Asphalt News

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge Clean Canaveral completed its first barge-to-ship bunkering of a cargo vessel at Port Canaveral’s South Cargo Berth 4. JAX LNG, along with Polaris New Energy, handled the LNG refueling of the Damia Desgagnés on the ship’s inaugural call to Port Canaveral. The asphalt/bitumen tanker Damia Desgagnés completed her discharge of cargo and then JAX LNG proceeded with Desgagnés’s first barge-to-ship bunkering of LNG. The seafarers safely transferred approximately 400 cubic meters of LNG from North America’s largest LNG bunker barge…

U.S. construction materials firm Vulcan Materials Co said on Monday that Mexican security forces illegally took possession last week of its port terminal in southern Mexico, as an extended legal battle over its nearby limestone mining activities plays out.The incident took place last Tuesday night at the terminal in the popular tourist hub of Playa del Carmen, and follows a five-year fight with the government over Vulcan's concessions punctuated by sharp criticism from the country's president last year.Vulcan…

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced more than $703 million to fund 41 projects in 22 states and one territory that designed to help improve port facilities through the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. Following is the full list of FY 2022 Port Infrastructure Development Grant Awards:ALASKANorth Extension Stabilization Step 1 Project ($68,700,000), Anchorage, AlaskaThe Project will reconfigure and realign the shoreline within the “North Extension” (the area north of the existing general cargo terminals) at the Port of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska.

U.S.-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company (GLDD) has ordered rock installation equipment from the Dutch company Huisman.The equipment will be installed on the GLDD's newbuild rock installation vessel, which will support the development of offshore wind in the U.S.Huisman said it has optimized the equipment for installing scour protection necessary for offshore wind applications. This includes, for example, filter and armor layers for foundations, which it can install pre- or post foundation installation. It can also install cable protection for both inter-array and export cables.

U.S. Great Lakes ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway are reporting a rush of activity as manufacturers stockpile raw materials and businesses take advantage of the congestion-free waterway to export overseas with just two weeks left of the season, the Chamber of Marine Commerce reports.“U.S. Great Lakes ports have roared back this year – recovering from major 2020 declines in traditional cargoes like iron ore and steel but also developing new business and seizing on opportunities for infrastructure investment. This story of recovery and renewal is mirrored in the latest St.

Integrated automation and energy specialist Høglund announced it has been commissioned to supply advanced, fully integrated hybrid, automation, and digital solutions to two asphalt carriers to be built in Wuhu shipyard, China. The owner, Continental Bitumen, is an integrated procurement, logistics and distribution company supplying bitumen in Europe, Africa and Middle East. The technical manager and operator of the vessels is Tipco Asphalt.The central part of this delivery is the hybrid electric system…

Clearlake Shipping, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gunvor Group, has fixed a new building 37,000 deadweight ton (dwt) asphalt carrier, the White Pearl, to be delivered before year end.White Pearl will complement Gunvor’s growing asphalt trading business, which has been active since 2016, adding to the company’s position in the trade, storage, and transportation of asphalt products. Gunvor’s trading desk operates worldwide, moving approximately 1 million MT of bitumen annually, and has a dedicated fleet of four existing fixed vessels and multiple spot charters.

Oman provided first official confirmation on Wednesday that the Asphalt Princess tanker was involved in a hijacking in the Arabian Sea after Britain's maritime trade agency earlier reported the incident was over.Three maritime security forces had told Reuters on Tuesday that the Asphalt Princess tanker had been seized by suspected Iranian-backed forces, which Iran denied.Oman's Maritime Security Centre said on Twitter that it had received information about the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess being subjected "to a hijacking incident in international waters in the Gulf of Oman" and that the sultanate's navy had deployed several ships to help secure international waters. (Reuters reporting by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Alison Williams)

Boarders have left a tanker that maritime sources had said was seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and the vessel is safe, Britain's maritime trade agency reported on Wednesday.Three maritime security forces had told Reuters on Tuesday that the asphalt/bitumen tanker Asphalt Princess had been seized by suspected Iranian-backed forces, which Iran denied.The AIS tracking status of the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess was "Underway Using Engine" early on Wednesday, according…

U.S. Great Lakes ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway have experienced a rise in cargo shipments to feed domestic construction and manufacturing activity and global export demand, according to the latest June figures.The Great Lakes-Seaway System serves a region that includes eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, and is seen as a marine highway that extends 2,300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, supporting more than 237,868 jobs and $35 billion in economic activity.If the region were a country…

A new bitumen tanker for Rubis Group of France is currently under construction at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard. The 15,000-dwt ship will be driven by twoSchottel EcoPellers and one TransverseThruster. Designed by Swedish FKAB Marine, the vessel will be deployed in West Africa for asphalt transportation services.The main propulsion of the carrier will include two electrically driven Schottel EcoPellers type SRE 560 (2,050 kW each), featuring fixed pitch 3.1m-diameter propellers. With this configuration, the 145.8 x 26.2-m ship will achieve a maximum speed of 13.55 knots at design draft.

