European Trade News

Furetank and Algoma Central Corporation announced further expansion of their FureBear joint venture with orders for two additional vessels. The two ships will be constructed at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou, China, with delivery expected in second and third quarters of 2026.The new order for Vinga series vessels grows the FureBear joint venture to a total of 10 intermediate product tankers under construction, with the first vessel slated for delivery in the first quarter of 2024.

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd HLAG.DE on Thursday posted net profit of 2.9 billion euros ($3.18 billion) for the first half of 2023, down by 67% from a year earlier, but maintained its full year earnings forecast.The net profit compared with 8.7 billion euros in 2022 when shipping, a proxy for global trade, enjoyed a boom as economic growth rebounded following the end of pandemic lockdowns and as logistics disruptions raised freight rates for customers. Rates have since fallen as logjams have eased and the economy is slowing.

FureBear, a joint venture between Swedish shipping company Furetank and Canadian shipping company Algoma, together with U.K.-based Larsson Shipping, has taken over the ownership of Algoma’s product tanker Algonorth.The 2008-built, 6,958 dwt double hull product oil tanker has arrived from Canada to trade in Northern Europe under the new name Fure Skagen.Owned by FureBear and Larsson Shipping and flying the Faroe Island flag, Fure Skagen will be commercially managed by Furetank Chartering in the Gothia Tanker Alliance.Furetank and Algoma formed the FureBear joint venture in 2022…

Shipping line Maersk said Wednesday the economy continued to face a high degree of uncertainty moving in to 2023, with the pressure of inflation, declining incomes, and further factors having an impact on households’ disposable income. This was shared in the "Ocean" segment of its Europe market update.Maersk said that high inventory levels and the strong possibility of anaemic GDP growth are also expected to continue negatively affecting demand this year."This is reflected in the recent decline in global containerised volumes…

Global leaders from organizations representing seafarers, shipowners and other maritime employers signed a memorandum of understanding with the Philippines’s Department of Migrant Workers on Wednesday 11 January, to form the International Advisory Committee on Global Maritime Affairs (IACGMA).The IACGMA is composed of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC), and the…

Antwerp and Rotterdam Port Authorities asked new European Commission (EC) and Parliament to focus on the economic significance of ports.The energy transition and digitization are the two strategic challenges facing large industrial ports. The European Union can offer port authorities and industrial clusters important incentives to achieve the transition toward the CO2-neutral ports of the future.That is why Antwerp and Rotterdam Port Authorities have taken the initiative to organize a joint event for European policy makers, with contributions from experts from the world of science, industry and logistics.‘The Added Value of Ports’ event takes place in Brussels on Wednesday, 11 September 2019.

Europe invested a total of EUR27bn (USD 30.34bln) in new wind farms in 2018, allowing it finance a record amount of new wind energy capacity, according to European trade body WindEurope.Europe invested EUR 10.3 billion in new offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 4.2GW in 2018.Investments in new offshore wind projects increased by 37% from 2017 but were still some way off the record EUR 18.2 billion seen in 2016, according to the report. The capacity financed in 2018 is also the second highest after 2016.The total amount invested in wind power is similar to previous years. But thanks to cost reduction, especially in offshore wind, it will finance a record 16.7 GW of new wind capacity.

As the UK Cabinet prepares for an away day’ at Chequers this week, the British Ports Association (BPA) has urged Ministers to agree a proposal that will ensure goods continue to flow uninterrupted between UK and EU ports post-Brexit. Commenting on the Government’s forthcoming revised customs ‘blueprint’ proposals the BPA’s Chief Executive, Richard Ballantyne, said: “We are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the Cabinet discussions and forthcoming Brexit White Paper. The UK’s post-Brexit customs relationship with the EU will dictate how almost half of our trade is handled at the border. For the UK’s Roll-on Roll-off ferry ports, which facilitate the majority of this traffic…

