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Tuesday, April 23, 2024
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Reuters News

23 Apr 2024

U.S. Installed Offshore Wind Capacity Jumps in First Quarter

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Installed offshore wind capacity in the U.S. grew to 242MW in the first quarter of the year from 42MW in the previous quarter, the Oceantic Network said in its report, showcasing a recovery in a previously volatile industry.The offshore wind industry is expected to play a major role in helping several states and, the Biden administration meet goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.The industry had a tough 2023 after developers wrote off billions of dollars in impairment charges due to high-interest rates…

23 Apr 2024

Suez Canal Rescue Teams Prevent Ship from Sinking

Source: Suez Canal Authority

Suez Canal Authority rescue teams prevented Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship Labatros from sinking before passing through the waterway, the canal's authority said on Tuesday.The ship's 12 crew members were safe and work is currently underway to inspect the technical condition of the ship, the statement added.(Reuters - Reporting by Yousri Mohamed, Writing by Nayera Abdallah, Editing by Louise Heavens)

23 Apr 2024

Trans Mountain Expects First Ship to Load from Expanded Pipeline in May

Source: Trans Mountain

The first tanker carrying crude from the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline is expected to load at the Port of Vancouver in the second half of May, the company building the project said on Tuesday.The expanded pipeline, which will carry an extra 600,000 barrels per day of oil from Alberta to Canada's Pacific coast, will begin transporting crude on May 1 with final line fill completed in early May, Trans Mountain Corp said in an email.(Reuters - Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

23 Apr 2024

At Least Five People Drown Trying to Cross English Channel

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At least five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings.The deaths of one child, a woman and three men occurred on an overcrowded small boat carrying around 110 people attempting to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The French coastguard was still searching for survivors."After becoming initially stranded on the shore, the boat set out to sea again.

22 Apr 2024

As Shale Oil Gains Slow, Deepwater Port Struggles for Customers

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As U.S. shale oil boomed last decade, an oil pipeline company pitched an ambitious multi-billion-dollar export port off the Texas coast to ship domestic crude to buyers in Europe and Asia.In April, Enterprise Products Partners' SPOT became the first project to receive a license from the U.S. maritime regulator for a deepwater port that could load two supertankers, each of which can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil at a time.But multi-year regulatory delays, a loss of commercial backers and slowing U.S.

22 Apr 2024

China's Imports of Russian Oil Near Record High

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Russia remained China's top oil supplier in March, data showed on Saturday, as refiners snapped up stranded Sokol shipments.China's imports from Russia, including supplies via pipelines and sea-borne shipments, jumped 12.5% on the year to 10.81 million metric tons, or 2.55 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.That was quite close to the previous monthly record of 2.56 million bpd in June 2023.Seven Russian tankers under sanctions offloaded Sokol cargoes in Chinese ports in March…

22 Apr 2024

BHP Aims to Receive First Ammonia-fueled Bulk Carrier in 2026

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Australia's BHP Group is planning to receive its first ammonia-fueled bulk carrier in 2026 as part of the company's plans to cut shipping emissions, a senior executive said.The global mining giant has shortlisted eight companies for the building, operation and fuel supply for at least one such vessel, Rashpal Singh Bhatti, vice president of maritime and supply chain excellence at BHP told Reuters late last week.However, it has not yet decided on the total number of vessels that it will order and is also assessing costs…

22 Apr 2024

Wah Kwong Orders More LNG Carriers

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Hong Kong-based shipping company Wah Kwong is finalizing a deal later this month to double the number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers that it has ordered to four, as it eyes growing global trade in the superchilled fuel, its chairman said.The ships would be delivered from 2027 onwards, Wah Kwong's Executive Chairman Hing Chao told Reuters on the sidelines of the Singapore Maritime Week ShipZERO28 event late last week."We have always been very optimistic about the outlook of LNG as a global energy," said Chao, adding that a lot of supply will have to come from the U.S.

21 Apr 2024

Two Japan Navy Helicopters Crash

file photo source: Japan MOD

Two Japanese navy helicopters crashed into the sea during a training exercise, killing at least one of the eight crew members on board, the defence minister said on Sunday.The two SH-60 patrol helicopters were conducting anti-submarine exercises on Saturday night near Torishima in the remote Izu island group, off the southern coast of central Japan.Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told a press conference the cause of the crash is under investigation. The two flight recorders had been discovered in close proximity to each other and the probability was high that the two helicopters had collided…

21 Apr 2024

Ukraine Says it Damaged Russian Rescue Ship in Crimea

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Ukraine's military said on Sunday it had struck and damaged a long-serving Russian rescue vessel in Sevastopol, the headquarters in occupied Crimea of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet.Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the vessel, the Kommuna, had been hit in Sevastopol Bay on Sunday morning and it was "clear that the ship is no longer in a state to carry out assignments."A post on the Ukrainian Armed Forces Telegram channel said the ship was one of the oldest operated by the Russian…

19 Apr 2024

New York Not Moving Forward With Three Offshore Wind Farms

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New York State on Friday stalled three major offshore wind-energy projects after General Electric Vernova GE.N changed the turbine design, which the state said "materially altered" the plans.New York provisionally approved the projects in October 2023. They are Attentive Energy One being developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power and Corio Generation; Community Offshore Wind, which is backed by RWE and National Grid Ventures; and Vineyard Offshore's Excelsior Wind.But since then…

19 Apr 2024

Shiploader Collapses at Brazil's Recife Port

© Luis War / Adobe Stock

An accident with a shiploader at the sugar terminal in the Recife port in Northeastern Brazil suspended loading operations at the site, according to a note from shipping company Williams Brazil late on Thursday.The company said the shiploader collapsed and a part of the machine fell inside the cargo hold of a vessel that was docked at the port to load raw sugar.The press service at the Recife port confirmed the accident, adding that nobody was hurt.The port said experts are evaluating the situation and there is still no time frame for the repair.

