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Paul Simao News

26 Feb 2024

Caribbean Officials Search for Missing Couple After Yacht Hijacking

Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel (Photo: Salty Dawg Sailing Association)

Police from two countries in the eastern Caribbean are investigating the possible murder of two people believed to be U.S. citizens who owned a catamaran that was hijacked by three fugitives in the waters off the island of Grenada.The yacht's alleged owners, Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry, were last seen Sunday night, when three men escaped from the custody of Grenadian authorities. Police in St. Vincent and the Grenadines captured the men on Wednesday.The Royal Grenada Police…

24 Feb 2024

Houthis Target Torm Tanker

Source: Torm

Yemen's Houthis targeted MV Torm Thor, a U.S.-flagged, owned, and operated oil tanker, in the Gulf of Aden, the Iran-aligned group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Sunday, as the militants continue to attack shipping lanes in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.The group targeted the tanker with "a number of appropriate naval missiles," Sarea added in a televised speech.The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the USS Mason, a guided missile destroyer, on Saturday shot…

09 Feb 2024

More Grain Ships Diverted from Red Sea Due to Houthi Attacks

© Lukasz Z / Adobe Stock

More ships carrying grain were diverted from the Suez Canal to sailings around the Cape of Good Hope this week as concern about attacks on vessels in the Red Sea continued, shipping analysts said on Friday."Another 13 vessels were diverted this week taking the total cargo diverted away from the Red Sea route to around 5.2 million metric tons of grains in about 90 ships since the attacks started late last year," said Ishan Bhanu, lead agricultural commodities analyst at data provider…

09 Jan 2024

US Trade Deficit Shrinks on Falling Imports

© sheilaf2002 / Adobe Stock

The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in November as imports of consumer goods fell to a one-year low amid slowing domestic demand, a trend that, if it persists in December, could result in trade having no impact on economic growth in the fourth quarter.The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed exports declined in November amid cooling demand overseas. Demand is slowing both in the United States and abroad following hefty interest rate increases by global central banks since 2022 to tackle rampant inflation.The Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle has likely ended…

12 Nov 2023

CMA CGM Reports Drop in Quarterly Profit

Source: CMA CGM

CMA CGM said on Friday its profit fell in the third quarter as a COVID-era boom in shipping continued to fade, but its volumes picked up as a destocking trend in the United States was offset by brisk demand in other parts of the world.The French-based shipping giant was cautious about next year's outlook, with the prospect of a recovery in global trade - as U.S. firms finish destocking - tempered by expectations of modest economic growth and an influx of new vessels.CMA CGM, privately controlled by the Saade family…

23 Jan 2023

Freeport LNG Says Texas Plant Repairs Completed

© Andrey Sharpilo / Adobe Stock

Freeport LNG, the second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter, on Monday said it had completed repairs to its Texas plant and asked U.S. regulators for permission to take early steps to restart the fire-idled facility.The closely-held liquified natural gas (LNG) company's export facility was knocked offline by a fiery blast on June 8 and barred from resuming production until federal regulators completed an extensive safety review and approved resulting changes.Freeport LNG sought permission to begin introducing LNG into the plant's piping system…

06 Jan 2023

China's COVID Woes Are Pressuring Supply Chains

© Kal'vān / Adobe Stock

Declining world supply chain pressures are being challenged by new disruptions in China tied to the coronavirus pandemic, the New York Federal Reserve reported on Friday.The regional Fed bank's December Global Supply Chain Pressure Index ticked down to 1.18 from November's revised 1.23 reading. According to the report, supply chain pressures have been easing notably since the spring of last year and bottomed in September, and have since then been bouncing around in a tight range.In a blog posting accompanying the report…

22 Dec 2022

Brazil Will Halt Santos Port Privatization

© Cifotart / Adobe Stock

Brazil's government will not proceed with the privatization of the port of Santos, the largest in Latin America, the incoming minister of ports and airports was quoted as saying on Thursday by a Brazilian newspaper.Marcio Franca, tapped to head the ministry in President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government, told O Estado de S. Paulo's online edition that the decision had been made not to privatize the port, located just southeast of Sao Paulo and a key gateway for exports of agricultural commodities including soybeans and sugar.Franca could not be reached for comment on the decision…

