Chu News

Cereal and oilseed imports to China, the world's biggest buyer of farm goods, will remain near record highs this year despite a recent spate of cancellations as lower global prices and a domestic output shortfall prompt purchases.China's wheat imports from Australia in January and February this year have nearly quadrupled from the same time last year, the latest customs data show. That trend should continue even after Beijing cancelled or postponed 1 million metric tons of Australian wheat last week.The cancellations, along with those for about 500,000 tons of U.S.

Angela Chao, chair and CEO of the Foremost Group, has died in a car accident, the New York-headquartered dry bulk shipping company announced on Monday.Angela Chao was an experienced and well-respected shipping executive, having worked her way up through several leadership positions at the company founder by her father, Dr. James S.C. Chao, with her mother, the late Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, in 1964.Before joining Foremost Group in 1996, Angela Chao worked in the mergers and acquisitions department of Smith Barney…

China has set itself the goal of producing more than half of the world's ships powered by cleaner fuels by 2025, in guidelines published by the industry ministry on Thursday.It did not give any estimates of the number of ships involved.

Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas said on Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) to explore opportunities in liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2) shipping in Asia Pacific and Oceania regions.Both parties will jointly study liquefied CO2 transportation for the carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) value chain, Petronas said in a statement.Liquefied CO2 transportation helps connect CCUS sites safely and efficiently over long distances where pipelines are not economically viable."This collaboration is important as long-haul liquefied C

Two crew of a Malaysian offshore support vessel died on Tuesday after their ship hit a [platform] operated by state oil firm Petronas off the state of Sarawak on Borneo island.The Dayang Topaz rammed into the Baram B oil platform after its anchor cable broke in bad weather, Petronas and marine authorities said in separate statements.The ship was carrying 187 crew, 125 of whom jumped into the sea when the accident happened, about 7.7 nautical miles (14.3 km) offshore, marine authorities said.

Malaysia's Petronas has delivered the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import cargoes to Myanmar, the company said on Thursday, marking a new consumer for the super-chilled fuel.The state-owned company's subsidiary Petronas LNG delivered two LNG cargoes to Yangon, Myanmar, in May and June as part of a sales and purchase agreement it had signed with joint-venture company CNTIC VPower earlier this year, Petronas said.As part of the deal, the cargoes were sold on a free-on-board (FOB) basis from the Petronas LNG complex at Bintulu…

Rear Adm. Michael Alfultis, president of SUNY Maritime College, today announced the establishment of the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao and James Si-Cheng Chao Endowed Scholarship Fund as a permanent, need-based scholarship. The scholarship has been funded by Dr. James S.C. Chao, Founder and Honorary Chairman of Foremost Group, and his daughter, Ms. Angela A. Chao, Chairman and CEO of Foremost Group in honor of Dr. Chao and his late wife, Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao.“The Chao Scholarship will benefit generations of students who are interested in pursuing maritime and engineering studies…

Seaspan Corporation, the world's largest independent containership owner operator, has announced that Mark Chu has notified the company that he plans to step down from his roles as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer to pursue other opportunities. Chu will remain in his current roles through August 31st, 2018 to help facilitate a seamless transition. Bing Chen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaspan said, "I would like to thank Mark for his many contributions to Seaspan over the years. David Sokol, Chairman of Seaspan's Board of Directors, said, "Mark has been a true professional in all aspects of his roles at Seaspan. I cannot thank him enough for his efforts since I joined the Board and through the transition over the past nine months.

APL announced that APL Chu Lai, a 1,200-TEU vessel, has made her maiden direct call at the Chu Lai Tam Hiep Port on 24 March. This officially commences APL’s new weekly Chu Lai Haiphong Express (CHX) service that is delivering its first inbound shipment of automobile components from Japan trans-shipped via Shekou. The cargo has duly arrived for the newly-opened Truong Hai Automobile Joint-Stock company (THACO) – Mazda owned plant situated in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone. Speaking at an event graced by Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, APL Global Commercial Head, Indika Dassanayake said, “We are excited to be opening a direct sea route to Chu Lai in Central Vietnam via the APL Chu Lai Haiphong Express service.

Efforts to salvage a grounded fishing vessel in American Samoa were put on hold Friday as an intensifying tropical cyclone moves in on the island. Hazardous weather conditions including heavy seas, winds and downpoor from Tropical Cyclone Gita have stalled plans to salvage the 88-foot fishing vessel Chu Zai Fa No. 1 that ran aground in Leone Bay about 300-yards southwest of Tutuila. The U.S. Coast Guard said it has been working with the vessel’s owner and local authorities to develop a plan to salvage the Taiwanese-flagged vessel…

A fire-stricken commercial fishing vessel that had been adrift in the Pacific for more than three months has run aground in the Samoan Islands on Monday. The 88-foot Taiwanese-flagged Chu Zai Fa No. 1 reportedly caught fire in international waters on November 4, 2017 and remained adrift until this week, when it grounded in Leone Bay about 300-yards off the western part of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. The fire forced the Chu Zai Fa No. 1 crew to abandon ship, and most were rescued by a Korean-flagged vessel and brought to Fiji aboard a sister fishing vessel.

Seaspan Corporation announced that Bing Chen will be joining the Company as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and appointed to the Board of Directors in January, 2018. Gerry Wang will be retiring as CEO and Director of Seaspan effective November 3. Upon Wang’s retirement, Peter Curtis, executive vice president and chief operating officer, will also serve as Seaspan’s interim chief executive officer until Chen’s arrival, after which he will continue in his current role. David Sokol, Chairman of Seaspan’s Board of Directors, stated, "We are pleased to have reached a very successful conclusion to our CEO search, and to have a seasoned professional like Mr. Chen join our executive team. Mr.

