 ships a day, the administrator of the global waterway said on Monday.The Indio River reservoir project would become part of the network of existing artificial lakes that allow for safe passage through the canal and provide water for human consumption."We are looking at six years," canal administrator Ricaurte Vasquez said.Vasquez said the project "would provide a little more certainty to maintain 36 transits per day…

Nordic Fender has entered a strategic partnership with SkyLab IoT for the development and expansion of smart fender and buoy solutions that provide real-time data worldwide.Nordic Fender products can now benefit from live monitoring of critical parameters such as air pressure, temperature, humidity, acceleration, angle and rotation (X, Y, Z), and location services based on GPS, GNSS, geolocation, and WiFi/MAC addresses. In addition to the standard data, it is also possible to monitor other environmental…

Oman's state-owned logistics firm Asyad Group is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of its subsidiary Asyad Shipping Co by the end of the year and has selected Jefferies Group and EFG Hermes as advisers, sources familiar with the matter said.Asyad Group, EFG Hermes and Jefferies declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Thursday about the IPO plans.

Port of Brownsville, along the U.S.-Mexico border, said on Wednesday that it would limit ship traffic due to gale force winds from Hurricane Beryl, a Category 4 hurricane heading for the Gulf.Only vessels that will be able to finish and sail by Friday night or Saturday early morning will be allowed to come in, said Michael Davis, Harbor Master at Port of Brownsville.All river barges will need to depart no later than noon on Friday and vessels remaining in the port must double up lines and ensure that they are properly anchored…

Commodities trader Trafigura has completed its first ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of ammonia in international waters close to the port of Ceuta in the Strait of Gibraltar.Approximately 6,000 metric tonnes of ammonia (NH3), supplied by CF Industries from their Donaldsonville, Louisiana-based manufacturing complex, was safely transferred between the Green Power Medium Gas Carrier (MGC), owned by ship owner/operator Purus on time charter to Trafigura, and small gas carrier the Gas…

Amogy and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding (MSB), a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, have completed the feasibility study on using their technologies across ammonia-powered shipping and shipbuilding value chain.The feasibility study focused on collaboration concept designs of onboard hydrogen production and utilization with Amogy's ammonia-cracking technology and Mitsubishi Ammonia Supply and Safety System (MAmmoSS).Amogy and MSB concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to undertake feasibility studies on an ammonia fuel supply system…

NYK and Astomos Energy have named their second jointly owned large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier Gas Amethyst at the Sakaide Works of Kawasaki Heavy Industries.Following Gas Garnet vessel, which was delivered in March this year, Gas Amethyst is the second jointly owned LPG dual-fuel vessel to be delivered this year and the fourth LPG dual-fuel vessel for Astomos Energy.Gas Garnet is 229.90 meters long vessel, with a tank capacity of 86,953 m3.The vessel is equipped with a dual-fuel engine that can use heavy oil and LPG as fuel.

French engineering company GTT has secured an order from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the tank design of 10 new very large liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.GTT will design the tanks for these ten very large LNG carriers, which will each offer five tanks with a total capacity of 271,000 m3.The value of the contract was not disclosed.The tanks will be fitted with the NO96 Super+ membrane containment system developed by GTT.Delivery is scheduled between the first quarter of 2030 and the fourth quarter of 2031.

MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has acquired two 3,500 TEU vessels and secured a charter agreement package for a total of 10 vessels, including the new acquisitions.The acquisition consists of two 3,500 TEU vessels at a total price of $47.25 million. The vessels are expected to be handed over from their current owner in the third quarter of 2024 and will be delivered into pre-agreed firm 36-month time charter contracts with a top-tier liner company.These vessels are anticipated to generate aggregate revenues of approximately $55 million over the charter period…

Speaking at this year’s Drycon conference in Mumbai, Captain Pappu Sastry, CEO of Adhira Shipping and Logistics (ASL), said that Africa’s mining sector is entering a golden age where opportunities are open to investors, shipping lines and logistics companies.Africa is a continent of more than 1.4 billion people, with a mining sector that is growing rapidly and investment opportunities across the continent, said Sastry. “We are experiencing a rapid expansion in the development of junior mines in Africa along with increased demand for commodities from existing mines.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the Chamber of Marine Commerce, Canada (CMC), convened over 120 industry leaders from 90 organisations and nearly 30 different countries to the Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit on Thursday 13 June. The summit focused on the challenges and risks to global trade.During the closed-door summit industry leaders discussed the emerging concern of increased protectionism across the world.Emanuele Grimaldi, International Chamber of Shipping…

