Rachel Armstrong News

Survivors of a boat disaster that likely killed hundreds of migrants near Greece have given accounts of traffickers in North Africa cramming them into a clapped-out fishing trawler. They recounted hellish conditions above and below deck, with no food or water.Some also said the tragic end, when it came, was precipitated by the actions of the Greek coastguard. They have told judicial authorities of a doomed attempt to tow the overloaded trawler that caused the vessel to capsize…

Reinsurers are set to foot most of the bill for the grounding of the ship that halted traffic in the Suez Canal, industry sources said, with payouts expected to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.International supply chains were thrown into disarray when the 400 meter Ever Given ran aground in the canal on March 23, with specialist rescue teams taking almost a week to free the vessel.Around 400 vessels were affected by the canal’s closure, which led to some having to divert around Africa to get supplies to global markets.Ships typically have protection & indemnity (P&I) insurance…

Travel and insurance group Saga said it has seen a higher level of near-term cancellations for its cruises and tours due to the coronavirus epidemic.Forward passenger tour bookings were down around 20% versus the prior year, with a more significant impact in recent weeks, the UK group that caters for the over-50s said in a statement on Thursday.It said it had seen a higher level of cruise cancellations for departures in the near-term and more generally a lower level of bookings for departures further out…

The Lloyd's of London insurance market said on Tuesday that from a European Union perspective its managing agents can now provide insurance and reinsurance for the transportation of Iranian oil and petroleum products, following the lifting of sanctions. However it added that some restrictions on U.S. trade remain in place. "The U.S. has also lifted sanctions on Iran regarding the oil and shipping sectors, although principally this relief targets non-U.S. persons conducting business with Iran," Sean McGovern, Lloyd's chief risk officer, said in a market bulletin. "With a few exceptions, the general U.S. trade embargo on Iran remains in place and U.S.

Traders and shipping companies scrambled to source fuel and take over supply contracts on Friday after Danish marine fuel supplier OW Bunker said a suspected fraud at its Singapore subsidiary had pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy. The alleged fraud at Singapore-based subsidiary Dynamic Oil Trading is potentially one of the biggest financial market scandals to hit the city state since 2004, when China Aviation Oil (Singapore) ran up oil futures losses of $550 million. Some institutional and individual investors in Denmark said they were considering taking legal action against the firm.

Drilling rig builder Sembcorp Marine Ltd said on Monday its second-quarter net profit rose 5.4 percent from a year earlier, helped by stronger performance from its rig building and fixed platform businesses. The Singaporean company reported a net profit for the quarter ended on June 30 of S$131.6 million ($105.57 million), which brings the first-half net profit to S$254 million. The mean full-year net profit forecast stood at S$597 million, based on estimates from 24 analysts, Thomson Reuters data showed.

China's increasing regulatory influence over international mergers and acquisitions has helped to create the hottest new commodity in its legal industry: anti-trust lawyers. Six years ago, China did not even have a legal system for regulating the impact of M&A on competition. Today, its Ministry of Commerce is the biggest wildcard for dealmakers trying to get a major cross-border deal past anti-trust regulators. The ministry's decision last month to reject Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk's planned alliance with Swiss and French rivals came as a "big surprise" to Maersk Chief Executive Nils Smedegaard Anderson, whose team had been in close contact with the regulator until days earlier.

Deutsche Post expects its DHL forwarding business to be granted immunity from prosecution and fines by Singapore antitrust authorities, who are investigating 11 companies for alleged price fixing, the German logistics company said. The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) said this month it was investigating 11 freight forwarding companies, including Deutsche Post unit DHL Global Forwarding, for alleged price-fixing of air freight forwarding services. Deutsche Post told Reuters last week that the probe related to pricing and surcharges in the forwarding industry from 2002 to 2007. Forwarders buy cargo space from airlines, shippers and truckers and bundle shipments for customers, such as carmakers, high-tech firms and agriculture firms.

This would be only the second mainboard IPO in Singapore this year. Singapore's IPO market lacklustre in recent years, but oil and gas related offerings find favour in Singapore. A major operator of maritime support vessels controlled by Malaysia's richest man is seeking up to $380 million in a Singapore IPO - a boost to the city-state's stock market which has seen just one other mainboard listing this year. The deal from PACC Offshore Services Holdings (POSH), the largest Asia-based international operator of support vessels for offshore oilfields, comes as Singapore's IPO market has struggled in recent years. Most big-ticket listings in Asia opt for Hong Kong where there is more robust demand from Chinese and international investors.

Reuters - Ministers in 12-nation Trans-Pacific trade talks said on Tuesday they have made progress trying to finalize a deal during a four-day meeting in Singapore, but several issues remain, particularly questions over market access. "While some issues remain, we have charted a path forward to resolve them," said New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser, reading from a joint media release at the end of the meeting. "Market access" issues remain one of the main sticking points, the ministers said. Ministers involved in the talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which aims to break down trade barriers across a wide range of sectors, had signalled ahead of the meeting that they were close to reaching a deal.