01 Apr 2022

New Fortress Energy Plans to Build Offshore LNG Export Project in Louisiana by Q1 2023

Image for illustration - New Fortress Energy's Fast LNG liquefaction design pairs modular, midsize liquefaction technology with jack-up rigs or similar floating offshore infrastructure to enable lower cost and faster deployment schedule compared to conventional floating liquefaction vessels and onshore liquefaction terminals. The company last year bought two jack-up rigs from Maersk Drilling to use them for Fast LNG project. - File Image: Maersk Drilling

U.S. energy company New Fortress Energy Inc said on Thursday it filed with federal regulators to build an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project off Louisiana that could enter service as soon as the first quarter of 2023.That is much faster than the usual two to four years it takes to build a land-based LNG plant and, if completed, would help the United States meet President Joe Biden's recently announced goal of sending more LNG to Europe to help allies wean themselves off Russian gas.Last week…

11 Jan 2022

Report: Venezuela to Export Diluted Crude after 9-month Pause

Illustration only - Credit: JosIsaac/AdobeStock

Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA this week will resume exports of diluted crude oil (DCO) for the first time in nine months, according to a document seen by Reuters.Since U.S. trade sanctions were imposed on PDVSA in 2019, a lack of diluents, especially heavy naphtha, has hurt its ability to produce exportable grades from its largest production region, the Orinoco Belt. Its extra heavy oil must be diluted with naphtha or condensate for transportation and exports.A key swap…

13 Sep 2021

US Grain Exports Sink as Gulf Terminals Struggle to Recover from Ida

© Steve / Adobe Stock

U.S. grain exports slumped to their lowest level in years last week as shippers struggled to restart loading operations along the Louisiana Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ida flooded and damaged grain terminals and knocked out power across the region, preliminary data showed on Monday.Weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grain inspections data, an early indicator of shipments abroad, showed the volume of corn weighed and certified for export last week was the lowest in 8-1/2 years as no grain was inspected along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the busiest outlet for U.S.

05 Aug 2021

UN Security Council to Discuss Deadly Tanker Attack

Britain will raise a deadly tanker attack off the coast of Oman during a closed-door United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, diplomats said, but the 15-member body is not expected to take any action.Britain told the Security Council on Tuesday it was "highly likely" that Iran used one or more drones to carry out the tanker attack last week, which killed two crew members - a Briton and a Romanian."There's a lot of conflicting information. A 'highly likely' analysis, which we totally reject. We need to establish facts ... we don't need to rush to any conclusions or actions without having proof of what has happened," deputy Russian U.N.

26 Jul 2021

Parana River Level Drops to 77-year Low. Argentina Declares State of Emergency

Aerial shot over Parana River in Front of Rosario City / Image for Illustration only - Credit: Wirestock

The government of Argentina on Monday declared a 180-day “water emergency” for the Parana River, which is suffering a historic bout of shallowness that has affected the amount of grains that can be shipped from the country’s key ports hub of Rosario.The country is a major international food supplier. The Parana, which originates in a drought-hit part of Brazil, carries about 80% of Argentina’s agricultural shipments, which are the country’s main source of export dollars.The river is at its lowest level in 77 years.

15 Jul 2021

Cruise Ships Back to Canadian Waters from November

For illustration: Cruise Ship at Canada Place in Coal Harbour, Canada/Credit:  edb3_16/AdobeStock

Canada will allow cruise ships back into its waters starting in November as the COVID-19 pandemic fades, but they must fully comply with public health requirements that have yet to be finalized, Ottawa said on Thursday.Earlier this year, Canada extended a ban on cruise ships until February 2022, citing the need to protect public health. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement that the restriction would now be lifted on Nov. 1, 2021."We will welcome cruise ships - an important part of our tourism sector - back in Canadian waters for the 2022 season…

