Port Agent News

Seafarers International Union President Emeritus Michael Sacco died December 28, 2023, in St. Louis, surrounded by family members. He was 86 years old and passed away from natural causes.Mike was the longest-serving president in SIU history, having led the organization from 1988 until his retirement in February 2023, a period spanning nearly 35 years.The Seafarers International Union, Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters, AFL-CIO, represents professional United States merchant mariners sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels in the deep sea…

A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports from Kazakhtsan and Russia, according to state's officials and port agent data.Oil loadings from Novorossiysk and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in nearby Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka have been suspended since last week.Kazakhstan's largest oilfields - Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak - are cutting combined daily oil output by 56% from November 27 as the storm disrupts loadings at CPC…

Four major oil ports in Libya have reopened after shutting down on Saturday because of the powerful storm that swept the country, killing thousands of people, port agent Al Omran International Maritime Agencies said on Wednesday. The eastern ports of Brega, Es Sidra and Ras Lanuf opened on Tuesday and the port of Zueitina opened on Wednesday morning, Al Omran said. Oil prices rose on Wednesday, with Brent firming around a 10-month peak reached during trading a day earlier, as…

The end of a contract between a Bunge agent and a state-run port company in southern Brazil could make room for rivals interested in the public grains terminal, documents and court filings showed.The contract between Bunge port agent Litoral and the Sao Francisco do Sul port authority ended on April 11 and does not foresee an extension.Bunge declined to comment. Litoral did not reply to a request for comment.The port authority did not answer questions about whether it is preparing…

Energy logistics provider Peterson has won a logistics contract with OceanXpress, a recently formed joint venture between Dutch companies Damen and Ampelmann.Damen Shipyards and offshore gangway specialist Ampelmann launched the joint venture last month to provide offshore crew change solutions in the North Sea area.Now, Peterson will deliver ship agency services for OceanXpress' Aqua Helix vessel, which will use the Port of Den Helder as its main port of operation.Mark Hol, Business Unit Manager at Peterson, said: “We’re delighted to  welcome the Aqua Helix to the Port of Den Helder and be no

Brazil's port regulator targeted the local unit of global grains merchant Bunge and two port agents in an investigation announced on Tuesday, threatening the trader's dominant position at a key export hub in the south of the country.The probe, ordered by port regulator Antaq via regulatory decision in the official government gazette, centers on alleged irregularities in a contract to move grain cargos at public terminals in the port of São Francisco do Sul.A regional branch of Antaq in Santa Catarina state will conduct the probe…

The increasingly growing concern this week has been the number of mounting Covid-19 cases across the sub-continent, especially in India, where the country hit a daily record infection rate of over 200,000 cases per day, placing an increasing pressure on an already strained healthcare system that is fighting to keep up with the number of sick.There is talk in India of another nationwide lockdown, as only the worst hits states/provinces are under quarantine at present, with residents…

Oil prices jumped about 6% on Wednesday after a ship ran aground in the Suez Canal, and worries that the incident could tie up crude shipments gave prices a boost after a slide over the last week.The crude benchmarks, U.S. crude and London-based Brent, added to gains after U.S. inventory figures showed a further rebound in refining activity, suggesting U.S. refiners are mostly recovered from the cold snap that slammed Texas in February.Brent crude settled at $64.41 a barrel, gaining $3.62, or 6%, after tumbling 5.9% the previous day.

A deep freeze that hit Texas over the weekend wrought more havoc on the U.S. energy sector on Tuesday, curbing output in the largest U.S. oil field, knocking out a fifth of the nation's refining capacity, and shutting a key shipping channel in Houston.Historic cold has knocked out roughly 4 million barrels per day of refining capacity, more than one-fifth of national capacity, according to Reuters calculations. About 500,000 to 1.2 million bpd of crude production has also been affected…

Oil and gas exports from the United States have been severely disrupted by Hurricane Laura, with nearly a million barrels per day (bpd) of crude exports likely reduced this week by closures of U.S. Gulf Coast terminals and disruptions at ports.The hurricane also temporarily suspended operations at several liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in the world’s third largest exporter of the super-cooled gas, with shipments on track to fall to their lowest in 18 months.Laura made landfall early Thursday near the Texas-Louisiana border…

The Port of Houston, the United States' largest energy export port, began reopening to commercial shipping on Thursday after a day-long closure due to Hurricane Laura, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Ports along the Texas and Louisiana coasts were closed as the Category 4 hurricane churned up the Gulf of Mexico and went ashore in Cameron, Louisiana, early Thursday. The storm brought hurricane winds and high seas to the region.The Port of Houston, a major import and export hub for fuel, chemicals and consumer goods, closed on Wednesday.

A bottleneck of inbound traffic on the Houston Ship Channel eased on Tuesday though one-way travel restrictions remained following a weekend collision between a deep-draft ship and a barge, officials said on Tuesday.About 9,000 barrels of gasoline spilled into the channel near Bayport, Texas, when a 755-foot (230-meter) tanker collided over the weekend with a Kirby Inland Marine tugboat towing two barges containing the fuel.West Texas Intermediate crude at the Magellan East Houston (MEH) terminal on the ship channel traded at an $8.10 a barrel premium to U.S.

