Daily Newspaper News

A Chinese ship embroiled in a standoff with Vietnamese vessels last year has returned to waters near Vietnam as the United States accused China of pushing its presence in the South China Sea while other claimants are pre-occupied with the coronavirus.Vietnamese vessels last year spent months shadowing the Chinese Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey vessel in resource-rich waters that are a potential global flashpoint as the United States challenges China's sweeping maritime claims.On Tuesday, the ship, which is used for offshore seismic surveys, appeared again 158 km (98 miles) off Vietnam's coast, within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), flanked by at least one China Coast Guard vessel…

President Vladimir Putin calls improving the Russian navy's combat capabilities a priority.The unfinished husks of three guided-missile frigates that have languished for three years at a Baltic shipyard show that is easier said than done.Earmarked for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the frigates fell victim to sanctions imposed by Ukraine in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, prompting Kiev to ban the sale of the Ukrainian-made engines needed to propel them.With Moscow unable to quickly build replacement engines for the Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates, construction stopped.

The Global Shippers Forum has reacted with suspicion to the announcement by the Maersk container shipping line of new fuel surcharge arrangements from 1 January 2019 to recover presumed costs from the introduction of low-sulphur marine fuel from 1 January 2020.Based on the information released by Maersk, the new charges, which are additional to agreed contract rates, are based on two factors - an average cost of fuel and a ‘trade factor’ that upscales the costs on head trades and discounts the fuel cost on reverse trades. But because the charge is per box, the greater number of revenue-earning boxes sailing west will collectively pay…

MV WERFTEN, the shipyard group is constructing a special accommodation center for subcontractors and guests at the Alter Holzhafen in Wismar; visitors will be able to spend the night in cruise ship cabins. The new building, which comprises 104 rooms, is scheduled to open by winter 2018-2019. Wismar, March 6, 2018 | Today, MV WERFTEN celebrated the official start of construction on its very own accommodation facility – the MVW Alter Holzhafen Beherbergungsstätte – with a groundbreaking ceremony. Assisted by Genting Hong Kong Group President, Colin Au, and Wismar’s mayor, Thomas Beyer, a time capsule containing construction plans, the latest edition of the daily newspaper, a set of euro coins, and the invitation to the event was placed in the symbolic foundation stone.

French shipping group CMA CGM plans to build nine of the world's largest container ships at two Chinese shipyards, the China Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday. Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co confirmed that it and its sister yard Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co, had received a letter of intent from CMA CGM for the ships, which would be capable of carrying 22,000 20-foot equivalent unit containers (TEU), the newspaper said. The final order was subject to board approval from both sides, the newspaper said. Both yards are owned by state-run China State Shipbuilding Corporation. CMA CGM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Calls to Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding outside office hours were not immediately answered.

China on Monday welcomed U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' suggestion that diplomacy should be the priority in the South China Sea, and that major U.S. military action was not being considered to contend with China's assertive behaviour there. Mattis, speaking in Tokyo on Saturday, blamed China for "shredding the trust of nations in the region", but also played down any need for U.S. military manoeuvres in the disputed waters of the South China Sea and instead called for open lines of communication. The comments, his most complete on the issue to date, came after analysts had said other remarks made by President Donald Trump's administration had suggested the possibility of U.S. military action, or even a naval blockade.

China’s Academy of Space Technology in Beijing has launched a new high-tech satellite, called the Gaofen 3 high-resolution Earth observation satellite, which has been designed to protect its maritime interests, as well as warn of natural disasters, according to China Daily. The satellite was delivered by a Long March 4C rocket that blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province. "The satellite will play an important role in monitoring the marine environment, islands and reefs, and ships and oil rigs," the official China Daily newspaper said, citing project leader Xu Fuxiang. "Satellites like the Gaofen-3 will be very useful in safeguarding the country's maritime rights and interests," he added, according to the newspaper.

Approximately 120 people were injured when a high-speed jetfoil heading from Macau towards Hong Kong hit an “unidentified object” last night south of Lantau Island. The injured, aged between six and 83, were sent to seven hospitals, with 87 discharged as of this morning. In addition to the five patients in critical condition, five were categorised as serious and 27 stable. Over 170 people on board the ferry lost power after colliding with an "unidentified object" in the water, according to the boat's operator, Shun Tak. The local media quoted passengers who described there being chaos after the crash. The Turbojet lost power after the accident and water began seeping in as passengers scrambled in the dark for lifejackets. "It went dark.

A series of huge explosions shook  the warehouse at Tianjin Port International Logistics Center in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin late Wednesday, killing at least 44 people and injuring hundreds more, according to officials and state media. The People's Daily newspaper said at least 520 people were injured, more than 60 of them seriously. As of Thursday morning, an unknown number of people remained unaccounted for in the wreckage. The initial explosion erupted at a warehouse for a logistics company in an industrial area of the port city, according to Tianjin police. The company was identified as Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd. The second explosion was so powerful that I felt the entire 16-floor-building was shaking, says an eye witness.

South Korea has given the go-ahead for cruise ships to operate onboard casinos for foreign guests, , reports the Korea Joongang Daily newspaper. South Korean cruise vessels voyaging overseas will be able to operate casinos on board – but casino admission will be only for foreign passengers from as early as next year. “The ministry is in no talks to push for admission of Koreans to [such] casinos,” said Han Dong-soo, an official at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, as quoted in comments to the Korea Herald newspaper. The ministry has been taking the lead on the casino cruises initiative. "We are currently seeking to support cruise operators to go for onboard casinos.