26 Apr 2021

Industry Urges Government to End Montreal Dockworkers Strike

© Claude / Adobe Stock

Dockworkers at Canada's second largest port on Monday began their second strike in less than a year, as business leaders urged Ottawa to quickly end a walkout they said could cost the economy C$25 million ($20 million) a day.The federal Liberal government said on Sunday it would introduce special legislation to end the strike at the Port of Montreal, hoping to stop it from hurting the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.Unionized workers, in talks for a new contract since 2018…

29 Mar 2021

U.S. State Secretary: Completing Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Ultimately up to Builders

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (File Photo: State.gov)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that it was ultimately up to those building the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline whether to complete it despite opposition from Washington.On Wednesday, Blinken said he had told his German counterpart that U.S. sanctions against the pipeline from Russia to Germany were a real possibility and there was "no ambiguity" in American opposition to its construction.Because the pipeline would run from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea…

03 Dec 2020

US Axes Environmental Reviews of LNG Marine Transport

© Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday issued a rule to exclude environmental reviews for marine transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as the Trump administration unleashes last minute rules supporting the fossil fuel industry.The rule, which the Energy Department issued in a pre-publication notice in the Federal Register, frees LNG transport license applications from including environmental reviews that have been required under a bedrock environmental law, the National…

15 Sep 2020

Port of Los Angeles Imports Soar

© trekandphoto / Adobe Stock

Port of Los Angeles container volumes hit an all-time high in August, as importers restocked warehouses and retailers prepared for the upcoming holiday season, but officials warned that uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 remains an economic threat."The future of the economy really depends on the future of the pandemic, and the path of the virus right now continues to be the biggest uncertainty," said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation.Total volume at the busiest U.S.

22 Jun 2020

Carnival Extends Operations Pause to Sept. 30

© Tamme / Adobe Stock

Carnival Cruise Line said on Monday it has extended its pause in operations for North American voyages until September 30, as it determines how to safely resume service amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The cruise line, owned by Carnival Corp, had previously said it would resume some voyages on August 1.Industry trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said on Friday its ocean-going cruise line members, which include Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, would voluntarily extend their pause in operations from U.S. ports until Sept.

17 Jun 2020

US Trade Chief Vows to Push for 'Broad Reset' at WTO

© zhu difeng / Adobe Stock

The Trump administration will push for a broad reset of “outdated tariff determinations” at the World Trade Organization to fix what it sees as years of unfair treatment of the United States, a top trade official told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the Geneva-based body was “a mess” and changes in the tariffs set by the Geneva-based WTO were urgently needed to better reflect current economic realities.“Many countries with large and developed economies maintain very high bound tariff rates…

07 Jun 2020

US Weighs Blacklisting More Oil Tankers Over Venezuela

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

The United States is considering imposing sanctions on dozens of additional foreign oil tankers for trading with Venezuela, U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday, the latest effort to sever what Washington sees as a lifeline for President Nicolas Maduro.Some sanctions could be announced in the near term while others could be imposed over a longer period if the trading activity persists in violation of U.S. restrictions, one of the officials said on condition of anonymity.Earlier on Friday…

07 Apr 2020

Trump Says May Jump Into Navy Furor After Captain Ridiculed in Speech

File photo: President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Joint Base Andrews, Md., December 20, 2019. (U.S. Air Force photo by Spencer Slocum)

U.S. President Donald Trump said he may get involved in a deepening crisis in the Navy after its top civilian on Monday ridiculed a revered former commander whose letter pleading for help for his coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier was leaked to the public.In a surprise speech to crew members of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt that was meant to be a private address, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly defended his decision to relieve Captain Brett Crozier of his command…

24 Apr 2020

Oil Storage Crunch May Affect Guyana Crude Shipments

Oil shipments from nascent crude producer Guyana's prolific Liza field could be affected by a growing storage glut that has contributed to plunging global crude prices, the country's director of energy said.A consortium led by Exxon Mobil began producing crude from the offshore field in December after discovering more than 8 billion barrels of recoverable resources together with partners Hess Corp and China's CNOOC Ltd. The poor South American country had no history of crude production.But a sharp fall in oil demand due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus has rapidly filled crude storage tanks worldwide, raising questions about Guyana's ability to continue producing its crude at the same level."No shipment from the Liza Destiny has been affected due to COVID-19 presently…