Middle News

Conflict in the Red Sea has brought massive carbon emissions increases in ocean freight container shipping, according to data just released by Xeneta.The Xeneta and Marine Benchmark Carbon Emissions Index (CEI), which measures carbon emissions per ton of cargo transported across the world’s top 13 trades, hit 107.4 points in Q1 2024 - the highest it has been since the index began in Q1 2018.For containers being shipped via ocean from the Far East to Mediterranean, the CEI reveals carbon emissions increased by 63% in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023.

At least five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings.The deaths of one child, a woman and three men occurred on an overcrowded small boat carrying around 110 people attempting to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The French coastguard was still searching for survivors."After becoming initially stranded on the shore, the boat set out to sea again.

Hong Kong-based shipping company Wah Kwong is finalizing a deal later this month to double the number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers that it has ordered to four, as it eyes growing global trade in the superchilled fuel, its chairman said.The ships would be delivered from 2027 onwards, Wah Kwong's Executive Chairman Hing Chao told Reuters on the sidelines of the Singapore Maritime Week ShipZERO28 event late last week."We have always been very optimistic about the outlook of LNG as a global energy," said Chao, adding that a lot of supply will have to come from the U.S.

French energy giant TotalEnergies and Oman National Oil Company (OQ) have reached the final investment decision (FID) on the Marsa LNG project, which will feature an LNG plant completely powered by renewable energy that will produce LNG for use as a marine fuel for maritime transportation.Through their joint company Marsa Liquefied Natural Gas (Marsa), TotalEnergies (80%) and OQ (20%) have launched the integrated Marsa LNG project which combines upstream gas production, downstream gas liquefaction…

British security firm Ambrey said on Friday merchant vessels transiting the Gulf and Western Indian Ocean were advised to stay alert in case of increased uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) activity in the region.Ambrey said it had received information that indicated an "Israeli military strike" was conducted on Isfahan, Iran.Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had seen similar reports but that there were no indications commercial maritime vessels…

Merchant ships and seafarers are increasingly in peril at sea as attacks escalate in the Middle East and the United Nations must do more to protect supply chains, the industry said in a letter released on Friday.Tensions have soared across the Middle East since the start of Israel's campaign in Gaza in October, with Israel or its ally the United States clashing repeatedly with Iranian-aligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.In a letter sent on Thursday to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres…

An open letter has called on Australia’s Albanese Government to deliver on its election promise and legislate an end to live sheep export.The call, from the RSPCA and 10 other Australian animal protection organisations, comes nearly six months after the independent panel’s report was delivered to the Government — with still no plan for how and when live sheep export will be phased out.“Australians were relieved when the Albanese Government took this promise to the 2022 federal election,” said RSPCA Australia CEO Richard Mussell.

Saudi Arabia’s Ras Al-Khair Special Economic Zone (SEZ) said it is seeking local and foreign investors to help boost the Kingdom’s maritime infrastructure.With an initial area of 20 square kilometers, Ras Al-Khair SEZ, operated by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, is an expanding zone with two focus areas, The King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services, and the Offshore Cluster supply chain. The SEZ is located next to Ras Al-Khair Port, the Kingdom’s newest industrial port.Ahmed M.

French engineering company GTT has received an order from an Asian shipyard for the tank design of eight new Liquefied Natural Gas Carriers (LNGCs).The order, booked in the second quarter of 2024, is on behalf of a Middle Eastern ship-owner.GTT will design the tanks of these eight vessels, which will each offer a capacity of 174,000 m3.The tanks will be fitted with a membrane containment system from the NO96 series developed by GTT.NO96 technology is a cryogenic liner used to contain liquefied gas at low temperatures during shipping, onshore and offshore storage, at atmospheric pressure.

Portugal's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday to condemn Saturday's attack on Israel by Tehran and to demand the immediate release of a Portuguese-flagged container ship, the MSC Aries, that was seized by Iran on April 13.The ministry said in a statement after the meeting that it "will await the results of this formal measure and evaluate any additional steps, depending on those".It said Portugal had demanded the release of the crew "as explanations provided so far have not been considered consistent"…

A Portuguese-flagged container ship, the MSC Aries, was seized by Iran on April 13 for "violating maritime laws", Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday, adding that there was no doubt the vessel was linked to Israel.Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route."The vessel was diverted…