The U.S. Justice Department declined to investigate or prosecute then-Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao after the inspector general’s office referred allegations of potential misuse of office for review, a report made public on Wednesday said.The report included allegations that Chao directed staff to research or purchase personal items for her online using her personal credit card or performed other personal errands for her or her father.The report focused largely on Chao’s actions related to her family’s shipping business…

Conrad Shipyard announced Thursday that it has delivered two 30,000 BBL asphalt barges to Parker Towing of Tuscaloosa, Ala.The PTC 2001 and PTC 2002 are each double skin 30,000 BBL capacity asphalt barges, measuring 297’-6” x 54’ x 12’. Each is outfitted with one (1) Volcanic thermal fluid heater unit rated for 8 million BTU; one 99kw John Deere generator; three Nabrico deck cranes; four Patterson 40-ton winches and a Bergan alarm system.The barges are designed to meet the requirements of a Type ll and lll hull design…

The inland waterway system, flowing through the United States heartland, is a microcosm of all that has been happening in 2020: trade tensions, infrastructure issues, shifting trends in fuel consumption and the pandemic that has gripped us since the winter months. Shortly after the initial coronavirus outbreak here in the U.S., maritime workers were deemed to be “essential”, paving the way for cargo flows to recover from their springtime nadir. As COVID-19 infections turned up on U.S. shores, the boats continued plying the waterways, albeit with reduced volumes in some cases.

At least 18 oil tankers are expected to load oil for export from Venezuela in the coming weeks, according to tracking data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA, in a sign the sanctioned OPEC nation's crude exports may rebound this month.Venezuela's oil exports fell to their lowest levels since the 1940s in October, as some of Petroleos de Venezuela's last remaining clients halted trade with the company ahead of a deadline imposed by the United States.Washington sanctioned PDVSA and its partners last year to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down.But Maduro remains in power, and the potential rebound in oil shipments comes as PDVSA is adapting to a tightening of U.S.

Venezuela's oil exports fell to a historic low of 359,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October as most of state-run PDVSA's long-term clients paused trade to meet a U.S. deadline to halt business with the firm, according to data seen by Reuters on Monday.The United States set an October-November deadline for PDVSA's long-term customers - including Italy Eni, Spain's Repsol and India's Reliance Industries - to stop oil swaps it had authorized this year as exceptions to sanctions on Venezuela.None of those companies loaded cargoes of Venezuelan crude in October…

An Indian court has ordered the seizure of a tanker belonging to Dubai-based oil trading firm GP Global after a petition from UAE lender National Bank of Fujairah over a loan default, a court document showed.The Gujarat High Court directed the authorities of Pipavav Port on Sept. 9 to seize the company's bunkering tanker, GP B3, and detain it until a further court order or until the outstanding loan amount of just over $2 million is paid, a court document seen by Reuters shows. The next hearing is on Sept. 17.GP Global said last month it had appointed restructuring experts after failing to reach a deal with its lenders over debt restructuring.

The Trump administration is looking to tighten oil sanctions on Venezuela in the near future, top U.S. envoy for the country told Reuters on Monday, by potentially removing exemptions that allow some oil companies to exchange Venezuelan crude for fuel from the OPEC member.U.S. President Donald Trump has ramped up sanctions on Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, its key foreign partners and customers since it first imposed measures against the company in early 2019, seeking to oust the…

The United States is considering an October deadline for ending exemptions to Venezuelan sanctions that allow some companies and refiners to still receive the South American producer's oil, two sources said, as Washington seeks to raise the heat on President Nicolas Maduro.U.S. President Donald Trump has ramped up sanctions on Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, its key foreign partners and customers since it first imposed measures against the company in early 2019, seeking to oust the…

Some corals have lived for centuries at the fringes of Mauritius. Now smothered for days in heavy fuel oil spilled from a wrecked Japanese ship nearby, parts of those reefs may be in trouble.The full impact of the toxic spill is still unfolding, scientists say. As the Indian Ocean island's residents scramble to mop up the oil slicks and clumps, they are seeing dead eels and fish floating in the water, as fuel-soaked seabirds limp onto shore.Satellite images also show the 1,000…

Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA has begun offering to ship its own oil, figuring in the costs in crude supply deals to help customers who have struggled to hire vessels to carry the country’s oil due to U.S. sanctions, according to company documents seen by Reuters.The United States has blacklisted vessel owners, shipping operators and threatened to sanction any tanker facilitating the country’s oil exports as it tightens restrictions on trade with the South American country.Washington has been trying to weaken socialist President Nicolas Maduro by choking the OPEC member’s oil exports, depriving the government of petrodollars — its main source of revenue.Most shipping firms are avoiding Venezuela because of the sanctions…

Last year, China replaced the United States as the No. 1 importer of oil from Venezuela, yet another front in the heated rivalry between Washington and Beijing.The United States had imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company as part of a bid to topple that country’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro. U.S. refineries stopped buying Venezuelan crude. Caracas’ ally China, long a major customer, suddenly found itself the top purchaser. Through the first six months of 2019, it imported an average of 350,000 barrels per day of crude from Venezuela.But in August, Washington tightened its sanctions on Venezuela, warning that any foreign entity that continued to do business with the South American country’s government could find itself subject to sanctions.

Oil tankers that were sailing toward Venezuela have turned around and others have left the country’s waters as the United States considers blacklisting dozens of ships for transporting Venezuelan oil, according to shipping data and industry sources.The threat of tighter sanctions is already disrupting the global shipping market. Chinese oil firms are considering whether to decline to charter any tanker that has visited Venezuela in the past year, no matter where the ship is now or for what voyage, four shipping sources told Reuters on Tuesday.Washington is seeking to oust the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro by choking the oil exports that provide its main source of income.