Baltic Index Up for Fifth Straight Day
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose for the fifth day this week, helped by higher rates for larger vessels. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was up 9 points, or 0.88 percent, at 1,032 points on Friday. The capesize index gained 35 points, or 2.18 percent, at 1,637 points.
Barge Fire Extinguished in the Gulf of Mexico
Emergency responders have extinguished a fire aboard a barge adrift approximately 2 miles west of Cat Island, Miss. U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders received a report at approximately 1:20 p.m. Thursday that a barge being pushed by the tug vessel Kathryn T. Devall caught fire with a reported 2,500 tons of anhydrous ammonia and 800 gallons of diesel fuel. The Gulfport Fire Department has extinguished the fire after the tug crew was unable to put out the blaze and released the barge from the tug.
Oil Prices Dip as OPEC Oil Exports Rise
Oil prices edged lower on Friday and were on track for weekly losses, weighed down by rising OPEC exports and strong output from the United States. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were trading at $51.76 a barrel at 1141 GMT, 25 cents below the last close and heading for a fall of close to 1.5 percent on the week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were 30 cents lower at $48.73 per barrel and were set to drop by around 2 percent for the week.
Hyundai Merchant US Volumes UP
South Korea's leading container carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) will allocate more vessels to meet rising demand on U.S. routes in the coming months, reported Yonhap.
SEA\LNG Calls for Unified Commitment as 2020 Sulfur Cap Looms
SEA\LNG, the multi-sector industry coalition working to facilitate and accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, today…
First of Yamal LNG Tankers Starts Navigation via the NSR
The first Arc7 ice-class LNG tanker “Christophe de Margerie” has entered the Kara Sea and has started its first LNG cargo voyage through the Northern Sea Route (NSR).
Paris Kassidokosta-Latsis Rolls Out Ivy Shipping
Greek shipping heir Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis along with with two leading global investors formed a joint venture vehicle, Ivy Shipping LLC, with the primary purpose…
MOL Group Upgrades its 2017 Target
MOL Group announced a net profit of HUF 183bn (USD 639mn) for the first half of the year, which is the highest in 10 years. All business segments increased their…
GasLog Updates LNG Market Outlook
During the quarter ended June 30, 2017, there was continued momentum in the start-up of new LNG liquefaction capacity with the fourth train at Sabine Pass commencing commercial production.
NAO Says Seven PSVs are Operational
Nordic American Offshore (NAO) has ten high-quality Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) built in Norway in the period 2012-2016. "Seven of our ten vessels are in operation.
India Looks to Boost Domestic Cruise Industry
The government of India announced important steps in view to boost the domestic cruise tourism industry. It is estimated that on an average a cruise tourist spends…
Spencer Sworn in as US Navy Secretary
Richard V. Spencer was officially sworn in as the 76th secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) August 3, at a ceremony conducted in the Pentagon by William O'Donnell, Department of the Navy administrative assistant. Spencer, a Connecticut native, graduated from Rollins College in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Upon Graduation he joined the United States Marine Corps and served as an H-46 pilot until 1981 before departing active duty to enter the private finance sector.
Big Data & a Level Playing Field
“The future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed,” is an observation from William Gibson, the luminary science fiction author, that sums up many of the problems with widespread adoption of technological solutions. This is certainly true of shipping. As we saw at Nor-Shipping this year, it is now expected for most businesses to have a data-driven element, and enthuse about how they…
Improved Safety and Training, Part II
Everyone responsible for safety or training in their organization is very aware that everything is changing in the maritime world. The worker demographic has shifted. Regulatory demand is rising and compliance is more complex. Fortunately, it is also the case that maritime safety and training has entered a renaissance period. New tools are available that improve training outcomes and allow organizations…
TGS Shares Fall after Q2 Sales Disappoint
Shares of the world's leading provider of geoscience data to oil companies TGS fell by more than 6 percent on Thursday, after disappointing sales in the second quarter.
Stena Line, Caterpillar Marine Begin Digital Partnership
Ferry operator Stena Line and Caterpillar Marine, together with Pon Power, have entered into a digital partnership where the Cat Asset Intelligence solution will provide vessel monitoring of multiple Stena new builds with planned delivery during 2019 and 2020. The vessels will be optimized for efficiency and flexibility and will be built by AVIC Shipyard in China. Unlike technologies that only monitor individual equipment performance…
Great Lakes/Seaway Iron Ore Trade Up in June
Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 6.7 million tons in June, an increase of 16 percent compared to a year ago, the Lake Carriers' Association (LCA) reported. Shipments also bettered the month’s five-year average by 8 percent. Shipments from U.S. Great Lakes ports totaled 6 million tons in June, an increase of 15 percent compared to a year ago, LCA said. Loadings at Canadian terminals in the Seaway totaled 698,000 tons, an increase of nearly 25 percent.
Cochin Shipyard's $231 Mln IPO Subscribed Over 76 Times
Cochin Shipyard Ltd's initial public offering, which aims to raise up to 14.68 billion rupees ($231 million), was subscribed more than 76 times on the last day of the sale on Thursday…
DNV GL Performs Offshore Drone Survey
Classification society DNV GL said its surveyors have carried the group’s first offshore drone survey on the semisubmersible vessel Safe Scandinavia in the North Sea. The 25,383 GT tender support vessel (TSV) Safe Scandinavia is owned and operated by Prosafe, supporting Statoil’s drilling operations off the coast of Norway. Using camera-equipped drones, DNV GL’s drone pilots checked the TSV’s fairleads and their connection with the vessel’s two columns as part of the intermediate survey.
All Aboard for $59m Ferries Project
Steel construction company REIDsteel has completed its phase of works on landmark passenger facilities as part of a £45 million ($59 million) ferry terminal revamp in Portsmouth, U.K. The 130-strong firm was contracted for the project at Gunwharf for ferry operator Wightlink through Southampton-based engineering, procurement and construction contractor Trant Engineering. REIDsteel, based in Dorset…
