Bulk Products News

Bahri business unit Bahri Chemicals will charter two newbuild methanol-powered tankers under a five-year agreement with methanol producer Proman. The vessels, which were officially named during a ceremony hosted at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in China in November 2023 where both ships were built, will be deployed to transport various products globally.The vessels are the final two of an initial six-strong methanol-fueled tanker fleet commissioned through the partnership between Proman and Stena Bulk.

A pair of new modern pusher tugs has entered service for Hidrovias do Brasil S.A., pushing barges containing bulk products in the Amazon River system.The newly built shallow-draft vessels, HB MAPARÁ and HB DOURADA, are RApide 4600-Z3 push boats designed by Canada's Robert Allan Ltd. (RAL) and built by Uzmar Shipyard in Izmit, Turkey.According to the designer, both vessels are designed to meet ABS and Brazilian Flag State (NORMAM-02/DPC) requirements and provide the highest standards for crew comfort and safety.

Shipping across the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway system topped 4.2 million tons in October, led by strong gains in grain as well as potash, salt and other dry bulk cargos. Overall grain shipments reached 1.5 million tons, a reflection of the strong late harvest in various regions of the Great Lakes.“It’s great to see these positive numbers for the late harvesting of grain in the U.S. and Canada,” said Bruce Burrows, President & CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce. “The…

Throughput volumes for Europe's largest port of Rotterdam have risen 0.3% to 351 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2022, officials said on Friday, as strong rises in coal and LNG offset the loss of container traffic with Russia.Such traffic, which had made up around 8% of Rotterdam's total in recent years, had "practically stopped", they said, while LNG and coal replaced Russian energy sources such as natural gas that would have come to Europe by pipeline."The total volume makes it seem as if it is business as usual in the port…

Express Marine, Inc., a U.S.-flag marine transportation and logistics services and solutions company on Friday said that the company has been formally acquired by its officers and will continue to operate under the Express Marine name.Ownership of Express Marine has been transferred from former Chief Executive Officer Richard “Dick” Walling to six longstanding company officers who will continue in their respective roles.Majority owners include President and Chief Operating Officer Keith Kirkeide…

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…

The construction of a new inland port at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers took another step forward on Tuesday as the Alexander Cairo Port District completed a project labor agreement (PLA) with the Illinois AFL-CIO. The project labor agreement ensures that more than 500 jobs created by the construction of the Cairo port will be filled by local Illinois union workers.The Alexander-Cairo port represents one of the largest investments in Southern Illinois in decades.

Members of Congress have joined state and local leaders in urging California officials to hasten COVID-19 vaccinations for workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation's two busiest, hit hard by pandemic workforce disruptions and surging imports.As of Wednesday, 27 arriving container ships stood anchored off the twin ports complex waiting for berths to clear at terminals piled high with cargo from previous shipments, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern…

U.S. Great Lakes ports reported mixed results in June with aluminum, road salt and grain shipments holding strong despite the coronavirus pandemic, while shipments of commodities related to steel production and manufacturing have continued to slide.Additionally, the St. Lawrence Seaway reported that from April 1 to June 30, nearly 11.7 million metric tons of cargo was shipped via the bi-national trade corridor. While these volumes were down 8% compared to the same time period in 2019, cargo shipments improved in June narrowing the year-over-year decline.Craig H.

The combination of the coronavirus pandemic and oil price freefall have affected most maritime markets, including inland waterway shipping. Looking at U.S. river transport in particular, the impacts of these two black swan events vary greatly depending on the type of cargo being carried.David Grzebinski, CEO of the America’s largest tank barge operator, Kirby Corp., said in a March conference call that petrochemical customers have driven the market higher as plants and refineries look to shore up their supply chains amid current market upheavals…

South Africa's logistics firm Transnet said it would reduce transport services and non-essential cargo operations during a nationwide lockdown that began at midnight on Thursday to contain the coronavirus.The state-owned company said shipments of metals and minerals would depend on demand and government approval. It was unclear if these exports would be affected.The transport of coal to state-run utility Eskom's power stations would continue, Transnet said.Transnet operates nearly three quarters of the African rail network…

Hidrovias do Brasil S.A. has started operating two new pusher tugs custom-designed by Vancouver, Canada based Robert Allan Ltd, pushing barges containing bulk products along the Amazon River system. This HB PIRARARA shallow-draft pusher tug and sister vessel HB PIRARUCU have a Robert allan RApide 4000-Z3 tug design and were constructed by Estaleiro Rio Maguari in Belem, Brazil.Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were used in the early phases of the design work to optimize the hull shapes and minimize total convoy resistance…

Australia’s new east coast supply chain alternative Port of Newcastle has marked an important milestone in the development of the Newcastle Bulk Terminal.A press release from the company said that the dismantling of the old ship unloaders is now complete, with bulk cargo hoppers now in place to provide continuity of trade while the new ship unloader and conveyor system is constructed.The old ship unloaders at the Kooragang 2 berth have been a feature of the Walsh Point precinct since 1968. The two rail mounted ship unloaders were established at what was then known as 'Rotten Row' to handle dry bulk products including fertiliser, rock phosphatic, ores and meals.

The Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited (G E Shipping) took delivery of secondhand Very Large Gas Carrier "Jag Vasant" of about 83,270 cbm. The company had contracted to buy the vessel in Q2 FY19.The Company's current fleet stands at 49 vessels, comprising 35 tankers (12 crude carriers, 17 product tankers, 6 LPG carrier) and 14 dry bulk carriers (1 Capesize, 8 Kamsarmax, 5 Supramax) with an average age of 10.90 years aggregating 3.98 mn dwt.The Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited is India's largest private sector shipping company which mainly transports liquid, gas and solid bulk products. The company has two main business, shipping and offshore.The shipping business is involved in transportation of crude oil, petroleum products, gas and dry bulk commodities.

Stena Bulk said it has signed a contract with Brazil's state-owned oil company to charter out a pair of MR product tankers for transporting refined products along the Brazilian coast. The two-year deal includes the option to extend the charters for another 11 months.The 47,000 dwt tankers, Stena Conqueror and Stena Conquest, were built in 2003 and 2004 respectively.“We have a long-standing, highly-valued relationship with Petrobras when it comes to both Suezmax and MR tankers and we are committed to continue to provide them with safe and efficient deliveries.

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding has signed an agreement with VanEnkevort Tug & Barge, Inc. to construct a new self-unloading barge for transportation of bulk products throughout the Great Lakes region. Measuring 740 feet in length (78 feet W, 45 feet H, 37,512 DWT), the vessel will be constructed in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. VanEnkevort Tug & Barge, Inc. (VTB) of Escanaba, Michigan is a growing company operating three articulated tug and barges (ATBs) on the Great Lakes. This newest self-unloading barge will be environmentally friendly and delivered with the first Great Lakes ballast water treatment system meeting EPA standards. Scheduled for completion in mid-2020…

Ohio-based shipping firm the Interlake Steamship Company announced it will time charter a 418-foot, 14,400-short-ton capacity dry cargo barge from the U.S. East Coast to operate on the Great Lakes starting this spring.The single-hold covered hopper barge Montville, owned and operated by Connecticut-based towing services provider Moran Towing Corp, will be under charter through 2019 with options to extend.The time charter deal marks a first for Great Lakes carrier Interlake, whose owned fleet includes nine self-unloading vessels ranging in carrying capacity from 24,000 to 68,000 gross tons.

Riverstone Holdings and The Carlyle Group jointly announce that  they intend to sell HES International to a consortium of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) & Goldman Sachs. Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5, which is managed by MIRA, and West Street Infrastructure Partners III (WSIP), which is managed by the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, have reached an agreement in principle with Riverstone Holdings and The Carlyle Group to acquire HES International. Capital for the original investment by Riverstone and Carlyle came from two funds: (i) Riverstone/Carlyle Global Energy & Power Fund IV, L.P. and (ii) Carlyle International Energy Partners, L.P. (CIEP). HES will now initiate consultations where appropriate with the relevant works councils.

India's largest private sector shipping company which mainly transports liquid, gas and solid bulk products Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited (GE Shipping) signed a contract to buy a secondhand Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) of about 81,617 cbm. The 2007 built vessel is expected to join the Company’s fleet in Q1 FY19. This is the second gas carrier in less than a week as GE Shipping looks to tap the rising demand to import liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in India. On March 26, GE Shipping  signed a contract to buy a secondhand Medium Gas Carrier (MGC) of about 36,567 cbm. The 1996 built vessel is expected to join the Company’s fleet in Q1 FY19.

The Ports of Indiana is a statewide port authority, established in 1963, which operates three ports: two on the Ohio River, one on Lake Michigan. Port officials refer to the three as “America’s Premier Inland Port System.” They cite location, location, location, providing access via two critical freight arteries – the Great Lakes and the Inland Waterway System and proximity to the world’s most productive industrial and agricultural regions. The Ports is the only statewide port authority in the Midwest.

Stena Bulk is reorganising its business activities into three business areas: Crude & Fuel, Products & Chemicals and LNG and have appointed two new managing directors. At the same time, its business activities previously conducted under the name of Stena Weco are being coordinated and incorporated into Stena Bulk. Additionally, a new office in Copenhagen will be opened in the next few days. As a result, the company will leave its office in Rungsted, which until now has been used by Stena Weco. “This is a natural transition from the old structure to the new one where we now have total control over our business involving product and chemicals transportation in the MR segment.

Mouvex, part of PSG, a Dover company and manufacturer of positive displacement pumps, is celebrating its 110-year anniversary in 2016. Headquartered in Auxerre, France, Mouvex was founded in 1906 by engineer André Petit when he identified the challenges that gear and lobe pump users were facing in optimizing their process and invented the eccentric disc pump as a result. Since that time, Mouvex has become a worldwide leader in positive displacement pumps and compressors for the transfer of liquids and dry bulk products within the hygienic, chemical, energy, military and transport industries. Mouvex became part of PSG in 2008, and now has operations on five continents with a global network of distributors and original equipment manufacturers.

Massive investments in the port of Antwerp are coming in the next few years. The SEA-Invest group is planning construction of a new tanker terminal in the Delwaide dock representing an investment of 250 million euros. In the same dock the group will also operate an independent container terminal that it has acquired from Independent Maritime Terminal (IMT). This facility is currently located in the Hansa dock but will be moved to the Delwaide dock where there is space for further development with an additional investment of 50 million euros. Other new activities not directly related to the waterfront will help to reutilise the space released in the Delwaide dock. In the meantime a location has been found for the Houston-based international terminal operator Zenith Energy.