Greenpeace activists painted slogans on an Estonian-owned tanker in the middle of the Baltic Sea on Friday, and said the ship supplied bunker fuel to vessels transporting Russian oil that posed a danger to the environment and would fuel conflict."Oil fuels war," the campaigners, who arrived in small boats, scrawled in large white letters on the side of the Zircone tanker, pictures provided by Greenpeace showed.The vessel, sitting in international waters off the Swedish island of Gotland, has supplied fuel to more than 50 oil tankers travelling to or from Russian ports in the last two months, S

Yemen's Houthis said on Wednesday they targeted four vessels, including what they described as a U.S. warship, with drones and naval missiles in the Gulf of Aden, part of their stated campaign of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.The Iran-aligned group attacked "MSC Darwin ship, MSC GINA, MV Yorktown" along with the U.S. destroyer, the group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech.The U.S. military said on Tuesday that it had destroyed an inbound anti-ship…

Esgian reports various drilling contractors disclosing details of discussions with Saudi Aramco regarding jackup contract suspensions in its Week 14 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. These contractors include Shelf Drilling, ADES, Borr Drilling, Arabian Drilling, COSL, and ARO Drilling.Meanwhile, Transocean, Noble, and COSL rigs have firmed up new work in the US Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, and the North Sea, respectively.Report overview:ContractsShelf Drilling has received a notice of suspension of operations on four jackup rigs from a customer in the Middle East.

The United States on Thursday imposed new Iran-related counterterrorism sanctions against Oceanlink Maritime DMCC and its vessels, citing its role in shipping commodities on behalf of the Iranian military.The United States is using financial sanctions to isolate Iran and disrupt its ability to fund its proxy groups and support Russia's war in Ukraine, the Treasury Department said. The United Arab Emirates-based Oceanlink operates a fleet of more than a dozen vessels deeply involved in shipping Iranian commodities, Treasury said.The U.S.

Around 10 of CMA CGM’s vessels are set to receive modifications and upgrades as part of the agreement the French shipping giant made with Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards, aimed at increasing the efficiency of the ships.The upgrades and modifications will deliver fuel efficiencies of more than 10%, according to Damen.The upgrades will take place at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque (DSDu) and Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam (DSAm), which between them have some of Europe’s largest dry docks…

A Ukrainian missile attack struck a Russian naval reconnaissance vessel and a large landing warship that Moscow captured from Kyiv during the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, Ukraine's navy said on Tuesday.Ukraine hit the vessels during an attack on Crimea at the weekend, the navy said.

The Mongla Port Authority in Bangladesh has taken delivery of its new tug, M.T. Joymoni.The newbuild is a RAmparts 3200-CL designed by Canada's Robert Allan Ltd. and built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards, in China.The RAmparts 3200-CL was designed by Robert Allan Ltd. in 2008 exclusively for Cheoy Lee Shipyards, with the first tug, Ocean Pioneer, delivered to Ocean Sparkle in India in 2011. Based on the RAmparts series, the hull form was developed to provide a high performance, multi-function tug in a shallow draft configuration, with bollard pull of up to 85 tonnes, the designer said.M.T.

Asia's imports of crude oil are expected to rise to the highest in 10 months as heavyweights China and India lifted arrivals from Russia, but impending maintenance schedules and rising prices mean such levels may not be sustained.The world's top importing region is forecast to see arrivals of 27.48 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, up from 26.70 million bpd in February and January's 27.18 million bpd, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.The bulk of oil arriving in March was arranged before the current increase in prices…

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Monday it received a report of an incident 150 nautical miles northwest of Yemen's Hodeidah."The Master of the vessel reported that they were hailed by an entity claiming to be Yemini Navy who requested the vessel turn on its automatic identification system," an advisory note said."Shortly after the hailing, a crew member of the vessel reported that they heard suspected gun shots," the advisory note added.Months of Red Sea attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer a

Global oil benchmark Brent on Tuesday rose above $89 a barrel for the first time since October, albeit briefly, as oil supplies faced fresh threats from Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities and escalating conflict in the Middle East.Brent futures for June delivery were up $1.35, or 1.5%, at $88.76 a barrel by 11:40 a.m. EDT (1540 GMT) after touching a peak of $89.08.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May rose $1.27, or about 1.5%, to $84.98 after touching a peak of $85.46…

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.

Maritime Partners,a Louisiana-based provider of maritime financing solutions primarily focused on Jones Act vessels, announced the addition of Stephen J. Bordes and Greg Chase to its executive leadership team.Bordes joins Maritime Partners as its chief financial officer, and Chase as as the firm’s chief legal officer.Bordes brings to the company more than 20 years of experience in the fields of finance and fund management. Prior to joining Maritime Partners, he served as the CFO for New York-based American Industrial Partners…