Maritime and offshore industries service provider Avantis Group has entered strategic cooperation with shipping sector services firm T.J. Giavridis Marine Services to enhance support for Greek shipowners worldwide.The partnership aims to provide enhanced support and services to Greek shipowners, strengthening their capabilities in repair, retrofits, and upgrades worldwide.With Avantis' international footprint and T.J. Giavridis' understanding of the Greek shipowner market, the collaboration will offer Greek shipowners access to advanced solutions and expertise including green technologies…

Validation of voyage emissions data and contractual arrangements for allocation of EU ETS costs remain key challenges for Greek shipowners as they face an estimated total €335 million bill this year, potentially rising to €1bn once the regulation is fully implemented, according to OceanScore.Some 2,135 vessels owned or operated by around 400 Greek shipping companies are presently racking up liabilities under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) that will require them to surrender EU Allowances (EUAs) next year for GHG emissions incurred during 2024.Maritime data analytics firm OceanScore…

The first voyages of the Blue Visby Prototype Trials took place in March/April 2024 with the bulk carriers Gerdt Oldendorff and the Begonia, which, under voyage charter to Blue Visby Consortium member CBH Group, performed ballast voyages to CBH Group’s Kwinana Grain Terminal, Australia.The Blue Visby Solution is aimed at eradicating Sail Fast Then Wait (SFTW): the operational practice of ships that sail to their destination "with the utmost despatch", without regard to other ships or to the conditions at the destination.

Implementation of the FuelEU Maritime regulation from 2025 presents an accountability dilemma for shipping as it is currently the Document of Compliance (DoC) holder that will be held responsible for fuel selection and could therefore face penalties - contrary to the ‘polluter pays’ principle, according to OceanScore.Shipping companies must start preparing now for the regulation as they face an August 31 deadline to submit a monitoring plan to track the fuel type and consumption for each EU voyage for each vessel as required by FuelEU…

The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping has welcomed new, including University of Michigan, Maritime Research Alliance, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and World Maritime University, in a move to foster interdisciplinary collaboration between industry and academia.The introduction of Academic Partners marks a strategic expansion of the center's partnership platform and is a strengthening of the collaboration between scientists in the research…

Maris Fiducia Norway has entered into cooperation agreements with maritime technology company HAV Hydrogen and the hydrogen producer and distributor Norwegian Hydrogen with the objective of developing, building and operating hydrogen-powered dry-bulk vessels in Europe.The vessels are being designed by the Dutch ship designer Ankerbeer. Upon successful completion of the project, the vessels will go on hire through a zero-emission time charter agreement with Schulte & Bruns, establishing a commercial operation for vessels operating on hydrogen fuel…

The Panama Canal is in talks with U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers on how to meet increased demand for crossings as water levels recover after a prolonged drought, the canal's administrator Ricaurte Vasquez told Reuters in an interview.The canal is typically used by U.S. Gulf Coast exporters to send LNG cargoes to Asia via the Pacific Ocean, but from last year low water levels forced cuts to daily crossings, driving many producers to seek more costly or longer alternative routes.In April…

Greek shipowner Euroseas has entered into charter contract for its fuel efficient 1,800 TEU feeder container ship currently under construction, while securing funding for a sister ship planned for delivery later in 2024.The time charter contract is for M/V Monica for a minimum period of 10 to a maximum period of 12 months at the option of the charterer, at a gross daily rate of $16,000.The new charter will start upon delivery of the vessel from the shipyard expected around mid…

The Panama Maritime Authority has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to create new incentives for vessels of the Panamanian Registry.  The MoU establishes a framework for the development of the “Blue Pass” project. Ships of the Panamanian Registry will receive benefits when they enter and exit UAE ports, including discounts in auxiliary services with all companies, shipyards and other businesses registered in the database of the Blue Pass program.

CB&I, a wholly owned subsidiary of McDermott, has been awarded a significant contract by TotalEnergies and OQ joint venture for the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) of a full containment concrete liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tank, located in Oman's Port of Sohar.Under the contract, awarded by Marsa Liquefied Natural Gas, CB&I will provide turnkey EPC services for a 165,000m3 full containment concrete LNG storage tank and associated piping to grade.Project delivery will be executed in Oman…

So far, the Israel-Hamas conflict has had limited impact on the global economy. However, an escalation to a direct war between Israel and Iran, could result in oil prices rising to $150 a barrel and global output cut by $1 trillion, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) and Bloomberg Economics (BE).The new study from BI and BE – Middle East Energy Scenarios – looks in detail at four broad scenarios and their potential impact on global GDP and inflation, from a sustained ceasefire to a confined conflict…

The White House has nominated Matt Kaplan to serve as the first federal co-chair of the Great Lakes Authority (GLA).The GLA was authorized by Congress in 2022 and will be governed by a nine-member board, with one member appointed by the President, and one appointed by each of the Governors of the eight Great Lakes states. The new federal agency will promote regional economic development. Earlier this year, Congress appropriated $5 million to begin the process of standing up the organization.