The European Union expects to hit U.S. imports with additional duties from July, ratcheting up a transatlantic trade conflict after Washington imposed its own tariffs on incoming EU steel and aluminium.EU members have given broad support to a European Commission plan to set 25 percent duties on up to 2.8 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of U.S. exports in response to what is sees as illegal U.S. action. EU exports that are now subject to U.S. tariffs are worth 6.4 billion euros."The…

After the successful participation in Intermodal South America in Sao Paulo (Brazil), the port of Antwerp in collaboration with the local industrial and agricultural federations organised a business seminar with networking in the nearby state of Minas Gerais. The event was attended by 50 or so prominent Brazilians including shippers, ship's agents and logistics service providers. It was also honoured by the presence of high representatives from both federations, the government of Minas Gerais and the Belgian diplomatic corps in Brazil. Minas Gerais is the second-largest industrial state and export region in Brazil, with a highly diversified economy. Leading exports include metal products, ores and minerals, coffee, meat, soya and to a certain extent also fruit.

Singapore fuel oil trading volumes have soared after the 380-cst front-month time spreads widened by around $1 per tonne from the previous day's close, in what could develop into an aggressive trade strategy that occasionally rattles this market. The 380-cst March/April time spreads on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) saw about 700,000 tonnes in contracts trade after physical trading in the S&P Global Platts Market-on-Close (MOC) price assessments concluded at 0830 GMT on Tuesday. The flurry took the spreads to about $1.70 a tonne in post-European trade by 0400 GMT on Wednesday, from around plus 70 cents a tonne previously. Traders…

Corvus Energy Inc. has announced  that it has been selected as the supplier of the lithium ion based energy storage system (ESS) for a new hybrid chemical tanker being built for Rederiet Stenersen AS of Norway. The chemical tanker will be the first vessel of its kind to utilize an ESS for propulsion. Corvus Energy will supply its next generation Orca Energy ESS solution to integrate with WE Tech Solutions’ propulsion system, which will deliver industry environmental performance for this new vessel.

At 104.9 million tons, total seaborne cargo throughput for the first three quarters of 2016, covering general and bulk cargo segments, was up 0.3 percent on the previous year. “Seaborne cargo throughput in the Port of Hamburg has stabilized and for the first three quarters of 2016 again increased. Seen separately, the third quarter with a 2.7 percent upturn to 34.7 million tons underlines the upwards trend. Both general and bulk cargo volumes developed positively for Germany’s largest universal port,” said Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. The trend for seaport-hinterland rail transport was also maintained. “By comparison with other leading European ports, in the first three quarters of 2016 Hamburg further expanded freight volumes transported by rail.

Sustainable shipping company Fairtransport informs it will bring a second engineless sailing cargo vessel into service September 26, 2015. The wooden ship, Nordlys, which is Norwegian for “Northern Light,” is a ketch rigged trawler built in 1873 at the Isle of Wight. After years of sailing cargo around the Norwegian coast, the ship was handed over to Fairtransport by its former owner, Johan Sande. A two-year refit project began in September 2013 at the old navy shipyard Willemsoord in Den Helder…

The Port of Dover is turning to a raft of futuristic traffic sensors to keep billions of pounds of trade and millions of passengers on the move. Equipment known as BlipTrack, developed by Denmark-based BLIP Systems, is helping controllers at Europe’s busiest ferry port to reduce bottlenecks and improve vehicle movements by predicting potential traffic congestion on Dover’s coast bound A20. The technology, installed at key locations within the port, feeds officers with live data throughout the boarding process…

The Port of Hamburg Marketing Association has slashed its forecast for container volumes at Hamburg's port, a hub for eastern European trade, due to weakening growth in China and shrinking trade with Russia. The association said on Monday it now expects container volumes to fall 7 percent to 9 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit containers) this year, compared with a previous forecast for 3 percent growth to 10 million TEUs. China is by far the biggest trade partner for the Hamburg port, accounting for almost 3 million TEUs in 2014. Russia is the second biggest with 0.66 million TEUs in 2014. In the first half of 2015, container volume at Hamburg's port, where logistics firms such as HHLA, Eurogate and Buss operate terminals, fell 7 percent to 4.5 million TEUs.

