Balboa News

U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed a deal led by U.S. firm BlackRock to buy most of the $22.8 billion ports business of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison which includes assets along the Panama Canal.The deal will give the U.S. consortium control of key Panama Canal ports amid White House calls to remove them from what it says is Chinese ownership. The high purchase price sent CK Hutchison's stock up more than 20%."My administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it," Trump told the U.S.

CK Hutchison Holdings sold its controlling interest in two major Panama Canal ports to a U.S. led consortium for $22.8billion. BlackRock Inc. Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited will receive a 90% stake of the Panama Ports Company that operates the Balboa & Cristobal Ports.The sale comes after President Donald Trump expressed concerns about China's influence on key infrastructure in the canal. Trump publicly criticized a Hong Kong based company's control over these ports…

Some U.S. lawmakers and officials are touting a nearly half-century-old treaty between the United States and Panama to justify the Trump administration's threat to reclaim the Panama Canal - provided it can show the strategic waterway's operation is under threat.Others, however, say hurdles would loom for any bid to use the 1977 Panama Canal Neutrality Treaty, which took effect in 1999 and guarantees that the canal would remain neutral and open to all ships from all countries, as a pretext for the U.S. to seize it.The 82-km (51-mile) waterway's construction was completed by the U.S.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday expressed alarm at China's influence on the Panama Canal, which President Donald Trump has vowed the United States would take back."Chinese companies are building a bridge across the canal – at a slow pace so as to take nearly a decade – and control container ports at either end," Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz said at a hearing on the canal's role in U.S. trade and national security."The partially-completed bridge gives China the ability to block the canal without warning…

When a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi Islamists landed near his ship in the Red Sea, Costas Rassias vowed to stop sailing through the perilous waters."I froze," said the Greek 34-year-old second class marine engineer, describing the close call. "I weighed what was more important - my life, or a better income?"As attacks on merchant ships by the Iran-backed Houthis persist, traumatised seafarers are refusing to sail through the Red Sea, according to interviews with more than 15…

Ocean Network Express (ONE) has announced its Transpacific service starting from February 2025 which will deploy 16 core weekly services.“The emphasis will be on quality end-to-end direct services with high schedule reliability.

Panama expects to award an $18-million contract between late 2021 and early 2022 for the upgrade and operation of a large shipyard near the Canal, which has been only partially working since last year, authorities told Reuters.After taking back state-owned Balboa's Shipyard from private operation, the maritime authority in mid-2020 awarded temporary concessions for portions of the facility, including two of its three dry docks, to avoid a long suspension of labor in the shipyard following two years of paralysis.The new operator of the facility…

William A. O’Neil, Secretary-General Emeritus of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), has died in the United Kingdom, aged 93.O’Neil was elected Secretary-General of the IMO for a first term of Office beginning in 1990, a second term beginning in 1994, a third term beginning in 1998 and a further two-year term from 2002 to 31 December 2003. He was the second longest serving Secretary-General of IMO.Current IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim expressed his sincere condolences to the Canadian Government…

Damen Shipyards Group said it has laid the keel for a new crane barge that is going to be delivered in Panama, following award of tender in August last year. The barge is being built at Damen Yichang Shipyard in Hubei Province, China. The shipyard is almost back to full capacity following the recent coronavirus outbreak, with strict safety measures to protect the health and wellbeing of yard workers.The 75- by 32-meter Crane Barge 7532 will succeed, a 77-year old crane still in operation.

The Panama Canal is a strategic crossroads for maritime traffic, and is arguably one of the most important maritime developments in the past century. Here we take a deeper dive into the history behind that famous strip of waterway.The present canal, which saw its first vessel transits in 1914, along with possible alternatives through Nicaragua and Mexico, had actually been on the minds of merchants, explorers and military/political strategists since the Age of Exploration in early 1500’s.

The global container shipping line Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (Zim) announced a further expansion of its strategic cooperation with the members of the 2M Alliance, Maersk & MSC, to the Asia - US Gulf Trade."The new services, catering for both Central and South China and South Korea, offer significant advantages for customers, including direct connections to major ports in Asia and the US Gulf; best-in-market transit time with reliable dedicated service; Two weekly cutoffs in Houston & Mobile to better serve growing US exports requirements," said a press note from the biggest cargo shipping company in Israel.Eli Glickman, ZIM President and CEO said: "This is the third phase of our tightening cooperation with the 2M Alliance, now extending to four major trades.

Algoma Tankers, an operating unit of Algoma Central Corporation,  announced that it has taken delivery of the 16,500 DWT Algoterra, a 2010-built product tanker in Amsterdam, Netherlands and the vessel has begun her delivery voyage to Canada.The provider of marine transportation services said in a press release that the vessel departed Amsterdam on March 30, 2019 and will travel through the English Channel before crossing the Atlantic Ocean destined for Halifax. The Algoterra is expected to begin trading in Canada mid-April.“I am pleased to say that our fleet is fully booked for the season,” said Gregg Ruhl, President and CEO at Algoma. “The Algoterra is the second product tanker acquired by ATL in the last four months after the Algonorth joined the fleet in early December.

Commodity trader Trafigura is shipping this month a second newly built crude tanker with Asian gasoline onboard to South America amid strong demand in the West, four industry sources who closely monitor petrol trade flows said on Thursday.Although it is not uncommon for traders to use a brand new crude tanker of 150,000 deadweight tonnage (dwt) to ship clean fuels such as diesel, it is rare to use them for gasoline because of the sheer size."South America likely needs gasoline more than gasoil now.

