Central Asia News

Ukrainian ferry company Ukrferry will resume services between the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk and Batumi in Georgia, according to the company's timetable.The ferry service was halted after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Its resumption will allow Kyiv to gain direct access to its markets in the Caucasus and Central Asia.The first voyage is scheduled to depart Chornomorsk on July 9 and arrive in Georgia on July 12."Regular services accept passengers...

Every day, nearly 60 fully loaded very large crude-oil carriers sail between the Persian Gulf and Chinese ports, carrying about half of the oil that powers the world's second-largest economy.As the vessels enter the South China Sea, they ply waters increasingly controlled by China's growing military, from the missile batteries and airfields at its bases on disputed islands to its stealthy Type 055 destroyers.But when crossing the Indian Ocean, joined by others headed to China from Africa and Brazil…

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on Thursday called for a "credible" probe into a migrant shipwreck off Greece in June in which hundreds died, saying that contrasting accounts by the Greek coastguard and survivors "were extremely concerning".The overcrowded fishing trawler said to be carrying between 400-750 people from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt sank in international waters off Greece on its way to Italy from Libya. Some 104 men survived and authorities recovered only…

Oil benchmarks are hitting multiple price and spread milestones across several key markets as the fallout from severe sanctions on key exporter Russia sows confusion and panic among global crude oil traders, shipping firms and importers.The oil industry has been gripped by acute risk aversion in the finance and shipping sectors after several nations including the United States sanctioned multiple Russian entities following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though Washington has explicitly exempted energy products from the Russian measures.

Dubai-based DP World said it has agreed to acquire a 60% stake in South Korea's UNICO Logistics Co. Ltd. as the firm continues its expansion across the worldwide end-to-end logistics supply chain. The transaction, subject to regulatory clearances, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.Established in 2002 by H.J. Park and headquartered in South Korea, UNICO is one of the largest independent NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) in South Korea, with a global footprint of 25 subsidiaries in 20 countries.

The international container terminal operating APM Terminals said that its port of Poti has presented its plans for the creation of a deep-water port to the Government of Georgia.The plans require an investment of over 250 million USD of private capital for phase 1 and a substantial amount for phase 2 in an extensive development of the port infrastructure and superstructure.“This investment in the strategically important port of Poti is a proof of our commitment and belief in Georgia and the development of a transport corridor that stretches into Central Asia,” explained Keld Christensen, Managing Director of APM Terminals Poti.“The…

Georgia has ended an investment agreement with an international consortium for one of the biggest projects in the former Soviet country, the construction of a major deep sea port on the Black Sea coast, its infrastructure minister said on Thursday.The nine-phase project to improve access to Central Asia and the Middle East had received support from Georgia's strategic partner, the United States, as well as the European Union, which had labelled the planned port at Anaklia a priority project."The government discussed this issue and decided that further postponement does not make sense…

The Port of Baku,  Austrian ÖBB Rail Cargo Group and Cabooter Group (NL) signed an agreement to strengthen and expand the freight traffic from Europe to Central Asia and China via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor). The Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology of Austria, Mr. Andreas Reichhardt, and Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Austria, Mr. Galib Israfilov were also present at the signing ceremony.The parties have decided to jointly promote the Middle Corridor in Europe and strengthen the connections between the existing  European freight networks and logistics hubs in Europe with the Port of Baku. Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology of Austria, Mr.

GasLog, an international owner, operator and manager of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, is predicting a tighter LNG shipping market, as increasing United States LNG output combines with a seasonal uptick in demand for gas, resulting in rising demand for shipping and higher utilization of the global fleet.These underlying trends in the LNG commodity and shipping markets point towards a structurally tighter market through 2020 and into 2021.As of October 28, 2019, the LNG fleet and orderbook (excluding floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) and vessels with capacity below 100,000 cbm) stood at 507 and 110 vessels, respectively…

Dutch multinational geo-data specialist Fugro has appointed Erik-Jan Bijvank as Group Director for Europe and Africa.With this latest appointment, Fugro said it completes its new executive leadership team, which was established as of 1 May, consisting of the Board of Management, four regional Group Directors and several functional Group Directors.Erik-Jan Bijvank worked at Stork, a Fluor company, for over 20 years, where he fulfilled several senior management roles both in the Netherlands and the UK. From 2012 to 2017, Erik-Jan was Senior Vice President for Stork UK and Africa, and a member of the Global Management Team, based in Stork’s regional headquarters in Aberdeen.In 2018…

29 companies have applied for investment in the Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar, Iran,  in the first six months of this year.Behrouz Aghaei, Director General of ports and maritime of Sistan and Baluchestan, said that Chabahar Port, as the country's largest oceanic port with a strategic location and access to international free water, has a special place in Iranian trade exchanges with other countries in the region.Chabahar Port as a gateway to trade with IORA, CIS, Afghanistan and Central Asia, and due to its proximity to the Oman and Indian Ocean ports is the best transit route for regional countries in terms of sea, land and security…

The Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) will launch a test voyage of a feeder vessel along the Black Sea container route Batumi-Constanta by September 20.The vessel will sail every 10 days (3 times a month). If cargo volumes increase, the growth in the number of vessels and the regularity of sailings on the line is also expected.Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, hosted  general meeting of an association of legal entities – the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor International Association.Rauf Valiyev, chairman of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO), as well as representatives of railway and sea transport companies from Georgia…

A new freight train service has been launched  linking Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, and Budapest, capital of Hungary, making it the newest China-Europe freight train route.According to Xinhua, this is the fifth freight train service Jinan has opened to Europe and Central Asia.The city's port and logistics office said that goods can now reach 12 countries in Europe and Central Asia through the train routes.The report said that cargo trains have made 81 journeys from Jinan to Europe and Central Asia in the first half of this year, a nearly sixfold increase from a year ago, according to the office. Together they have carried a total of 65,000 tonnes of goods worth 155 million U.S.

