Ever Given Grounding Causes Vessel Logjam In and Near the Suez Canal
Dozens of ships carrying everything from oil to consumer goods have been delayed by the grounding of a vessel in the Suez Canal, and companies may have to reroute cargoes around Africa if the blockage extends beyond 24 hours, shipping sources said.Efforts were underway on Wednesday to refloat the 400-meter, 224,000-tonne Ever Given, which got stranded on Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm.Shipping sources say the grounding has disrupted regular voyages through the Canal…
Perils of Heavy Ship Containers Debated
Maritime experts are torn on how to curb the menace of overweight shipping containers, which cause severe accidents at sea and on the roads. The difficulties of resolving false declarations of the weight and content of boxes were underlined during a panel discussion at the WISTA-UK Liverpool Forum. WISTA-UK is encouraging debate on the critical question of container weight. The forum audience was informed that insurers estimate that 20% of containers crossing seas and highways are overweight…
Shell Orders Two LNG Tankers
The gas and power division of Royal Dutch/Shell ordered two additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to support its growing global LNG business. Shell International Gas Limited ordered a membrane-type carrier from South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and a moss spherical tank carrier from Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Shell did not disclose the price for the orders, but industry sources said the market level for a typical LNG carrier was around $175 million. The two new vessels have been secured against the background of a growing portfolio of Shell LNG projects around the world which require shipping capacity and will help supply growing demand for LNG.
