Australian Port News

Thousands of sheep and cattle stuck on a ship that was forced to abandon a passage through the Red Sea last month have begun disembarking at the same Australian port they left nearly six weeks ago, Australia's agriculture ministry said late on Monday.The MV Bahijah sailed from Fremantle, Western Australia on Jan. 5 for Israel with about 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle on board, but diverted from its route due to the threat of attack by Yemen's Houthi militia before being ordered…

A ship carrying 16,000 sheep and cows that turned back from the Red Sea due to the risk of attack off Yemen was stranded at an Australian port in a heatwave on Friday as the exporter sought to offload at least some of the animals into quarantine.Meanwhile, another vessel carrying an even larger cargo - tens of thousands of animals - from Australia sailed for a Red Sea port in Jordan, with a contingency plan to unload them in the Gulf if it fails to obtain permission to enter the…

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has issued as Pilot Advisory Note advising coastal pilots and pilotage providers about the existence of counterfeit pilot ladders and associated certification.In March 2019, one of AMSA’s Port Marine Surveyors identified a pilot ladder onboard a vessel which appeared to be non-compliant with the pilot transfer requirements. The associated inspection certificate presented at the time of the AMSA inspection, suggested that the ladder…

China is set to receive at least two cargoes of Australian coal in early February, according to traders and shiptracking data, the first since an unofficial ban on imports in place since 2020 was lifted earlier this month.Coal traders will be paying attention to how easily the shipments pass customs for signs that the informal ban is truly over and in the hopes of sending more Australian coal to China.Australian thermal coal for power generation and metallurgical coal for steelmaking are favoured by Chinese consumers for their high-quality. China's coal demand is forecast to rise in the upcoming months amid an expected economic rebound after Beijing rolled back its draconian zero-COVID strategy.

Viking Cruises will compensate hundreds of passengers on its Orion cruise ship after cruisers were forced to stay on board and miss multiple stops because officials blocked port access due to marine growth on the ship's hull.The 930-guest capacity Viking Orion docked in Sydney on Wednesday, the final stop on what is normally a 15-day, 9-stop cruise of New Zealand and Australia.But plans went awry, local media reported, after New Zealand officials asked the ship to leave the country's waters part way through its cruise after finding small amounts of biofoul - plants, algae and small animals - that grow on ship hulls.Steaming directly to the southern Australian port of Adelaide and bypassing planned stops in Tasmania and New Zealand's south island…

A Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier has been detained and is temporarily prohibited from entering Australian ports after it was discovered the crew onboard was being underpaid.The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it banned the Costanza for three months after it found evidence that crew were owed about AUD$108,000 in wages, and that the majority of the crew seafarer employment agreements had a salary amount less than the collective agreement for the vessel.AMSA made the discoveries during a routine port state control (PSC) inspection November 9, during which it investigated a complaint from the International Transport Federation…

A Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier has been banned from Australian ports over "appalling" working and living conditions on board, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.The 235-meter Movers 3, operated by Qatari-based Aswan Shipping, was detained at anchor off Weipa in far north Queensland on March 4, 2021 due to several mechanical and survey issues, and for the poor conditions on board. Outstanding issues, namely the replacement of poorly maintained ballast tank head vents and the updated ship surveys…

A Liberian-flagged bulk carrier has been banned from Australian ports for 12 months after authorities discovered that seafarers onboard were underpaid, had expired employment agreements and were requesting repatriation. The 93,229 dwt TW Hamburg is the second bulker to recently be banned from Australia for crew underpayment, following the Liberian-flagged Agia Sofia earlier this week.Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said its inspectors boarded the 229-meter TW Hamburg in Gladstone on Friday…

Australia is pushing foreign-flagged cruise ships to leave its territorial waters amid the coronavirus pandemic, walking a diplomatic tightrope as it also tries to bring home citizens trapped on ships abroad.Western Australia state Premier Mark McGowan on Wednesday called on the federal government to kick out the German-owned MV Artania after the crew was reported to have asked the Australian Border Force (ABF) for permission to stay until April 14.“If what’s required is to clean the ship as a condition of getting it underway, well then do that ...

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has banned two foreign-flagged bulk carriers from Australian ports after their crews reported being underpaid.The Chinese-owned bulk carrier MV Xing Jing Hai and the Panama-flagged MV Fortune Genius were banned for 18 months and 12 months respectively.AMSA surveyors boarded the Fortune Genius in Gladstone after receiving a complaint via the International Transport Workers’ Federation.AMSA’s investigation revealed the crew of the Fortune Genius had been deliberately under paid by the operator, New Fortune Genius Management, by about AUD $100,000 for the months of April to August.The ship had been operating with two sets of wage accounts…

Dubai-based port operator DP World says it has acquired additional assets in DP World Australia (DPWA), giving the firm a majority stake in its Australian terminals.The percentage of what has been acquired from Gateway Infrastructure Investments and other financial investors is still being finalized and subject to regulatory approval. However, it valued DPWA at an enterprise value of approximately AU$1.4 billion (US$ 997 million).Following the closure of the transaction, DP World Australia will become a consolidated entity within the DP World Group and is expected to be earnings neutral in the first full year of ownership. The acquisition is expected to close in Q1 2019.Corsair Infrastructure Partners (CIP)…

The Cemtex Pioneer, a vessel carrying U.S. soybeans that was caught up in the China-U.S. trade row, has left east China's port of Nantong near Shanghai, according to shipping data on Thomson Reuters Eikon on Sunday.The vessel's draft is now at 58 percent of its maximum, indicating that it has unloaded its cargo, according to the Eikon data, which showed the ship now headed for the Australian port of Abbot Point.Cemtex Pioneer, which was previously fully laden in port, is the third vessel to unload a U.S. soybean cargo in China over the past week after sitting at anchor off the coast since July.The vessels Peak Pegasus and Star Jennifer earlier unloaded their cargoes at the northeastern port of Dalian.All three cargoes incur a 25 percent import tariff on U.S.

Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI)  has announced a 6% decrease in income in its consolidated financial results for the first half of 2018.However, the port operator saw overall throughput rise 4% to 4.7m teu in the first half compared to 4.5m teu handled in the previous corresponding period in 2017, mainly on robust trade in the emerging markets and contributions from new terminals in Lae and Motukea in Papua New Guinea and the Australian port of Melbourne.The decrease in net income was due primarily to the start-up costs of the new terminals in Papua New Guinea and Australia; and the US$7.5 Million non-recurring gain on the termination of the sub-concession agreement in Nigeria in the second quarter of 2017…

The new CEO of the Port of Newcastle, Craig Carmody, committed the Port of Newcastle to developing a world-class container terminal to boost jobs and business opportunities in the Hunter region and dramatically reduce the number of trucks on Sydney's roads through expanded use of Newcastle's rail connectivity."The potential for a container terminal in Newcastle to diversify and grow the NSW economy is far bigger than the NSW government seems to realise. We are already exploring a range of options based on global best practice and I am looking forward to discussing our plans with the State government and port developers who have expressed an interest in this exciting project…

DP World Australia announced the signing of a long-term partnership extension regarding service of CMA CGM Group vessels by DP World Australia at its terminals in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle. This partnership extension brings two market leaders of the Australian port logistics sector closer together. CMA CGM Group’s high-quality shipping services, which include ANL and APL, will leverage DP World Australia’s container terminal and intermodal footprint. DP World Australia’s CEO and Managing Director, Paul Scurrah, said the partnership extension provides both organisations with a strong platform for future growth in the Australian market. “We are delighted to be selected by the CMA CGM Group as its major stevedoring provider in Australia.

KOTUG Australia and Teekay Shipping Australia Pty Ltd. have reached a deal to reshape KT Maritime Services Australia Pty Ltd. (KTM) from a 50/50 joint venture to a full subsidiary of the KOTUG group. KTM was incorporated in 2012 to serve the Australian towage market. Now, after several years of working with KOTUG to establish this business, Teekay will exit KTM to focus on its Australian ship management, crewing and consultancy businesses. The deal received unanimous approval from the boards of both parent companies and was executed in the first week of April 2018.

A Panama flagged bulk carrier, DL Carnation, has been banned from entering Australian ports for a period of 12 months after authorities uncovered a scheme which saw the vessel’s crew being intentionally underpaid. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it received a complaint on Friday, September 8 via the International Transport Workers’ Federation alleging discrepancies in the payment of wages for the crew of the DL Carnation. An AMSA surveyor attended the vessel in Gladstone and found that the ship was operating with two sets of wage accounts on board: one showing the amount of pay the crew should have been receiving in line with their Seafarer Employment Agreements, and the other showing what the crew was actually receiving.

Almost three-quarters of cargo ships over 20,000 gross tonnage (GT) are already compliant with the SOLAS-mandated Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) deadline of July 1, 2017, according to the latest figures published by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO). The UKHO estimates that a further 3,828 cargo ships over 20,000 GT are yet to make the transition to using an ENC (Electronic Navigational Chart) service and therefore do not yet meet SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) regulations on ECDIS carriage.

Under an agreement with Woodside, EVOL LNG refueled the platform supply vessel, Siem Thiima, on January 23 at King Bay Supply Base near Dampier. Business Manager, Nick Rea sees it as just the beginning. “Our decision to enter the LNG bunkering market is part of a long-term strategy that recognizes environmental and economic sustainability of LNG as a transport fuel,” said Rea. “It also recognizes that the LNG marine fuel market is still in development so the fact EVOL has over…

One of Australia’s most important economic gateways will soon house a state-of-the-art shipping management control system to be installed at Port Hedland, the world’s largest bulk export port. The system includes a command and control system integrated with advanced radar, long-range closed circuit TV and voice radio technology to safely manage and guide thousands of ship movements in and out of the tidally constrained port with pinpoint precision. The Vessel Traffic Service (VTS)…

A consortium of global and domestic funds, backed by investors including China Investment Corp, agreed to buy Australia's busiest port for a higher-than-expected A$9.7 billion ($7.3 billion), a sign that tough equity markets are helping fuel appetite for infrastructure. Australian leaders will also hope the deal shows they still welcome Chinese investment in infrastructure. The federal government last month blocked the sale of the country's biggest power network, Ausgrid, to state-owned State Grid Corp of China and Hong Kong-listed Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings on security concerns.

A unit of India's Adani Enterprises Ltd will buy the company that operates Australia's Abbot Point Coal Terminal from Glencore Plc for A$19.25 million dollars ($14.52 million), ending a legal wrangle over control of the port. The statement from Adani and Glencore said Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone would purchase the port operator, Abbot Point BulkCoal Pty Ltd, pending regulatory approvals. Adani Enterprises, India's biggest private sector coal trader, acquired the Abbot Point Coal Terminal port from the Queensland government in 2011, considering it a key part of its plan to ship coal from Australia to India and for other exports.

An Australian port and a stake in the Empire State Building's operator were among assets acquired by sovereign investors such as wealth funds and state pension funds in the third quarter of 2016, with deals totalling $21.2 billion. The combined value of deals was up 38 percent from the previous quarter, helped by a handful of jumbo-sized transactions in the infrastructure, energy and real estate segments, although the number of direct investments fell to 35 from 43 in the second quarter, according to data from Thomson Reuters.