US Refiners Grab HSFO on Back of IMO 2020
U.S. refiners are scooping up cheap high-sulfur fuel oil for processing from Russia and the Baltic states as they take advantage of new shipping rules that have cut demand for the dirtier marine fuel, according to oil traders and shipping data.U.S. refiners Valero Corp, Chevron Corp and Phillips 66 have been buying HSFO, traders said, taking advantage of their complex operations to turn HSFO blended with crude oils into products like diesel…
NOC Condemns Calls for Oil Export Terminals to be Shut
Libya's state oil firm NOC on Friday condemned calls to shut oil export terminals in eastern Libya controlled by military commander Khalifa Haftar ahead of a summit in Germany where he will face pressure to halt his campaign to take the capital.Tribal leaders in eastern and southern Libya called on Thursday to shut the terminals in protest at what they called the internationally-recognized government…
MarTID 2020: The Maritime Training Survey is Open
The third annual global Maritime Training Insights Database (MarTID) 2020 survey is officially open.To facilitate a broader response globally, the MarTID steering group again opted to both shorten the survey and to offer three, targeted versions for these three stakeholders:Vessel Operators,Training Institutions, andSeafarers. Take the Survey Vessel Operator survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020MarTIDOperator…
Crowley Awarded $21m Government Deal
Crowley Government Services, Jacksonville, Florida, wasawarded a $20,771,542 firm-fixed-price contract with reimbursable elements extension by invoking Federal Acquisition…
Baltic Index Dips on Subdued Demand
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell on Friday, as a fall in capesize vessel rates on weak demand outweighed gains in the other vessel segments.The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, dropped 14 points, or 1.8%, to 754.The index lost 0.5% this week, the sixth straight weekly loss.The capesize index dropped 72 points…
World Seaborne Coal Trade Rose 0.7% in 2019
Seaborne coal trade around the world grew 0.7% last year, helped by higher output in China and Indonesia and more export activity by Indonesia, Australia, Russia and Canada, Germany's VDKI coal importers lobby said on Friday.Imports and exports, counted together, rose to 1.218 billion tonnes from 1.210 billion tonnes in 2018, VDKI Managing Director Franz-Josef Wodopia said in an speech made available to Reuters, citing VDKI estimates.Within the 2019 total, trade in coking coal used for steelmaki
AEGIR-Marine to Open Middle East Office
AEGIR-Marine has announced a new office in Dubai, UAE. The maritime stern tube seal and propulsion system service provider will now operate out of offices in the Netherlands…
Low-sulphur Fuel Sales Surge
The final quarter of 2019 marked a massive decline of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) sales, as the industry transitioned into compliance of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) 2020 Sulphur Cap (IMO 2020). In Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub, the bunker sale landscape saw significant change as the sale of high-sulphur fuel oil dropped tremendously in a matter of months. In contrast…
Beware of the Nominal Entity
Make sure you know who you are really contracting with.A famous U.S. politician once insisted that “it takes a village to raise a child.” That said, any marine operator will tell you that it takes an even larger village and a ridiculous number of contracts to operate a vessel, and even more to manage a fleet of vessels. To make our marine operations run, we have to agree to contracts that provide for the construction or charter of a vessel…
