Fetch News

CMA CGM, one of the world's largest container shipping lines, said on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire two container terminals at the port of New York and New Jersey from Global Container Terminals (GCT), which will extend its presence in a crucial hub for trade.The deal comes after French-based CMA CGM last month said it expects a pullback in shipping markets to accelerate in the fourth quarter due to high energy prices and flagging consumer spending, resulting a drop in its profitability following an earnings surge in the past year.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Four investment groups are looking to acquire the Israeli port of Haifa estimated to be valued as high as $600 million with formal bids expected towards October, sources with knowledge of the matter said.Israel is selling its state-owned ports and building new private docks in an effort to encourage competition and bring down costs. At the same time, warming ties with neighboring Arab countries are creating new trade opportunities and Haifa is well placed to become a regional…

Offshore wind caught a favorable gust with the 2020 election of Joe Biden, and the following breeze from the early 2021 reconfiguration of the U.S. Senate toward Democrats. Though widely touted as a growth engine for maritime businesses (as well as shoreside trades), the latter years of the Trump administration seemed to see delay after delay.The class society DNV has been involved in offshore wind since its outset in the early 1990s, and now has 2,000 energy experts working in its efforts supporting this power source.

Shipbreaking is among the most dangerous jobs in the world, according to the International Labor Organization. This is the process of breaking up huge old ships into spare parts. It almost always happens in developing countries and comes with an unacceptably high level of fatalities, injuries and work-related diseases.In November 2016, 17 people were killed in a series of explosions on an oil tanker at a shipbreaking yard in Gadani, Pakistan. In 2019 alone, it was reported that 26 shipbreakers died in Bangladesh.

The global container company A.P. Moller – Maersk has started end-to-end cold chain logistics solution for its customers exporting grapes from Nashik and Sangli in India to North Europe.With this new offering, Maersk is enabling the exporters from the region to supply high quality Indian grapes to global market and helping fetch higher returns for the farmer community in and around the Nashik district. Leveraging its variety of services throughout the supply chain, Maersk is improving the overall turnaround time to North Europe by 4 days.Gearing up for the peak grape season and helping exporters based in Nashik, ‘The Grape Capital of India’…

Watson Farley & Williams, international law firm based in London, advised Ridgebury Tankers and Tufton Oceanic on the acquisition of two Suezmax tankers in a 50%-50% joint venture with Euronav NV who also provided secured debt to the joint venture companies for the purposes of the acquisitions.Last month, Belgium's tanker shipping company Euronav has acquired two Suezmax tankers through a joint venture formed with affiliates of Ridgebury Tankers and clients of Tufton Oceanic.The  two Suezmax tankers fetch a combined consideration of US$40.6m. Both vessels have been delivered into the joint ventures.Ridgebury is a US-based shipping company with a fleet of high-quality crude and refined product tankers.

Global giants of the oil and gas industry – the so-called supermajors – are looking to sell assets that could fetch a total of $27.5 billion, according to Rystad Energy’s latest assessment.These companies are actively shedding mature assets on a massive scale in a bid to finance higher-yielding investments elsewhere, with the added benefit of pleasing shareholders who are calling for stricter capital discipline.“The expected transactions mean some of the majors are poised to exit certain regions, giving regional players and independents a chance to buy into key fields and help keep them profitable through production-life extensions and new developments…

Italian motor yacht maker Sanlorenzo aims to list on the Milan Stock Exchange at about the same time as the rival Ferretti Group, with an initial public offering (IPO) expected to be launched as early as the second half of October, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The group is controlled by Italian entrepreneur Massimo Perotti through a family holding which bought back shares from third party investors in the recent years.The group plans to issue a mix of existing and new shares, targeting a free float of about 35%, one of the sources added.Sanlorenzo has picked Unicredit, Banca Imi and Bofa Merrill Lynch as global coordinators for its IPO.