Vietnam said it resolutely opposes a temporary Chinese ban on fishing in the Gulf of Tonkin, the latest in a series of sovereignty disputes in and around the South China Sea. China's ban came as the neighbours seek to patch up ties since a row in May last year when China deployed a $1-billion oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam. That led to confrontation at sea and violent anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam. China's May 16-Aug. 1 fishing ban violated international law and Vietnam's sovereignty and jurisdictional rights, Vietnam's foreign ministry said in a statement on its website. China introduced the annual ban in 1999 "to promote the sustainable development of the fishing industry in the South China Sea and protect the fundamental interests of fishermen"…

South Korea plans to enable its citizens and foreign tourists to wager on new cruise ship services that will serve ports around the country, reports the Korea Joongang Daily newspaper. Some major overseas cruise companies – such as Genting Hong Kong Ltd’s Star Cruises – operate shipboard casinos that only open once the vessel is in international waters. The plans also include allowing local residents to use casinos on cruise ships. The National Assembly passed the Cruise Act in January to open casinos on cruise ships carrying the Korean national flag for foreign passengers only, but now the government plans to submit a revision bill to allow local residents to use cruise ship casinos.

On 21 November 2014, Hamburg Süd laid the foundation stone for the extension to the shipping company’s headquarters in Hamburg. The new building is going up at Willy-Brandt-Straße (WBS) 63 and 65 on the plots adjacent to the traditional Hamburg Süd head office (WBS 59 and 61). The laying of the foundation stone was performed by Dr Ottmar Gast, Chairman of the Executive Board of Hamburg. True to long-standing tradition, a capsule containing coins and banknotes, a daily newspaper and Hamburg Süd time records was set into the foundations. Projektmanagement, which is responsible for overseeing the project, as well as the general planners, firm KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten.

China's capital has ordered more than 50 companies to shut down this year in an effort to cut pollution but pushing factories out could raise objections in surrounding areas reluctant to host Beijing's polluters. Smog-shrouded Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei have become a front in a "war against pollution" declared by Premier Li Keqiang last month. But experts say efforts to cut coal consumption and industrial output in big cities like Beijing is likely to put pressure on other regions to endure more pollution to keep the economy growing, with overall coal consumption expected to rise by a quarter from 2011 to 2015. "Moving Beijing's plants to Hebei isn't the best way…

Maps of Indian and Japanese ports paper the walls of a Dominion Resources Inc conference room in a small Maryland town, population 1,835, known more for crabbing and bird watching than global trade and the U.S. natural gas revolution. Dominion, an American energy company long focused on U.S. markets, hopes to begin an expansion worth billions of dollars at its Cove Point complex on Chesapeake Bay later this year. As part of the plan, compressors fired by a new power plant would cool gas to -260 degrees F (-162 C) until it becomes the hot global commodity known as liquefied natural gas, or LNG. But if environmentalists, including a group that has led the charge against TransCanada Corp's long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline, get their way, Dominion won't soon be shipping anything anywhere.

At 8:00 am, on Groundhog Day, Wednesday, February 2, 2011, Maritime College will kick-off the 6th annual Groundhog Day Event, Conference on Cutting Edge Issues in Shipping. Admission is free and open to all interested in the business of shipping. The event will take place in the lecture hall of the Science and Engineering Building, Maritime College campus, Throgs Neck, The Bronx, NY 10465. The day begins with a complimentary continental breakfast, registration and welcome. The event will be hosted and directed by co-chairs SUNY Maritime College professor and maritime attorney, Jeffrey A. Weiss, as well as Professor Larry Howard, Chair of the College’s Global Business and Transportation department. Maritime Security will be the next maritime topic at 10:45 am.

ABS was named Best Classification Society during the recent Lloyd’s List Middle East & Indian Subcontinent Awards held in Dubai. The award ceremony is one of six regional events hosted by the industry’s daily newspaper to benchmark excellence within the maritime industry. A panel of judges from a broad spectrum of industry selected ABS as the winner in the Classification Society category. The society has maintained a network of regional and port offices throughout the Middle East area for more than 30 years with regional administrative and operational headquarters in Dubai…

Applied Weather Technology, Inc. (AWT), the worldwide leader in ship routing which routes more than 30,000 voyages per year, announced that it is a finalist for the prestigious Innovation Award, an award category of Lloyd’s List Global 2009 Awards. Lloyd’s List is the leading global daily newspaper for the maritime industry and the awards recognize elite companies and individuals within the industry. The Innovation Award recognizes a firm or individual that has developed new hardware or software that provides a clear and meaningful advancement for the shipping industry. BonVoyage System (BVS) is an onboard system for optimizing marine voyages.

The collapse of a giant, brand new gantry crane which killed 36 people in a Shanghai shipyard may have been caused by loose steel ropes, state media and an engineer at the crane's designer said. Chinese authorities are investigating the accident, the latest in a series of deadly fires, explosions and building collapses that highlight China's lax safety standards and have roused public anger. The collapsed crane is one of the largest gantry cranes to be built and designed in China, capable of carrying 600 tons, engineers and shipbuilding executives say. It was only inaugurated on Monday. The H-shaped structure weighed a total of 4,900 tons and consisted of two legs and a 3,000-ton crossbeam, an engineer at a Chinese company which designed the crane said.