Swire Adds Newbuild MV Changsha
As COVID-19 coverage dominates the world’s news cycle, it’s a pleasure to report on a new ship delivery, Swire Shipping’s first 2400TEU newbuild vessel, MV Changsha. The vessel was built at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., in China, and will be deployed on Swire Shipping’s South East Asia to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands service.MV Changsha is part of a wider order book of eight feeder container vessels (four 2…
Cargo Shipping to Keep EU Antitrust Exemption until 2024
Cargo shipping companies will be exempt from antitrust rules against anti-competitive agreements for a further four years until 2024 because this leads to lower prices and better consumer services, EU antitrust regulators said on Tuesday.First adopted in 2009 and extended for five years in 2014, the consortia block exemption regulation will be prolonged for four more years to April 2024, the European…
Diana Shipping CEO Tests Positive for COVID-19
Simeon Palios, chairman and CEO of Greek shipowner Diana Shipping, has tested postitive for COVID-19, and the company's board has appointed his daughter, deputy CEO Semiramis Paliou, as acting CEO on a temporary basis.As of March 24, Diana's fleet consists of 41 dry bulk vessels (four Newcastlemax, 13 Capesize, five Post-Panamax, five Kamsarmax and 14 Panamax), with a combined carrying capacity of 5.1 million dwt with a weighted average age of 9.52 years.
Indian LNG Importers Issue Force Majeure Notices
Indian liquefied natural gas (LNG) importers have started to issue force majeure notices as domestic gas demand slumps and as port operations in the country get hit by a lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, sources told Reuters."Demand has reduced drastically and it is likely to go down further, a company source with Gail (India) said."Only fertilizer, power and refineries are running at parcel loads.
MN100 2020 is Underway
The application period for this year’s MN100 edition is officially open and underway!Each year, the August edition of Marine News magazine profiles the best 100 firms in brown water, workboat space.There will never be a better time for you to tell Marine News just why your firm is one of the best in the business. The selected 100 companies will be featured in the August edition of the largest BPA-audited b-to-b publication in this genre.
Containership Captain Medevaced in the Caribbean
The U.S. Coast Guard medically evacuated the Captain of the 734-foot Singapore-flagged containership M/V Maersk Batam, approximately 100 nautical miles south of Puerto Rico…
Ransomware: The IT Danger on the Horizon
Two decades into the 21st century, we’re seeing a growing and pernicious threat to global information security: ransomware. Even non-technical folk have loosely heard of it, but the broader implications haven’t yet penetrated the public consciousness. In different industries, that general lack of awareness could be a big problem—and the maritime sector is a good example.Ransomware hits at the confluence…
Cargo Vessel Crewman Medevaced off US East Coast
The U.S. Coast Guard said it medevaced a 41-year-old man from the Teal Arrow, a 544-foot cargo vessel, approximately 50 miles southeast of Charleston, S.C., Tuesday.An Air Facility Charleston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew hoisted and transported the man to the Charleston Executive Airport where emergency medical services took him to the Medical University of South Carolina for further medical care.At approximately 4:44 p.m.
Reduced Appetite Expected for DP World’s $9bn Loan
Appetite for UAE global port operator DP World's $9bn loan financing is expected to weaken due to market turmoil caused by the coronavirus, bankers said.The loan was fully underwritten by Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, and went out to a wider group of DP World’s relationship banks in senior syndication, which closed at the end of last week, one of the bankers said.These banks included Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank…
Brazilian Farm Town Bars Shipments, Affecting Global Traders
The key Brazilian farm town of Canara has issued a decree aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus that could disrupt grain export logistics and the operations of global agriculture commodities traders, according to a municipal order.The order dated March 22 bars shipping of grains out of the city in Mato Grosso state and comes as Mayor Fábio de Faria enforces a lockdown of all non-essential services to protect the population against the spread of coronavirus.
E-Navigation is the Future of Shipping
Trading worldwide without electronic tools is no longer an option, young navigators and crew are switched on to digital technology and they want to have this new technology at their fingertips rather than the messy, slow and labour and paper-intensive methods of the past.Tor Svanes, the founder and CEO of NAVTOR, believes that electronic chart and display information systems (ECDIS) is now a must have navigational tool in the modern era.ECDIS has become the modus operandi on all ships…
Baltic Index Down on Dim Vessel Demand
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell on Tuesday, recording its steepest fall in over a month on lower rates across all vessel segments.The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels that ferry dry bulk commodities, dropped 14 points, or 2.3%, to 603, its biggest daily percentage decline since Feb. 7.The panamax index declined by 28 points, or 3.6%, to 746…
Shipping Industry Urges G20 to Keep Freight Flowing
Ships and their crews must be able to trade freely with minimal port restrictions to ensure supply lines don't freeze up while the coronavirus shuts down much of the globe, shipping and port officials said on Tuesday.After draconian steps to stop the spread of the virus, China's economy is slowly coming back online but logistics chains are backing up in other parts of the world.This has been compounded…
Passenger Vessel Operator Fined for Reckless Operation
The company which owned Spirit of 1770, a passenger vessel that caught fire and burnt to the waterline with 42 paying customers and four crew members on board while…
VIKING Offering E-learning Amid Coronavirus
VIKING Safety Academy has addressed a fast-emerging seafarer training issue brought by coronavirus by delivering a unique e-learning tool that can keep seafarers STCW-compliant until restrictions on movement and social interactions come to an end.With many countries in lockdown, face to face seafarer training is also being suspended and some flag administrations have responded by granting automatic three-month extensions to the STCW Certificates seafarers must update every five years.
d’Amico to Trial Remote Ship Inspections
Shipowner d’Amico will trial remote inspection ship technology as the marine industry adjusts to the constraints placed on people’s movements imposed by national governments to limit the spread of COVID-19.Italian classification society RINA said its remote technology has been approved the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR) for the inspections of Liberian flagged vessels, and…
Modern-Day Mayflower Sets Sail Ahead of 400th Anniversary Voyage
Four hundred years after the Mayflower crossed the Atlantic from Britain to the United States, a group of engineers plan to have a crewless-ship also named the Mayflower, navigate itself along the same route.The voyage is due to begin in September and the new Mayflower could become the first full-sized, fully autonomous vessel to cross the Atlantic, organizers IBM and marine research group Promare say.The original Mayflower ship transported 102 British settlers from England to America.
Kuosa Named CEO of NAPA
Maritime software, services and data analysis provider NAPA announced the appointment of Mikko Kuosa as Chief Executive Officer. Kuosa assumes the position from Ilmo Kuutti, who served as CEO of NAPA Group for three years. Kuutti continues as an Advisor and a member of the NAPA Board of Directors.Mikko Kuosa, who joined NAPA in 1999, holds a master’s degree in Naval Architecture from Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.
P&O Maritime Orders Two Chinese Newbuilds
Dubai-based P&O Maritime Logistics (POML) said it recently secured a contract to build two vessels to support Ok Tedi Mining Limited’s (OTML) growing export requirements.The vessels, designed by Wärtsilä Ship Design, will be 5,400 DWT bulk and container carriers built at Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding Limited in China, and once completed, will operate in Papua New Guinea (PNG) principally between Kiunga in the Western Province and Port Moresby.
Two Harvey Gulf Vessels Equipped with BWMS
Two platform supply vessels operated by US-based Harvey Gulf International are due to be equipped with Evac Evolution ballast water management systems (BWMS).The Harvey Spirit and Harvey Supplier (85.4 meters overall) will each be fitted with systems with the capacity to treat ballast water at the rate of 250 cubic meters per hour (m3/hr).“We have seen a steady rise in orders and enquiries since achieving U.S.