A smooth start to operations at BG Group's Australian project in Queensland is expected to help the British company to roughly double its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies in 2015/16, it said on Wednesday. Seven cargoes have been shipped since December from the Queensland Curtis LNG facility, said Steve Hill, BG Group's head of global energy marketing and shipping. The plant is expected to stop operations for about a week of maintenance in the near term before ramping up to full capacity, allowing it to ship about one cargo a week. In the United States, BG Group has signed a purchase agreement for Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass LNG terminal, with first deliveries due in December.

MILAN, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Atlantic natural gas markets are seeing some of the biggest price swings in years as volatile European trade, freezing U.S. weather and Brazilian demand leave tankers torn over where to sail. The region's gas markets, each taking turns as top payer before being outbid again, have boosted consumption of shipped liquefied natural gas (LNG), triggering multiple diversions as vessels chase the best price. Two weeks ago Europe became the world's premium gas market after a year-long demand slump in Asia, thrusting Atlantic trade into the spotlight. A mix of Dutch production caps, supply outages and technical trading has driven European gas prices towards fresh multi-month highs as Asian prices show only meager gains, widening premiums.

Payment problems are disrupting commercial food cargoes to Iran, with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of grain and sugar stuck in transit, as Western banking sanctions complicate deals and trade financiers scale back exposure. Iran is not barred from buying food or other "humanitarian" goods under sanctions imposed over Tehran's pursuit of nuclear technology, but measures by the European Union and the United States have made trade more difficult over the past two years. Several international trade sources, with knowledge of deals that have been affected, told Reuters that ships carrying cargoes of grain, including wheat and soybeans, as well as raw sugar, have been stuck for several weeks outside Iranian cargo ports such as Bandar Imam Khomeini and Bandar Abbas.

One sign of change in Iran as it works toward a nuclear deal with world powers is the way it is feeding itself, with private grain firms beginning a slow return to their traditional role as major food commodity importers. Iran was never barred from buying food under sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union over Tehran's nuclear activities. But the measures have made trade more difficult for the past two years by hindering payments and ocean shipping, which has left the bulk of the work in the hands of state buyers such as the GTC and SLAL. However, Tehran has won limited relief from the sanctions after agreeing to curtail its nuclear activities…

APM Terminals Izmir, Turkey, says the installation of new ZPMC container cranes in Petkim Port will allow shipping lines to upgrade the size of vessels calling at Izmir, in Western Turkey, as well as introduce direct calls from Asia, the sub-continent and the Middle East for vessels larger than 10,000 TEUs. “This will be a complete change in Izmir’s role in the global logistics chain. The ordering of these cranes will ensure that APM Terminals Izmir can deliver efficient, reliable and safe operations for these new services, as well as for the larger inter-European trade in Izmir,” said Mogens Larsen, Managing Director of APM Terminals Izmir. The manufacturing of the three ship-to-shore (STS) quay cranes and 10 Rubber Tire Gantry (RTG) cranes by ZPMC are currently underway in Shanghai, P.R.

U.K. based Solar Solve Marine received two orders to supply SOLASOLV class approved roller screens from Stenships KS, a subsidiary of Rederiet Stenersen AS, headquartered in Bergen, Norway. Rederiet Stenersen transports liquid products with 17 chemical/product tankers ranging from 17-19,000 DWT deployed in North West European Trade. In December and January the company placed two orders for the M/T Sten Suomi and M/T Sten Bothnia. SOLASOLV antiglare screens are installed at the windows of all types of ships, rigs and cranes worldwide.

Indian mills are exporting more raw sugar to Iran and Asian markets, aided by a production incentives package and recovering world prices, seizing market share from top exporter Brazil. "There is a strong flow of physical trade from India, helped by the rally in world sugar prices, export incentives and rupee clearing," said Jonathan Kingsman, head of agriculture at data provider Platts. Cash-strapped Indian mills, which have struggled to pay cane farmers due to weak global sugar prices, received a boost last month when authorities approved an incentives package amounting to 3,300 rupees per tonne to stimulate export sales from substantial stocks.