Danish bunker group Monjasa has transferred a ship from West Africa to Panama, where it carried out its first fuel supply off the coast of Balboa."As part of a fleet reshuffle, Accra arrived in Panama after forming part of Monjasa’s West Africa bunker operation. The tanker fast received all safety and operational approvals from the Panama Maritime Authorities and completed her first fuel supply at Balboa Anchorage on 18 January," said a statement from the marine fuels supplier.Accra is a 2010-built and 8,800 dwt tanker. Monjasa manages two additional barges in the Panama Canal – one in Balboa and one in Cristóbal – and currently delivers around 40,000 tonnes of bunkers monthly."The total fleet of bunker barges in Panama holds an average age of 31 years and 3,100 dwt.

A 600-foot product tanker rescued four fishermen who had been adrift for more than 20 days approximately 350 miles southeast of Acapulco de Juarez, Mexico on Sunday, June 3, 2018.U.S. Coast Guard officials received a notification from the Amver participating tanker Torm Resilience that the crew located a fishing vessel with four people aboard. The fishermen stated they had been dropped off by a larger vessel more than 20 days ago and had run out of gas, food and water. The Torm Resilience initially passed food and water while deciding what do to with the fishermen.Coast Guard personnel attempted to locate the mother ship but could not find any other fishing vessels or sister ships in the area.

Marvel Falcon, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier owned by NYK, offered humanitarian assistance to four sailors requesting rescue on on May 13, said a press release from the company.   The LNG carrier had been sailing from the port of Balboa, Panama, to the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in the U.S. state of Louisiana when the small boat was spotted.   The rescued sailors had departed from Port Limon, Costa Rica, on May 7 to deliver fuel to another boat, but they experienced engine trouble on May 8 and had drifted at sea for the next few days.    The four sailors were in good health, and on May 18 they disembarked from Marvel Falcon at Sabine Pass to be processed by relevant authorities.

The crew of bulk carrier Navios Sagittarius came to the rescue of three people in the water approximately 33 miles off the coast of Costa Rica on Tuesday, October 17, 2017. According to a rescue report submitted to the AMVER center, the Navios Sagittarius witnessed people in the water and the bridge team activated the man overboard alarm while the master requested the ship slow to maneuvering speed. The crew then lowered a lifeboat and safely rescued the three people from the water. Once the survivors were on board, the ship resumed its voyage to Balboa. The Navios Sagittarius, managed by Navios Shipmanagement of Piraus, Greece, enrolled in AMVER on April 12, 2009. AMVER (Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System), sponsored by the U.S.

APL today announced that its West Coast Service (WCS) will be serving an additional port in Callao, Peru, expanding the service’s port coverage in South America West Coast. “The Port of Callao is the chief seaport of Peru, handling a sizeable volume of its ocean-borne cargo. With the WCS service calling Callao, we are excited about offering shippers access to and from this major gateway for imports and exports,” said Efrain Osorio, APL Regional Director of Latin America & the Caribbean. The first sailing of the enhanced WCS service will commence from Balboa on 5 February 2017, calling the ports of Balboa, Callao, Paita and Guayaquil every week.

A LPG carrier operated by NYK, Linden Pride, rescued a seafarer from a boat in distress 100 nautical miles off the coast of Nicaragua. While Linden Pride was sailing from Balboa, Panama, to Sendai, Japan on December 4, the ship came upon a disabled boat with one survivor requesting assistance, and immediately initiated the rescue. The rescued sailor was in good health and disembarked from Linden Pride off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on December 8 as directed by the U.S. Coast Guard. Ship management: NYK Shipmanagement Pte. Ltd.

Hydrex Underwater Technology has assisted an excavation vessel hemorrhaging oil from a stern tube seal entangled with steel wire to pass safely through the Panama Canal. The 156m long, Dutch-owned vessel was unable to make the canal transit until the propeller shaft seal had been repaired, potentially delaying operations and resulting in financial penalty for the owner. Antwerp-headquartered underwater ship repair specialist Hydrex, however, repaired the leaky seal allowing the vessel to continue without disruption to its schedule.

The members of THE Alliance announced the details of the plan for their product starting from April 2017. THE Alliance plans to deploy a fleet of more than 240 modern ships in the Asia /Europe, North Atlantic and Trans-Pacific trade lanes including the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf/Red Sea. The start of THE Alliance as the most integrated liner shipping consortia is scheduled for April 2017 (subject to completion of all relevant regulatory requirements). “The product of THE Alliance is a milestone which will significantly improve the service offering for all shippers on the East West trade lanes“, said the member carriers Hapag-Lloyd, “K”Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Yang Ming in a statement.

The total volume of the Panama bunker market has increased in recent years as price levels are becoming increasingly competitive to U.S. bunker hubs like Houston, New Orleans and New York. In 2015, reports indicate that approximately 5 percent of the global trade passes through the Panama Canal. And, in the light of this weekend’s historic opening of the new Panama locks, this percentage is expected to grow in the coming years, as an increased number of Post-Panamax containerships…

MSC’s California Express service is now to feature a new port of call – Manzanillo in Mexico. The addition brings a significant customer benefit in transit time and reliability, and provides a direct route to the port as part of the route from Balboa to Long Beach. Previously, the service had offered only a transshipment facility for Manzanillo. The change to the California Express service will come into effect on Saturday 9th July with the vessel MSC ANS MC623A. MSC has also revealed details of its revised Canada Gulf Bridge service. The changes, which come into effect from Sunday 19th June, will now feature a Southbound transit from Houston, to the two Mexico ports of Altamira and Veracruz. The Northbound service will then leave Veracruz, destined for Philadelphia and Montreal.