Worldwide Shipping News

The Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) has launched a Request for Proposals (RfP) for 600,000 TEUs over a three-year period on ocean vessels powered by zero-emission fuels.This will help its member companies reduce nearly one million metric tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to taking 215,000 cars off the road. The RfP is the first major buyer-led initiative to accelerate the transition to zero-emission maritime fuels. ZEMBA was launched as a nonprofit membership organization in March 2023 by the Aspen Institute…

Energy trader Gunvor Group has bought a minority stake in Artemis Technologies to build high-speed ferries capable of carrying up to 350 passengers with zero emissions, the company said on Thursday.The new vessel, called the Artemis eFoiler, will produce savings of up to 90% on fuel compared with traditional diesel ferries. The British firm received a £33 million grant from the British government earlier this year.The hydrofoils will run on batteries recharged by renewable energy sources.

The global pandemic news has been horrific and certainly an historic moment in domestic and worldwide shipping. For many businesses, the action was simple; hang the “closed” sign, furlough or layoff staff and wait for the approval to re-open. Or not, depending how long the virus will linger and continue to cause hundreds or thousands of deaths and rising numbers of cases. Make no mistake, there will be many businesses associated with our industry that will not return. The damages will be far beyond bars and restaurant businesses.

Cyprus-based Castor Maritime  announced that on July 25, 2019, it has entered into, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, an agreement to purchase Panamax dry bulk carrier from an unaffiliated third party.The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry-bulk vessels, said that the 2001 Korean built vessel was bought for a purchase price of $6.7 million.The acquisition is expected to be consummated late third quarter / early fourth quarter of 2019 and is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions.Petros Panagiotidis, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Castor…

Diana Shipping, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement to sell the 2004-built Panamax bulker m/v Thetis to an undisclosed buyer.The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said that the delivery of Thetis to the buyer is scheduled for latest by July 31, 2019. The sale price is US$6.4 million before commissions.Upon completion of the aforementioned, Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet will consist of 44 dry bulk vessels (4 Newcastlemax, 14 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 5 Kamsarmax and 16 Panamax).As of today, the combined carrying capacity of the Company’s fleet, including the m/v Thetis…

UK Ship Register (UKSR) will now allow owners from a broader group of countries to register their vessels in the UK.UKSR announced that it is set to expand its ownership eligibility, allowing more shipping companies from around the world to flag to the UK.The criteria has been widened beyond the current areas of the UK and Europe to include Commonwealth countries and bring the UK in line with our Red Ensign Group partners.The UK Flag is an International Register (not limited to nationally based companies). Director of the UK Ship Register Richard Parkes said, “This change will now allow the UK flag to attract first class ships and owners who have their company based outside of the UK. They too will be able to benefit from exceptional service and a global reputation”.

The oversupply of tonnage in the shipping industry and unsustainably low freight rates is still a major challenge ten years after the massive downturn of 2008.Simon Bennett, Deputy Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) cautioned that shipping companies needed to show restraint when ordering new ships, to prevent stifling recovery."Yet the dark clouds of protectionism and slowing growth in key economies mean that the avoidance of overordering is now more important than ever,” Bennett said.He acknowledged that individual operators would legitimately make their own individual business decisions regarding new tonnage.“Opinion is still divided on whether the rapid globalisation that has been experienced in the last thirty years may have run its course…

The international shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry-bulk vessels Castor Maritime announced that, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Oldendorff Carriers GMBH & Co KG Luebeck for its Panamax vessel Magic P.The owners of a dry bulk vessels said in a press release that the gross charter rate is US$ 11,250 per day, for a period of a minimum of five months up to a maximum of about eight months (for the first 30 days period the daily gross rate is US$ 9,000). The charter commenced on March 12, 2019.The “Magic P” is a 76,453 dwt Panamax bulk carrier built in 2004 in Japan.All things being equal…

Safe Bulkers has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with an unaffiliated seller to acquire a Japanese-built, dry-bulk, Post-Panamax class, resale, newbuild vessel. The vessel is expected to be delivered within the first half of 2020.The international provider of marine drybulk transportation services said in a press release that it has the option to finance up to 50% of the purchase price of the vessel through the periodic issuance of the Company’s common stock to the seller. Any such common stock issued by the Company will be subject to a restriction on transfer for a period of six months from the date of such issuance. The cash component of the purchase price will be financed with cash on hand.Dr.

