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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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New Year News

26 Feb 2024

Will 2024 Settle the Turbulence of US Offshore Wind?

(Photo: Avangrid)

There is no denying that 2023 was a challenging year for the U.S. offshore wind market. Citing macroeconomic factors including high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks, Ørsted announced on October 31 that they were ceasing the development of the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects, which were scheduled for construction off the coast of New Jersey. Unfortunately, the troubling news has continued into the new year, with Equinor and BP announcing onā€¦

19 Feb 2024

Five Tips to Keep Workers Safe in 2024

Ā© xy / Adobe Stock

The maritime industry accounts for more than 90% of global trade and employs over 3 million people in the United States, and like other modes of transportation, our industry encounters unique risks. Waterfront workers are exposed to various hazards such as heavy machinery, hazardous substances, extreme weather and long hours. If not properly managed, these hazards can result in serious injuries, illnesses and even fatalities. That is why ensuring the safety of waterfront workers is a top priority for all of us who work in the maritime industry.

18 Feb 2024

GMS: Ship Recycling Market Still Slow

Source: GMS

Despite Chinese new year holidays concluding on Friday, a pervading theme of an unrelenting dearth in the overall availability of tonnage across global ship recycling markets has been enduring for several quarters now, says cash buyer, GMS.This has resulted in another dreary week of market inactivity and silence across all recycling destinations.Charter rates continue to remain artificially elevated (especially) in the dry bulk sector, consequently placing a tighter squeeze on the overall supply of vessels for recycling.

16 Feb 2024

Red Sea: Far East-US Spiraling Ocean Freight Rates Set for Decline

Ā© MAGNIFIER / Adobe Stock

Spiraling ocean freight rates from the Far East to the United States, caused by the Red Sea crisis, may have peaked, with some relief on the horizon emerging for the shippers, according to the latest analysis from Xeneta, and ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform.The latest data released by Xeneta indicates a peak may have been reached after spot rates from the Far East into the US declined slightly since the last round of General Rate Increases (GRIs) were implemented at the start of February.Into the US East Coastā€¦

12 Feb 2024

US Import Volumes Seen Rising Despite Red Sea Disruptions

Ā© Anthony Sanchez / Adobe Stock

Inbound cargo volume at the United Statesā€™ major container ports is expected to see year-over-year increases through the first half of the year despite attacks on ships in the Red Sea, according to the Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.ā€œOnly about 12% of U.S.-bound cargo comes through the Suez Canal but the situation in the Red Sea is bringing volatility and uncertainty that are being felt around the globe,ā€ NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. ā€œU.S.

11 Feb 2024

Subcontinent Ship Recycling Market Remarkably Quiet

Source: GMS

Despite the Pakistani & Bangladeshi markets stabilizing and displaying a far greater aggression at the bidding tables over the last five weeks, it has been a remarkably quieter start to 2024 for ship recycling than many had anticipated, says cash buyer GMS.With Houthi attacks, trading markets have remained unseasonably firmer, thereby delaying the historical ā€˜post-New Year aggressionā€™ from the sub-continent ship recycling markets that the industry has become accustomed to overā€¦

03 Feb 2024

Ship Recycling Market Impacted by Middle East Situation

Source: GMS

Bangladeshi and Pakistani markets have been making noticeable improvements over recent weeks, but there remains an ongoing shortage in the global availability of ā€˜marketā€™ tonnage for ship recycling, reports cash buyer GMS.As evident from the number of arrivals and beachings this week, an increasing number of ship recyclers have clearly managed to and are reportedly still in the process of obtaining further approvals on L/Cs from their respective banks. ā€œAs a result, there is now a noticeable disparity in offers emanating from recyclers from the same sub-continent destinationā€¦

30 Jan 2024

Heavy Fog Suspends Shipping at Chinese Ports

Ā© lexey Lesik / Adobe Stock

Heavy fog has suspended the operation of ships travelling through the Qiongzhou Strait off the coast of China's Guangdong province and several cities, including Shanghai, have issued warning advisories, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.Several ports suspended the flow of traffic starting late Tuesday and the specific time of the resumption of navigation will be determined as sea visibility improves, state broadcaster CCTV news reported.Port cities in the southwestern region of Guangxiā€¦