The Houston Ship Channel could remain under one-way travel restrictions all week following a collision between a deep-draft ship and a barge that spilled petrochemicals into the waterway, according to an official.About 9,000 barrels of gasoline spilled into the channel near Bayport, Texas, when a 755-foot (230-m) tanker collided with a Kirby Inland Marine tugboat towing two barges containing the fuel. One barge ruptured and the other capsized.The U.S. Coast Guard limited travel to one-way traffic because barges blocked part of the channel.

Shipping along the Houston Ship Channel was limited to one-way traffic on Monday after a barge collided with a deep-draft ship that spilled petrochemicals into the waterway over the weekend, officials said.About 9,000 barrels of gasoline spilled into the channel near Bayport, Texas, when a 755-foot (230-m) tanker collided with a Kirby Inland Marine tugboat towing two barges containing the fuel. One barge ruptured and the other capsized. The one-way traffic limitation is due to the barges blocking part of the channel.

A massive fire at a fuels storage company along the Houston Ship Channel may burn for two more days, an official said on Monday as the blaze spread a plume of black smoke across the city, shutting schools in two nearby communities.The fire began Sunday morning in a giant storage tank containing naphtha, a volatile substance used to create octane-boosting components of gasoline.No injuries were reported from the fire but nearby residents were encouraged to remain indoors. The entire city of Deer Park, Texas, a Houston suburb, was told to shelter in doors all day Sunday.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has appointed GAC UK as its agent in Newcastle and Liverpool. Under the deal, GAC will manage 18 calls during 2018 for the 804-guest cruise ship Black Watch at its home port of Liverpool, and a further 16 for the 1,350-guest Balmoral, at its home port of Newcastle. Clare Ward, Director of Product and Customer Service at Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “Turnaround calls are always busy days for everybody involved in the operation, with crew changes, immigration and Customs formalities, stevedoring activity, receipt of supplies and much more all going on at once.

The world’s oldest full rigged tall ship, the Norwegian Sørlandet, has sailed into Hong Kong harbor this morning. The ship, which was built in 1927, is on a two year circumnavigation, crewed by students from A+ World Academy, an onboard boarding school comprising of international students from six different countries. Wallem Ship Agencies has been appointed port agent for the vessel, and therefore has assisted with all pre-arrival arrangements and in-port services for the vessel’s stay in Hong Kong.

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), the world's leading maritime and logistics service provider, is driving a global roll-out of its new cargo and agency platform, YourISS2. Designed to increase efficiencies, standardise processes and documents and enhance service delivery, the innovative platform also gives ISS customers the transparency and data they need for instant, informed business decisions, cost savings, performance and trade analysis. With Canada, Mexico, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Mexico among the latest countries to go live, YourISS2 is now available in all ISS locations and can be used by all stakeholders in the process of cargo or husbandry services.

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), the world-leading marine, cargo and supply chain solutions provider, has expanded its operations in Africa with the opening of new offices in Maputo, Mozambique which provide coverage across all of the country’s main ports from Pemba in the north, right down to Maputo itself. ISS Mozambique was declared open for business on 23rd March 2015, when it received its first agency nomination in the Port of Maputo as port agent for a Gasoil discharger. Services on offer are wide ranging and include Port Agency, Liner Agency, Vessel Husbandry, Customs Clearance and Freight Forwarding, and Project Logistics to the Offshore Oil and Gas Sector.

Press Release -- International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has reported a case in which the owner of a chemical tanker made an unsuccessful claim against a port agent for costs incurred in taking on additional low-sulphur fuel at a European port. The port agent was appointed by the owners of the chemical tanker to attend the vessel in port. As the agent did not have an office at that particular port, it engaged its usual sub-agent to assist locally. Prior to the vessel’s arrival, the master sent an email to the agent asking whether there were any restrictions on the type of fuel that could be used while the vessel was both alongside and at the port’s outer roads.

Wondering What to Trim? Look to the skies: billions in offshore savings may be orchestrated from the back office. For many managers (and analysts), sales, general and administrative costs, or SG&A, are ordinary accounting lines on an offshore services company’s ledger. Less ordinary — less known — is that a sizable chunk of the “A” in SG&A are travel costs that can be better managed. A recent restructuring-focused Deloitte report suggested that SG&A costs might be the wisest costs to shed without thwarting operations. For offshore suppliers, the wisest SG&A costs to shed might just be travel costs. Examining SG&A for offshore outfits produces some interesting travel numbers…

A traffic jam of oil tankers has emerged along the U.S. Texas coast this month, a snarl that some traders see as the latest sign of an unyielding global supply glut. More than 50 commercial vessels were anchored outside ports in the Houston area at the end of last week, of which 41 were tankers, according to the Houston Pilots, an organization that assists in the navigation of larger vessels in and around port areas. Normally there are between 30 to 40 vessels anchored offshore, of which two-thirds are tankers, according to the pilots. Although the channel has been shut intermittently due to fog or flooding in recent weeks, pilots said those issues were not significant enough to create the backlog.

The tall ship Tenacious has left her home port in the UK for an epic voyage to Australia. Over the next eight months, she will sail more than 17,000 NM and call at 26 ports en route to her final destination, Sydney. And at every stop along the way, she will be supported by the GAC global network. The three-masted square rigged 586 GT tall ship is one of two specially designed sailing vessels owned and operated by the Jubilee Sailing Trust, which was set up in 1978 to give people of all physical abilities the chance to experience sailing first hand. The Trust’s mission is to empower both able-bodied and disabled individuals to focus on what they can do rather than what they can’t, and to correct misconceptions about disability.