The hull of the Ronja Storm, which is destined to become the world’s biggest wellboat, has arrived at the Havyard shipyard in Norway for fitting out after construction in Turkey.Ronja Storm will be the world’s biggest in more ways than just being much longer than other wellboats at 116 metres. There are also no other ships in the world that have such a big freshwater production facility.The boat can produce 16.8 million litres of freshwater a day, thereby potentially covering the daily freshwater consumption of 100,000 average Norwegians.Nor are there any other wellboats that can match her fish tank capacity or have such a great capacity for processing and transport of fish. Its capacity is nearly twice that of the average wellboat.

When it comes to docking and protecting your most valuable assets, there is no room for compromise.In relation to the sea, there is no room for compromise. That’s the philosophy that SF Marina Systems has brought to the design and manufacturing of concrete floating structures, stretching over 100 years of design history, research and development. These “Storm Proven” systems have evolved over time, producing longevity, low maintenance, and a single-cast design with proven connections endure decades of service. That’s especially important for municipalities and passenger vessel operators looking to enhance, expand or even to start a new…

Oil production by Brazilian state-led Petroleo Brasileiro SA in the Campos basin fell 1.4 percent in June over the previous month to 1.042 million barrels a day, its lowest level since 2001, as mature fields decline, according to company data.Output has dropped 15.8 percent in 12 months due to the ageing of fields off-shore from Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo that account for almost half of the crude pumped by Petrobras.

U.S. government moves to negotiate steel import quotas with its allies in exchange for tariff exemptions could leave them worse off than countries who have to pay the levy.Washington set tariffs of 25 percent on U.S. steel imports in March, but has since granted the European Union, Canada and Mexico temporary exemptions until June 1.It has also agreed permanent exemptions for Brazil, Australia, Argentina and South Korea in return for quotas.South Korea, for example, agreed to quotas restricting its steel sales to the United States by 30 percent…

Shoaling shifts NCDOT’s propulsion needs, prompting a sea change. Thrustmaster waterjets step in to carry the day. In Swansboro, N.C., boatbuilder U.S. Workboats (formerly Armstrong Marine) is assembling the linchpin of the North Carolina Department of Transport’s (NCDOT) business plan for its future Outer Banks ferry services. Separately, in both Hatteras and Ocracoke, crews are preparing to break ground on new parking additions and visitor facilities. The Ocracoke Express passenger ferry project – made necessary by the shifting and unpredictable shoaling on North Carolina’s Outer Banks – will, starting this summer, change forever the way tourists and visitors get to and from these national treasures.

Malaysian port operator Westports Holdings Berhad  recorded FY17 container throughput of 9m TEUs which declined 10% YoY, in-line with our expectation of a poorer throughput outlook for the year. The decline was mainly due to drop in transhipment, while cushioned by strong growth in the gateway. Meanwhile, full compliance of MFRS 15 effective FY18 should be earnings-neutral. No changes made to our FY17-18E earnings forecasts. Maintain MARKET PERFORM and DDM-derived TP of RM3.70. Westports announced an update on its full-year FY17 container throughput, reporting in at 9m TEUs. This represents a 10% decline from 10m TEUs in FY16, in-line with our expectations of a poorer throughput outlook for FY17. This also implies 4Q17 container throughput of 2.2m (-14% YoY, +3% QoQ).

State-run Qatargas on Wednesday agreed a sale and purchase deal with Austrian oil and gas group OMV to deliver up to 1.1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually for five years. From January 2019, the gas will be provided by Qatar Liquefied Gas Co, a venture between Qatar Petroleum and Shell . It will be delivered to the Gate LNG Terminal in the Netherlands on board Qatargas’ chartered LNG vessels. Facing threats to its market share in Europe from a wave of new U.S. supply and in Asia from new Australian plants, Qatar has sealed similar deals with Uniper, RWE Supply and Trading, Centrica and Petronas UK to secure access to northwest European import terminals.

The Robert Allan designed RAscal 1600 mooring launch EIMEO has been completed by Cheoy Lee Shipyards in Hong Kong and is on its way to the east coast of Australia on a heavy lift ship. The launch was built for Half-Tide Marine of Mackay in Queensland, Australia who will employ it at the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, south of Mackay. The terminal, one of the largest coal terminals the world, has a ship loading facility some three kilometres off the east coast suitable for up to four 200,000 dwt bulk carriers. Although protected by the Great Barrier Reef, the fetch to the reef is enough that a considerable chop can develop which is not a problem for the bulk carriers but presents an operating challenge for a small line boat trying to pick up and deliver heavy ship’s hawsers.

Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras)will seek a valuation of up to 22 billion reais ($6.8 billion) for its fuel distribution unit in what is expected to be Brazil’s biggest IPO of the year, reported Reuters. The Brazilian energy giant intends to raise around $2.3 billion or $7.5 billion reais at the high end of the price range of 15 reais-19 reais per share. Petrobras is expected to offer between 25% and 40% of its stake in BR Distribuidora. The offering could grow to a 33.75 percent stake in the distribution unit if the company sells all additional and supplementary allotments, according to a new regulatory filing.

Spot LNG exports in government's cross-hairs; ConocoPhillips, Origin, Shell now in the firing line. The Australian government on Monday warned that the country's east faced a worse-than-expected natural gas shortfall in 2018, but the competition watchdog said the gap could easily be filled by diverting uncontracted exports to the local market. It is now up to the government to decide by Nov. 1 whether to pull the trigger on its Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, which allows it to curb liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the nation's east coast if it determines there will be a shortfall in any year. The supply gap identified…

The privately owned U.S.-flag foreign trading fleet, which is an essential component of U.S. sealift capability, stands on the edge of a precipice. The fleet – roughly stable in terms of cargo carrying capacity from 2000 to 2012 – has declined from 106 vessels in 2012 to 78 vessels at October 30, 2016 primarily because of a substantial decline in available U.S. Government-reserved cargo. The size of the fleet has reached a point where the viability of the U.S.-flag industry involved in foreign trade – including its trained mariners…

Far out in the South China Sea, where dark blue meets bright turquoise, a miles-long row of fishing boats anchor near Scarborough Shoal, backed by a small armada of coastguard projecting China's power in Asia's most disputed waters. China still calls the shots at the prime fishing spot and has boosted its fleet there, nine months after an international panel ruled its blockade of the lagoon was illegal. Beijing rejected that ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated China's claim of sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. But the presence of Philippine boats dotted between Chinese vessels shows a degree of compliance with the ruling.

China Merchants Group Ltd is in advanced talks to buy Advent International Corp's 50 percent stake in TCP Terminal de Contêineres de Paranaguá SA, Brazil's second-busiest container port, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper said on Thursday. According to Estado, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the transaction, talks with the Chinese state-run company known as CMG gained momentum after Advent's negotiations with Dubai-based DP World Ltd hit a snag. Reuters reported in August that Advent had hired Morgan Stanley & Co and Grupo BTG Pactual SA to sell the TCP stake. Sources said at the time that Advent wanted to fetch a price for the stake that could set a minimum value of 3.5 billion reais ($1.1 billion) for TCP.

Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA, sent a tanker in October to the Caribbean with the expectation that its cargo of crude would fetch about $20 million - money the crisis-stricken nation desperately needs. Instead, the owner of the tanker, the Russian state-owned shipping conglomerate Sovcomflot, held the oil in hopes of collecting partial payment on $30 million that it says PDVSA owes for unpaid shipping fees. Despite a longstanding alliance between Venezuela and Russia, Sovcomflot sued PDVSA in St. Maarten, a Dutch island on the northeast end of the Caribbean. "The ship owners ... imposed garnishment on the aforementioned oil cargo," reads a March decision by the St. Maarten court.

Buyout firm Advent International Corp has hired Morgan Stanley & Co and Grupo BTG Pactual SA to advise on the sale of a controlling stake in TCP Terminal de Contêineres de Paranaguá SA, Brazil's second-busiest container port, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plans. Earlier this year, Boston-based Advent had announced plans to sell the 50 percent stake it has in TCP, which can handle about 1.5 million tonnes of cargo containers annually. BTG Pactual joined Morgan Stanley as advisor to Advent at the start of July, the people said. The sources, who spoke with Reuters in recent days, asked for anonymity because the plan remained confidential.