Philippines-based port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has inaugurated the newly-expanded Batumi International Container Terminal (BICT) in Georgia.The expansion encompasses both the waterside and landside areas of the multipurpose terminal, intended to optimize the processing of existing cargo flows and install additional capacity to accommodate new business.Marking the importance of the occasion, the inauguration was attended by Giorgi Kobulia, Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development; Tornike Rizhvadze, Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara; senior executives from Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)–the terminal’s principal container customer–and Hans-Ole Madsen…

China has overtaken Japan to become the world's top importer of natural gas, as Beijing's crackdown on pollution boosts its demand for the more environmentally friendly fuel, while the restart of nuclear reactors in Japan reduces its LNG imports.China's total natural gas imports over January to October this year via pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) were at 72.06 million tonnes, up a third from the same period last year, according to Reuters calculations based on General Administration of Customs data.Japan…

Japan and China agree that a trade war will have serious consequences for the world economy, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said on Monday after a high-level economic dialogue between the world's third- and second-largest economies. Concern is growing about a trade row between China and the United States in which the two nations have threatened each other with tariffs. Japan has been criticised by U.S. President Donald Trump on trade and been hit with tariffs on steel and aluminum, but it has not yet threatened counter-tariffs.

India's oil imports rose by about 1.8 percent in 2017 to a record 4.37 million barrels per day (bpd) as the country boosted purchases to feed its expanded refining capacity, ship-tracking data obtained from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts showed. To meet its growing fuel demand India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer, raised its refining capacity in the second half of 2017. India's capacity expansion to about 5 million bpd was aided by Reliance Industries…

APM Terminals Poti and Poti New Terminals Consortium signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a USD 100 million dollar investment in a new bulk cargo terminal that can process 1.5 million tons of dry bulk cargo annually and generate new trade opportunities for customers in the Georgian transit corridor. The new terminal is expected to be built on APM Terminals Poti land and infrastructure and will entail the construction, development and operation of a new breakwater, dry bulk cargo terminal and related infrastructure to serve bulk cargo customers. Poti New Terminals’ expertise will design, develop and manage the dry bulk cargo terminal to today’s world-class port standards.

Pollution fight drives surge in pipeline, LNG imports but Japan remains world's biggest importer of LNG. Beijing's crackdown on pollution has put China on track to overtake Japan this year as the world's biggest importer of natural gas, used to replace dirtier coal. China - already the biggest importer of oil and coal - is the world's third biggest user of natural gas behind the United States and Russia, but has to import around 40 percent of its total needs as domestic production can't keep up with demand. Data compiled from the Thomson Reuters Eikon terminal indicates China's 2017 imports of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) will top 67 million tonnes, up by more than a quarter from a year earlier. LNG imports alone surged more than 50 percent.

China's 2017 LNG imports to top South Korea's for first time; becomes key driver of spot LNG prices. China will become the world's second-biggest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year as it overtakes South Korea, shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon showed. This is a huge boost to Asia's emerging spot market as Chinese buyers rely much more on short-term purchases to meet their needs than their counterparts in Japan and South Korea. Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that China's imports of LNG will have risen by more than 50 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year to around 38 million tonnes. Comparatively, import-dependent Japan and South Korea will have taken around 83.5 million tonnes and just over 37 million tonnes by the end of the year, respectively.

APM Terminals Poti has added two Azimuth Stern-Drive (ASD) tugboats from the Maersk Transport & Logistics sister brand Svitzer, to significantly improve harsh weather operating capabilities and night time navigation through the entrance channel. New Svitzer tugboats can operate in harsh weather conditions, offer safer, stronger services for night time entrance channel navigation. APM Terminals Poti Managing Director, Klaus Holm Laursen said, “We are excited to strengthen our vessel handling capabilities with these advanced tugboats. Our customers benefit with enhanced night-time navigation and safer towage during harsh weather conditions.

Drewry expects dry bulk shipping charter rates to recover from the second quarter of 2018 on the back of strengthening Asian iron ore demand, according to the latest edition of the Dry Bulk Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. For the medium and long term, Drewry holds the same views as in previous forecasts. Chinese steel production is expected to pick up pace at the end of winter, in the second quarter of next year, by which time production curbs will have relaxed. Strong infrastructure and construction activities will further strengthen steel consumption. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is closing down inefficient and highly polluting mills…

Unexpectedly strong demand from China, along with rising oil and coal prices, should keep Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot levels buoyant this winter. Despite rising supplies from new plants, spot prices have risen by 55 percent from their 2017 lows to $8.40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) as Asian buyers also refilled summer stocks. With the peak demand October-March winter gas season almost underway, further price gains are expected. Nuclear outages in Taiwan and rising demand from Thailand…