Seaspan Corporation announced today that David Spivak is joining the Company as its Chief Financial Officer, starting May 2, 2016. Mark Chu will continue to serve as interim CFO until David's arrival, whereupon Mark will continue in his current roles as Vice President, Corporate Development and General Counsel. David has over 20 years of corporate finance and global capital markets experience. From 1995 to 2012, he worked at Citigroup, serving in various roles, including as a Managing Director in the Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets Groups as well as the Canadian Head of Global Capital Structuring and Chief Operating Officer of Citigroup Global Markets Canada.

China has rejected a protest from Vietnam over a flight test it has conducted on a new airstrip on a man-made island in the South China Sea, saying it is part of China’s territory. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Saturday that the flight is to test whether the airfield facilities can meet civil aviation standards. “China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters. China will not accept the unfounded accusation from the Vietnamese side,” Hua said. Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said the test flight violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, breached mutual understanding and hurt the bilateral relations.

Seaspan Corporation announced that Sai Chu, Chief Financial Officer, has informed of his resignation and retirement from Seaspan effective November 6, 2015, after more than 10 years' of service with Seaspan and related entities. Gerry Wang, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of Seaspan stated, "Sai Chu has been a dynamic contributor to Seaspan's growth over the past decade. We appreciate all the work he has done to lead the financial function of Seaspan. Mr. Chu joined Seaspan in 2005 and held positions in finance before being appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2007. Prior to 2005, Mr. Chu served in finance positions with various companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange…

SapuraKencana Petroleum Berhad today announced that it has entered into Sale and Purchase Agreements to acquire the entire interest of PETRONAS in 3 blocks offshore south Vietnam (Blocks 01/97 & 02/97, Blocks 10&11.1, Block 46-CN) for a total purchase price of US$400 million. The economic effective date of the transaction is January 1, 2014 and SapuraKencana is entitled to net revenues from these Blocks from that date. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary condition precedents including the approval of relevant government authorities. SapuraKencana was selected as the winning bidder through an international and professionally managed competitive bidding process.

As a thousand Vietnamese rioters stormed his factory on Tuesday night, smashing windows and ripping down Chinese-language signs, Taiwanese executive Henry Yeh hid with a colleague in the back of a fire truck, clutching the only weapon he could find: a golf club. "With that many people surrounding us, it was useless. I was afraid they would kill us," said Yeh, 27, who works for a Taiwan textile company at an industrial park in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City. Yeh and his colleague eventually escaped unscathed. Others were not so fortunate. What started as heated but peaceful nationwide protests against Chinese oil-drilling in a patch of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam exploded into two days of rioting that left hundreds of Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean factories damaged or destroyed.

Vietnam sends helicopters to check "yellow object", possible plane life raft - minister. Vietnam has scrambled rescue helicopters to check a "yellow object" floating in its waters that rescue teams suspect could be a life raft from a Malaysian plane that went missing with 239 people aboard, a minister said on Monday. A Vietnamese jet had seen the object earlier on Monday but was unable to get close enough to determine what it was, Pham Quy Tieu, Vice Transport Minister and deputy head of the country's rescue committee, told Reuters. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said on its website searches were being conducted about 140 km (90 miles) southwest of Tho Chu island, which is located about 200 km off the coast of southern Vietnam.

A Vietnamese official news agency report informs that Singaporean vessels searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger plane have found debris or floating objects of some kind, located 100 km southwest of Tho Chu Island in the South China Sea, suspected to come from the missing Boeing 777 aircraft. A massive hunt involving dozens of ships and planes from more than half a dozen countries is under way for the plane, which disappeared from radar screens on Saturday, with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

As part of President Obama’s comprehensive plan to move our economy toward domestic clean energy sources and cut carbon pollution, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau has held the nation’s first-ever competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters. The provisional winner of the lease sale, which auctioned two leases for a Wind Energy Area of 164,750 acres offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts for wind energy development, is Deepwater Wind New England, LLC. When built, these areas could generate enough combined energy to power more than one million homes. “When you think about the enormous energy potential that Atlantic wind holds, this is a major milestone for our nation,” said Secretary Jewell.

U.S. Maritime Industry not opposing Jones Act waivers to ship petroleum to the Northeast US in fuel crisis. Thee American Maritime Partnership writes to President Obama to confirm that the U.S. Maritime Industry will not oppose waivers that are necessary to facilitate the delivery of petroleum products into the regions affected by Hurricane Sandy. Dear Mr. The domestic maritime industry stands by ready to help in any way as our nation responds to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. Nothing is more important right now than the safety and security of our fellow Americans. Today our industry is working around the clock responding to this emergency. There is nothing new about that.

Washington, D.C. – With concerns that refinery closures in the Northeast may cause gas prices to increase further, the American Maritime Partnership (AMP) notified the Administration that American vessels have ample capacity to transport petroleum to the region from the Gulf of Mexico. AMP’s letter comes after a federal analysis omitted key data about the domestic shipping industry’s overall capacity. “Today, there is more than adequate American tank vessel capacity to address any additional refinery closures,” the AMP Board of Directors wrote in a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The Northeastern United States faces possible changes in its petroleum markets because of potential refinery closures.

Dept of Energy hails initiative to encourage US offshore windfarm development. As part of a planned six-year $180 million initiative, an initial $20 million will be available this year as the first step in supporting up to four innovative offshore wind energy installations across the United States. Secretary Chu said: "The new offshore wind energy initiative announced today will help to catalyze the development of offshore wind in America, supporting U.S. Offshore wind is an enormous potential resource for the United States…