23 Jan 2024

Successful FAT of WINBS for UK Royal Navy

The new Type 31 Inspiration Class for the UK Royal Navy. Image UK Royal Navy courtesty AnschĆ¼tz

Anschütz completed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) of its Warship Integrated Navigation and Bridge System (WINBS) for the first ship of the new Type 31 Inspiration Class for the UK Royal Navy. Anschütz, as part of the Thales led T31 Missions Systems team, is delivering the first Integrated Bridge and Navigation System for the Babcock Type 31 Arrowhead 140 frigates in the New Year.The FAT was carried out by Anschuetz UK Ltd., who are responsible for the integration, testing and commissioning of the Type 31 WINBS.

22 Jan 2024

Red Sea Shipping Attacks Pressure China's Exporters

Ā© ABCDstock / Adobe Stock

For Chinese businessman Han Changming, disruptions to Red Sea freight are threatening the survival of his trading company in the eastern province of Fujian.Han, who exports Chinese-made cars to Africa and imports off-road vehicles from Europe, told Reuters the cost of shipping a container to Europe had surged to roughly $7,000 from $3,000 in December, when Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement escalated attacks on shipping."The disruptions have wiped out our already thin profitsā€¦

14 Jan 2024

Uncertainty Reins in Ship Recycling Market

Source: GMS

Anxiety and uncertainty reign across the shipowning community at large, especially for those with units trading in, or simply passing through the shipping lanes that are currently besieged by Houthi Rebel attacks in the Red Sea, says cash buyer GMS. This is invariably resulting in many owners avoiding the Suez Canal altogether, electing instead to sail around the Cape and subsequently increase voyage times, costs, and inadvertently assist global inflation.On the ship recycling frontā€¦

14 Jan 2024

2023 a Record Setting Year for Singapore

Source: Government of Singapore

Chee Hong Tat, Singaporeā€™s Acting Minister for Transport, announced a record year in 2023 at a Singapore Maritime Foundation New Year Conversations event.The annual vessel arrival tonnage in the Port of Singapore crossed three billion gross tonnage (GT) for the first time, increasing by 9.4% over 2022 and setting a high of 3.09 billion GT in 2023. This reflects growth in all segments, including container ships, dry bulk carriers, liquid bulk and chemical tankers, ferries and specialised vesselsā€¦

14 Jan 2024

Tesla, Volvo Car Pause Output as Red Sea Shipping Crisis Deepens

Ā© Bjƶrn Wylezich / Adobe Stock

Automakers Tesla and Geely-owned Volvo Car said they were suspending some production in Europe due to a shortage of components, the first clear sign that attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are hitting manufacturers in the region.The United States and Britain launched a series of strikes on Yemen on Thursday, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia whose attacks on international shipping have disrupted one of the world's most important shipping routes.Container shipping rates jumpedā€¦

14 Jan 2024

Germany to Take Part in EU Red Sea Naval Mission

Source: NATO

Germany is expected to participate in a European Union naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea that EU foreign ministers will approve this month, the head of the German parliamentary defence committee said.Speaking at her party's reception for the new year on Sunday, Maria-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said the aim of the mission would be for EU frigates to protect commercial vessels passing through the strait.The approaches to the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping lanesā€¦

11 Jan 2024

Rebuilding the Foundations of US Offshore Wind

Ā© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

As we enter a New Year, the memories of the shocks to the foundations to the U.S. offshore wind segment remain fresh. In short, supply chain inflation and capacity/availability, interest rate increases, and tax credit monetization have been the key themes highlighted by developers to explain why many projects became commercially unviable.Several Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have reacted rapidly, accepting the termination of power sales & purchase agreements and allowing the canceled projects to be rebid into new solicitations.

05 Jan 2024

24,188 TEU 'Mega Vessel' Delivered to OOCL

OOCL Valencia (Photo: OOCL)

Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd. (OOCL) announced it has taken delivery of another new 24,000 TEU mega vessel.Named OOCL Valencia during a ceremony at China's Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd., the newbuild is the seventh eco-friendly 24,188 TEU vessel in a series of 12 ordered by OOCL. It will serve OOCLā€™s Asia-Europe LL1 service.YU Tao, Director and Member of Executive Committee of OOCL, said at the ceremony: ā€œLast year, OOCL received a total of six new container vessels and thus rapidly optimized the fleet structure of both OOCL and the group.

