Railway Operator News

Australia's Macquarie group is investing in Brazilian ports by taking a stake in port operator CLI and funding a deal to buy sugar and grain terminals in Latin America's largest port, Santos, for $260 million, the companies said on Friday.Railway operator Rumo said in a securities filing late it has sold 80% of its subsidiary EPSA, which manages terminals 16 and 19 in Santos, to CLI for 1.4 billion reais ($260 million). Rumo will remain a minority shareholder.CLI, formally Corredor Logistica e Infraestrutura, belonged to the Brazilian private equity fund IG4.

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index rose on Monday, helped by higher rates in all vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, rose 87 points to 2,235 points, its highest since Feb.

An executive at Brazil's largest railway operator Rumo said soy crushing in China is returning to normal levels after an extended halt, a good sign for logistics operators involved in moving the oilseeds from Brazil's fields to the world's top importing country.Speaking at an event on Monday, Rumo's Chief Executive João Alberto Abreu said ship line-up data for soy vessels at Brazil's biggest port of Santos is robust, adding the company has not yet seen any fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak on freight activity.

The technology group Wärtsilä and VR Group, a national railway operator owned by the Finnish State, deepen their partnership as Wärtsilä begins to recondition the engines of diesel locomotives. The agreement significantly extends the previous relationship between the companies. For VR Group, the agreement ensures professional and flexible maintenance and reconditioning services of its diesel locomotives. Under this agreement, Wärtsilä will be in charge of reconditioning and test running of over 200 diesel engines on 191 locomotives of three different types. Additionally, the agreement covers the maintaining of spare part storage and ad-hoc support when needed. The spare parts for the engines are supplied by QuantiParts, the fully owned subsidiary of Wärtsilä.

Russian aluminum giant Rusal has stopped placing orders with two logistics firms that ship its exports, executives with the firms said on Tuesday, in a sign of deepening problems for the company after it was hit by U.S. sanctions.Rusal and its major shareholder Oleg Deripaska were included on a U.S. sanctions blacklist this month, leading to anxiety among many of its customers, suppliers and creditors who fear they too could be hit by sanctions through association with the company.A number of traders and customers of Rusal's aluminum have stopped buying the firm's products…

Hurricane-force winds lashed parts of northern Europe on Tuesday, including Germany and the Netherlands, causing flights to be cancelled, snarling some train services and hitting port traffic. The Dutch meteorological office issued a code red warning for the low-lying country's northern and coastal provinces, as gusts of up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) an hour battered the Netherlands. A spokesman for Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, Europe's fourth largest, said 80 flights had been cancelled because the wind had reduced runway capacity. It warned that delays would mount as flight volumes rose later in the day. At Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, two container terminals were closed, with ships forced to queue out at sea.

Brazil's antitrust regulator Cade on Wednesday approved the takeover of the country's main railway operator America Latina Logistica SA by Rumo Logistica SA with restrictions to protect against unfair market advantages. The lead Cade investigator on the case, Gilvandro de Araujo, said restrictions on the merger would include guarantees of third-party access to Rumo's two dry bulk terminals at Santos, Brazil's biggest port. The restrictions are aimed at addressing concerns of sugar and grain producers and traders who fear the deal will create a monopoly on railway access to the port of Santos. Araujo also said executives of Cosan SA, the sugar and ethanol producer that belongs to the same industrial group as Rumo, would not be allowed to take management positions at the merged company.

Thodoris Dritsas is taken charge as Greece's new shipping minister following the electoral victory of the country's left-wing party Syriza. Among the first decision of the Ministry is halting privatization of Greece's biggest port. “We will not sell a majority stake in Port Authority of Piraeus (PPA)," said Thodoris Dritsas, Deputy Minister for shipping. A 67 percent stake in the port had been slated to be sold under one of the austerity measures the previous Greek government had agreed to take. China’s Cosco Group was among four international companies bidding on a 67% stake in Piraeus Port Authority. Thodoris Dritsas, Greece’s new deputy minister in charge of shipping told Reuters that the Cosco deal will be reviewed “to the benefit of the Greek people”.

China's Cosco Group and four other suitors have been shortlisted as potential buyers of a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority OLP, Greek privatisation agency HRADF said on Thursday. Greece is aiming for privatisation revenues of 1.5 billion euros this year by selling a stake in OLP and in Thessaloniki Port Authority OLTH, as well as by privatising railway operator TRAINOSE, rolling stock company ROSCO and some regional airports, among other assets. The other potential OLP investors shortlisted were: U.S. terminal operator Ports America; Dutch container terminal operator APM Terminals; Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services ; and close-ended investment company Utilico Emerging Markets Limited.

China's Cosco Group and five other investors have expressed interest in a majority stake in Piraeus port (OLP), the largest in the country, Greece's privatisation agency HRADF said on Monday. Cosco Group's initial interest for a 67 percent stake in OLP, is further highlighting Chinese investors' appetite for Greek assets as the state sells off parts of its businesses to go some way to balance the bailed out country's books. Greece last month picked a Chinese-backed bid to develop a prime seaside property at the former Athens airport Hellenikon.

A decline in demand for Capesize vessels has been countered by an improvement in demand for Panamax vessels, according to the latest Dry Bulk Insight published by Drewry Maritime Research. This left the Drewry Hire Index unchanged from January’s level. Panamax was the sole segment to record an improvement in earnings in February. Rates for vessels doing round voyages from Far East to East Australia more than doubled, rising from $3,954pd to $6,818. Weather-led disruptions in transport have affected Australian coal exports and will continue to do so as the mines are still flooded. There was a 19% decline in coal exports from the four major ports of Queensland in January.