Athens-based shipowner Diana Shipping announced the commencement of a tender offer to purchase up to 4,166,666 shares, or about 3.86%, of its outstanding common stock using funds available from cash and cash equivalents at a price of US$3.60 per share.The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels informed in a stock exchange annoucement that the tender offer will expire at the end of the day, 5:00 P.M., Eastern Time, on December 20, 2018, unless extended or withdrawn.The Board of Directors determined that it is in the Company's best interest to repurchase shares at this time given Diana Shipping Inc.'s cash position and stock price.

The US-based fully integrated shipowner-operator engaged in the global transportation of drybulk commodities Eagle Bulk Shipping announced that is has exercised its options to purchase 15 additional exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) which are to be retrofitted on vessels within its fleet. The Marshall Islands corporation said in a press release that this follows the Company’s prior announcement that it had entered into a series of agreements for the purchase of up to 37 scrubbers, comprised of firm orders for 19 scrubbers and up to 18 additional units, at the Company’s option.Eagle Bulk intends to complete the 34 scrubber installations by January 1…

The owner-operator in the Supramax/Ultramax segment Eagle Bulk Shipping announced that it has taken delivery of its newly acquired vessel, the M/V Hamburg Eagle, a 2014-built SDARI-64 Ultramax.The acquisition has been funded by cash on-hand and new debt equating to USD 12.8 million. This new loan represents an upsize to the existing Eagle Bulk Ultraco LLC loan facility which carries an interest rate of LIBOR plus 2.95% and has a maturity of October 31, 2022.With the addition of the M/V Hamburg Eagle, the Company’s fleet is now comprised of 47 vessels, including 13 Ultramaxes acquired over the last 24 months.Eagle Bulk Shipping  is a Marshall Islands corporation headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

Safe Bulkers announced that it has acquired a 181,000 dwt, Japanese, 2009-built, dry-bulk, Capesize class vessel at an attractive price. The acquisition was financed from cash on hand.The international provider of marine dry-bulk transportation services said that following a dry docking the vessel is expected to be employed in the time charter market.As of August 13, 2018, the weighted time charter average of the Baltic Exchange Cape Index (BCI AVG5TC) was $26,059 per day. Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President of the Company commented: “While we remain focused on the optimization of our capital structure by buying back later this month a Kamsarmax class vessel under sale and lease back agreement…

Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, announced that Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) selected AWS as its preferred cloud provider to support its digital transformation.Samsung Heavy Industries is turning to AWS’s expansive infrastructure, unmatched performance, scalability, and industry-leading services to gain competitive advantage in the smart shipping industry.Samsung Heavy Industries leaves the heavy lifting of its infrastructure to AWS, the world’s leading cloud, so that its team can rapidly innovate on its autonomous shipping platform, a system that enables self-piloting of large container ships, LNG carriers, and floating production systems.Samsung Heavy Industries will continue to expand its smart shipping capabilities using the breadth and depth of AWS’s services…

Diana Containerships reported a net loss of $42.3 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to net income of $36.5 million for the same period of 2017. The loss for the second quarter of 2018 includes $15.6 million of impairment charges of one vessel and $19.0 million of aggregate loss on sale of three vessels.Time charter revenues were $6.3 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to $5.5 million for the same period of 2017. This increase was mainly the result of increased time charter rates achieved as a result of improved market conditions, and was partially off-set by the decrease in the average number of the Company’s vessels.Net loss for the six months ended June 30…

