US STEEL

Port of Indiana 40th Shipping Season

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor opens its 40th shipping season on April 9 with the arrival of the first international vessel – the Iryda. For 40 years, this Great Lakes port has provided an international connection for local businesses to reach world markets. The first ship signifies the start of the shipping season, the arrival of vital materials for local business and the start of another work season for longshoremen, crane operators, truckers and businesses that depend on the port. The Iryda was built in 1999 in Chiba, Japan, located on Tokyo Bay. It brings roughly 9,000 tons of steel coils to the port from Ijmuiden, Holland. The ship made a stop in Cleveland on its way to Burns Harbor, will continue on to Milwaukee and will be reloaded in Duluth, Minn., before heading back across the Atlantic Ocean. Flagged for the Republic of Cyprus, the Iryda is manned by a crew from Poland and Capt. Andrzej Kazmierski. The ship visited the port twice during the 2009 season, in April and October. Since 1970, the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor has grown from a single tenant to the 29 companies that call the port home today. The port now handles more ocean-going cargo than any other U.S. Great Lakes port and 15 percent of U.S. steel trade with Europe. “These past 40 years have been a time of dynamic growth for the Ports of Indiana, and as the first of Indiana’s three ports, Burns Harbor is a shining example that our state is not landlocked

Report: Tariff Cost Ports Money, Jobs

According to reports, a 20-month tariff on imported steel resulted in a loss of 9.3m tons of the metal and more than 2,000 jobs at U.S. ports, according to a new report from a maritime economics consulting firm. The study by Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pa., commissioned by the American Institute for Imported Steel and the first to document the economic impact of the tariff, found that the trade restriction kept about 424,000 tons of steel and iron from going through U.S

Incorporation of Charter Party into Bill of Lading

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that when a charter party is clearly identified in a bill of lading, it may be incorporated into the bill of lading. In the instant case, the time charter for the vessel included a clause providing for arbitration of disputes via a specific procedure. The time charterer then entered into a voyage charter for carriage of steel coils from Latvia to New Orleans. Bills of lading were then executed by the charterer and the shipper for

BP Extends Agreement with Aker Kvaerner

BP Limited UK has extended a three year frame agreement with Aker Kvaerner, for the supply of steel tube umbilicals, for an additional two years until 2007. Aker Kvaerner Subsea will continue to provide project management, engineering and manufacturing of steel tube umbilicals. The steel tube umbilicals are manufactured at Aker Kvaerner Subsea's purpose-built facility in Moss, Norway. Under the existing frame agreement Aker Kvaerner has supplied steel tube umbilicals for the Rhum

Steel Prices Stay Firm

With global steel demand running at an unprecedented level, rapidly rising prices have been a constant headache for ship repairers, as well as ship builders, in recent months. And despite sharply higher steel output, there is little sign of any softening as the New Year dawns. According to the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI), crude steel production for the 62 countries reporting their figures was 945m tonnes by the end of November

China Places Duties on Steel

It appears the battle over steel continues. In the wake of the U.S. lifting its own 20-month tarriff on steel imports late last year, China, the world's top steel importer, has reportedly placed a hefty import duties on high-grade metal used by the shipbuilding sectors, according to a Reuters report. The U.S. lifted its tarriff in the face of a potential trade war over the matter. China reportedly implemented the new tariffs after it concluded that there was dumping of cold-rolled steel by

Rautaruukki Steel = Quality and Profit

Rautaruukki Group of Finland is the largest steel company in Scandinavia with 13,000 employees and an approximate annual turnover of $2.7 billion. While this is, essentially, a small company among the consolidated behemoths of the steel industry, Rautaruukki comes up big in the important areas: quality and profit. Shipbuilding, stripped to its bare essence, starts and ends with steel. From the ceremonial “first cut” through its eventual evolution at the hands of breakers to razor blades

NKK Develops High-Performance Steel Pipe

NKK Corp. of Japan has formulated a new type of steel pipe containing one percent chromium, offering exceptional corrosion and wear resistance and weldability for use as cargo oil pipes on oil tankers. According to an NKK spokesman, advantages of the new product called NK-Marine Cop include: easy on-site welding without pre-heat treatment resulting from low carbon base steel, lowered construction and maintenance costs

POSCO to Raise Steel Plate Prices

POSCO Co. Ltd., the world's fourth-largest steel maker, said it would raise the price of its steel plates for shipbuilding by 9.9 per cent, reflecting higher costs and strong demand, a Reuters report indicated. The South Korean steel maker will increase the price to $724.80 per tonne from $660, effective from October 25, the company said in a statement. Global prices of steel products, particularly for shipbuilding

Tonnage Numbers Steady at U.S. Ports

U.S. ports continued to post positive tonnage numbers in October. The Seaway’s year-to-date total cargo shipments from March 22 to October 31 were 29 million metric tons, up 2 percent from the same period last year.   “With just two months left in the 2011 navigation season, the Seaway is on track to meet its projected seven percent improvement over last year’s tonnage performance,” says Rebecca Spruill