Costa Cruise Ship Docked in Japan Grapples with Coronavirus Cluster
More than 30 crew members on an Italian cruise ship docked for repairs in Japan's Nagasaki prefecture have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising concern about the impact on the local community.The cluster of infections found on board the Costa Atlantica follows the case of the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama two months ago, where more than 700 were found to be infected, although this time only crew members were on board.The Costa Cruises-operated ship was taken into a shipyard in Nagasaki city…
Mitsubishi Plans to Shrink Ship Building Operations
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is planning to stop taking new orders for large passenger ships, downsizing its shipbuilding operations due to a slump in orders, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday. The plans by Japan's fourth-largest shipbuilder come as new shipbuilding orders have declined 80 percent so far this year, the Nikkei said. Citing unidentified sources, it said the company was considering splitting off its planning and design division and sharing shipyards with other companies. A spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy, which also builds aircraft and defence equipment, said the report was not based on information provided by the company and declined further comment.
Japan's NYK Line Warns of $1.9 bln hit to Earnings
NYK Line may book losses as shipping slump slashes asset values. Nippon Yusen, Japan's biggest shipper by sales, warned it would book a $1.9 billion hit to first-half income, after the industry's deepening slump forced it to write down the value of container ships and other assets. The shock writedown is the latest symptom of the dramatic slowdown in the container shipping sector. Weaker global trade, and in particular softer demand from China, has battered freight rates and left hundreds of ships idle. Chronic oversupply in the industry has already claimed one high profile victim this year: South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd, the world's seventh largest container carrier before it went into receivership.
Port of Tauranga Signs Freight Deal with Kotahi
New Zealand's Port of Tauranga on Thursday said it had signed a 10-year agreement with domestic freight logistics company Kotahi to facilitate more large freight visits to the country's largest port. Under the agreement, Kotahi will provide export cargo containers to the Port of Tauranga and other ports operated by the company, it said. In addition, Kotahi will facilitate the introduction of 6,500 TEU (20-ft equivalent) ships by Maersk Line to New Zealand. The deal will see Port of Tauranga issue shares to Kotahi, which will take a stake in its Timaru Container Terminal.
Australia's AWE, PPP, NZOG To Drill 2nd Oil Well Off NZ Coast
Australia's AWE Limited, Pan Pacific Petroleum and New Zealand Oil and Gas Ltd will drill a $ 40 million oil exploration well off the coast of New Zealand after they were unable to case a first well drilled at the site, NZ Oil and Gas said on Tuesday. NZ Oil and Gas said in a statement that the new well would take up to 48 days to drill at the Oi prospect, in 120 meters of water about 40 kilometres offshore from the Taranaki region on New Zealand's North Island. The joint venture would seal and abandon the first well, which was drilled to around 1,500 metres, the company said, adding that the new well would be drilled to a target depth of 3,881 metres. AWE has given a pre-drill, un-risked best estimate prospective resource of 11 million barrels of recoverable oil.