19 Apr 2024

Corpus Christi Crude Oil Exports Up 6.9% in Q1

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The port of Corpus Christi, Texas, the top U.S. oil export hub, said it exported 6.40 million barrels per day of crude oil in the first quarter, up 6.9% from the same period a year ago.The U.S. Gulf Coast port handles more than half the nation's oil exports, benefiting from its pipeline ties to South and West Texas shale fields. Its volumes have risen along with shale oil production.Overall, the port has moved nearly 48.9 million metric tons of goods through the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in the first quarter.

19 Apr 2024

Ships Urged to Stay Vigilant in Gulf, Western Indian Ocean

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British security firm Ambrey said on Friday merchant vessels transiting the Gulf and Western Indian Ocean were advised to stay alert in case of increased uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) activity in the region.Ambrey said it had received information that indicated an "Israeli military strike" was conducted on Isfahan, Iran.Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had seen similar reports but that there were no indications commercial maritime vessels…

19 Apr 2024

Detained Ship from Russia Allowed to Leave German Port

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A cargo ship from Russia earlier detained in Germany on suspicion of breaching sanctions is now free to leave the port of Rostock, the Stralsund main customs office confirmed on Friday without providing any further details.The Atlantic Navigator II carried 251 containers of birch wood destined for the United States, which is subject to EU sanctions against Russia, but not to the US ones, prosecutors have said.The vessel, which is managed by Canada-based CISN and sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, also has enriched uranium for some US clients, exempted from both US and EU sanctions, The O

19 Apr 2024

Shipping Industry Urges UN to Protect Vessels After Iran Seizure

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Merchant ships and seafarers are increasingly in peril at sea as attacks escalate in the Middle East and the United Nations must do more to protect supply chains, the industry said in a letter released on Friday.Tensions have soared across the Middle East since the start of Israel's campaign in Gaza in October, with Israel or its ally the United States clashing repeatedly with Iranian-aligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.In a letter sent on Thursday to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres…

18 Apr 2024

Venezuela Oil Sector Hit by Loss of Its Widest US License

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Venezuela's loss of a key U.S. license that allowed it to freely export and increase investment in its oil sector will hit the volume and quality of its crude and fuel sales while prompting a flurry of requests for individual U.S deal authorizations.U.S. officials had warned that absent progress by President Nicolas Maduro on implementing an electoral roadmap agreed last year, the U.S. would not renew license 44, which since October had eased oil sanctions in place for the last five years.On Wednesday…

18 Apr 2024

Houthis Conduct 'Operations' in Indian Ocean, Leader Says

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The leader of Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, who have been attacking shipping in the Red Sea, said on Thursday the group had carried out "operations" in the Indian Ocean and towards southern Israel.Abdul Malik al-Houthi's comments made clear that the Houthis have acted on earlier threats to expand operations to the Indian Ocean region and attacks towards southern Israel.The Houthis have repeatedly launched attacks towards the southern Israeli port of Eilat in what they have described…

18 Apr 2024

Ships Docked as Striking Greek Workers Protest Over Rising Costs

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Thousands of Greek striking workers, students and pensioners marched through central Athens on Wednesday to protest over wages which they are not enough to cope with rising living costs.Ships remained docked at Greek ports and train services were halted as transport workers joined the nationwide strike by private sector union GSEE, Greece's largest.City transport was also disrupted as bus and taxi drivers halted operations for a few hours.Protesters marched to parliament around noon.

17 Apr 2024

US to Reimpose Oil Sanctions on Venezuela

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The Biden administration said it would not renew a license set to expire early on Thursday that had broadly eased Venezuela oil sanctions, moving to reimpose punitive measures in response to President Nicolas Maduro’s failure to meet his election commitments.Just hours before the deadline, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on its website that it had issued a replacement license giving companies 45 days to “wind down” their business and transactions in the OPEC country's oil…

17 Apr 2024

Taiwan Submarine Project Chief Quits, Ministry Says Plans to Proceed

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Taiwan's homegrown submarine programme will remain on track, the defence minister said on Wednesday, after the head of the programme resigned due to what he said were unfair attacks against him and the military.Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has made the submarine programme a key part of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert sovereignty claims Taipei rejects.Taiwan unveiled the first of eight new submarines in late September, though it won't enter service until next year.

17 Apr 2024

Leonardo Close to Selling Submarine Unit WASS to Fincantieri

(File photo: Fincantieri)

Italian defense group Leonardo is close to finalizing a deal to sell its submarine unit Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) to shipbuilder Fincantieri, Leonardo's chief executive said on Monday."We are talking days, not months," Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani told reporters in the port city of Genoa, in remarks confirmed by a spokesperson.The deal, expected to be worth between 200 million and 300 million euros ($213 million-$320 million), would be part of Fincantieri's broader strategy to grow through acquisitions and focus more on the fast-growing defence sector and strengthen its posit

17 Apr 2024

Mounting Tensions Could Spark EU-China Trade War, European Chamber President Warns

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China and Europe face a "slow motion train accident" as a rising tide of protectionism threatens to become a full trade war, the head of a European business lobby group warned on Wednesday, a day after Germany's chancellor conveyed European concerns to Beijing.Jens Eskelund, president of the European Chamber in China, said that while some worries about trade in both countries were legitimate, there was a risk of unproductive decoupling if European and Chinese leaders did not increase…