03 Jan 2024

China Unveils New Images of its Aircraft Carrier Newbuilding

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a New Year message via China Media Group and the Internet in Beijing. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) (Source: China Military)

Chinese state media unveiled new images of China's most advanced aircraft carrier yet, including next generation launch tracks that can catapult a wider range of aircraft from its deck.First shown to the public in June 2022, the Fujian was entirely designed and built domestically.Yet to conduct its first sea trials, the aircraft carrier is larger and technologically more advanced than the Shandong, commissioned in 2019, and the Liaoning, which China bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998 and refitted domestically.On state television late on Tuesdayā€¦

30 Dec 2023

Mixed Feelings in Ship Recycling Market

Source: GMS

Cash buyer GMS reports that the international ship recycling community is finishing the year with mixed feelings.ā€œOn the one hand, we have seen comparatively more deals concluded in 2023 than we did in 2022, with 2022 being the weakest of years over the last decade (in terms of the volume of vessels recycled in a single year).

28 Dec 2023

Red Sea Shipping Workarounds Add Costs, Delays for Suppliers

Ā© EvrenKalinbacak / Adobe Stock

Toymaker Basic Fun's team that oversees ocean shipments of Tonka trucks and Care Bears for Walmart and other retailers is racing to reroute cargo away from the Suez Canal following militant attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.Suppliers for the likes of IKEA, Home Depot, Amazon and retailers around the world are doing the same as businesses grapple with the biggest shipping upheaval since the COVID-19 pandemic threw global supply chains into disarray, sources in the logistics industry said.Florida-based Basic Fun usually ships all Europe-bound toys from its China factories via the Suez Canalā€¦

22 Dec 2023

Sub-Continent Recyclers Hope for Better 2024

Source: GMS

As we enter the last week of 2023, sub-continent markets struggle on, says cash buyer GMS, going the final furlong to round out what has been an overall disappointing year for pricing and volumes.Prices have collapsed from over $600/LDT to below $500/LDT over certain stages this year, seeing around $150/LDT wiped from residual values in a shock for owners and cash buyers alike.ā€œNow that currencies and steel prices seem to have stabilized across the board for the time being, many will be hoping for a more bullish 2024, particularly as the supply of tonnage is set to increase ā€“ from both the dry

20 Dec 2023

Top 10 Things to Watch in Offshore Wind in '24

Copyright Infi Studio/AdobeStock

Despite short-term obstacles driven by high inflation and interest rates coupled with supply chain issues, we maintain that the foundations supporting long-term offshore wind activity remain solid. As we prepare for the new year, let us look at 10 factors that will shape the offshore wind sector in 2024.1. A Continuously Dynamic Energy TrilemmaThe dynamic relationship of the three key drivers of affordable energy, energy security and energy transition was clearly evident in 2023 as energy affordability and security were generally more prominent themes than the transition.

17 Dec 2023

Esgian: Rigs on the Move in Asia and Europe

Source: OMV

This week Esgianā€™s Week 50 Rig Analytics Market Roundup notes developments in the semisub sector including that Shell has decided to exercise its option on Stena Don in the North Sea but not on Deepsea Bollsta in Namibia. Meanwhile, a new contract for the Transocean Barents will see it operate in the Black Sea, and jackup Shelf Drilling Perseverance will move to Vietnam.ContractsShelf Drilling has secured a contract award for the 400ft Shelf Drilling Perseverance jackup rig with PetroVietnam Domestic Exploration Production Operating Company Limited (PVEP POC).

12 Dec 2023

US Import Cargo Peak Came Later Than Expected -Report

Ā© sheilaf2002 / Adobe Stock

Inbound cargo volume at the United Statesā€™ major container ports should continue to slow in the final weeks of 2023 after reaching its peak later than expected this fall, according to the Global Port Tracker report recently released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.ā€œWe originally thought peak season would come in August but imports kept growing in September and again in October,ā€ NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.

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