Large shipping losses have declined by 38 percent overall in the past decade, according to the Safety & Shipping Review 2018 by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS).Further, the number of total losses declined by 4 percent to 94 last year, the second lowest number in a decade.“Insurance claims have been relatively benign, reflecting improved ship design and the positive effects of risk management policy and safety regulation over time,” says Baptiste Ossena, Global Product Leader Hull & Marine Liabilities, AGCS.Sinking was the most common cause of the loss of a vessel, with 61 foundering events recorded for 2017. Wrecked or stranded vessels were the second major cause…

Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with ST Shipping and Transport, Singapore, for one of its Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Maera. The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said that the gross charter rate is US$11,750 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about seven months to maximum nine  months. The charter commenced on July 4, 2018. The “Maera” is a 75,403 dwt Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2013. This employment is anticipated to generate approximately US$2.29 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charter.

Diana Containerships  announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has agreed to extend the present time charter contract with CMA CGM, Marseille, for one of its Panamax container vessels, the m/v Domingo. The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of containerships said that the gross charter rate is US$12,800 per day, minus a 3.5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum eight months to maximum eleven months. The new charter period will commence on August 3, 2018. The m/v Domingo is currently chartered, as previously announced, at a gross charter rate of US$8,500 per day, minus a 3.5% commission paid to third parties. The “Domingo” is a 3,739 TEU container vessel built in 2001.

Mr. Jacques R. Saade, founding president of the CMA CGM Group, died on June 24, 2018 at the age of 81, according to the company. Jacques R. Saadé dedicated his life to CMA CGM. An extraordinary visionary and entrepreneur, he made the group into a world leader in the maritime transport of containers, developing the company in more than 160 countries, while maintaining the family dimension with its values. After having left Lebanon to protect his family for Civil War, Jacques R Saadé founded the Compagnie Maritime d’Affretement (CMA) 40 years ago…

Diana Containerships has announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party the 2006-built vessel “Puelo”, with delivery to the buyer by latest June 30, 2018, for a sale price of US$20.5 million before commissions. Theglobal shipping company specializing in the ownership of containerships said that it expects to use the whole or part of the net proceeds from the sale of the vessel to prepay existing indebtedness based on the outstanding amount of such indebtedness upon completion of the transaction. Upon completion of the aforementioned sale and the previously announced sale of a Post-Panamax container vessel…

Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Uniper Global Commodities SE, Düsseldorf, for one of its Ice Class Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Atalandi. The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said that the gross charter rate is US$13,500 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum 14 months to maximum 17 months. The charter commenced earlier today. The m/v Atalandi was chartered, as previously announced, to Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam, at a gross charter rate of US$5,300 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties. The “Atalandi” is a 77,529 dwt Ice Class Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2014.

APL, one of the world’s leading ocean carriers,  announced that its China Philippines Express 1 (CP1) service will be making additional calls at the Chinese port of Xiamen and Batangas in the Philippines. This development extends the market coverage of the shortsea service that links South China and the Philippines. Each week, the enhanced CP1 service will directly call the Batangas port, facilitating shipments into and out of the economically-thriving Calabarzon region in the Philippines. Besides expecting an improved connectivity between China and the Philippines, shippers may leverage APL’s extensive service network for farther market connectivity via the relay hubs of Hong Kong and Shekou where the CP1 service also calls.

Diana Containerships announced that it has signed, through two separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, two Memoranda of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party the m/v Sagitta and the m/v Centaurus, each a 2010 built containership for $12.3M each. The Company expects the Vessels to be delivered to the buyer at the latest by April 27, 2018. Upon completion of the aforementioned sale and the previously announced sales of two Post-Panamax container vessels and one Panamax container vessel, Diana Containerships Inc.’s fleet will consist of 6 container vessels (4 Post-Panamax and 2 Panamax). Last month, Diana Containerships sold the 2006-built vessel “New Jersey” for demolition…