Demand for Larger Dry Bulk Vessels Wanes
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, pressured by lower rates for larger capesize and panamax vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell by 33 points, or 3.2%, to 1,004.The capesize index went down by 61 points, or 4%, to its lowest level in near six-week at 1,468.Average daily earnings for capesizes…
Baltic Index Falls, Capesizes Hold Near 13-year High
The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index slipped on Monday, as a decline in capesize rates offset gains in smaller vessel segments, although the main index held close to a 13-year high.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize vessels, fell for a second straight session, by 38 points or 0.7%, to 5,488. The index hit its highest in more than 13 years, at 5,650 points, on Oct. 7.The capesize index shed 137 points, or 1.4%, to 9,975, but held close to its highest since 2008.
China Launches New Marine Satellite
China successfully launched a new marine satellite into orbit yesterday (Friday) to help improve understanding of maritime waters and study the impact of climate change, Xinhua reported.A Long March-2C rocket carrying the HY-1C satellite took off at 11:15 a.m. from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province.The satellite will assist in monitoring ocean colour and water temperatures, providing basic data for research on the global oceanic environment, reports Xinhua, citing the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), which oversees China's space activities.Its data will also be used in the survey of the resources and environment of China's offshore waters…
China coal province to Cut pollution by 20 pct by 2020
One of China's top coal-producing provinces has vowed to slash its level of fine particle pollution by one-fifth by 2020, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, citing the provincial government. China has adopted various measures from policing barbeques to halting industrial production in efforts to ease the yearly winter haze that hit the country earlier this month leaving cities veiled in foul-smelling smog. China's northern Shanxi province aims to increase the proportion of days per year with good air quality to 75.4 percent, the agency said. The move comes after concentrations of PM2.5, fine particulate matter, in a major northern Chinese city exceeded a World Health Organisation guideline by 100 times in December.
China Launches Maritime Satellite
China’s Academy of Space Technology in Beijing has launched a new high-tech satellite, called the Gaofen 3 high-resolution Earth observation satellite, which has been designed to protect its maritime interests, as well as warn of natural disasters, according to China Daily. The satellite was delivered by a Long March 4C rocket that blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province. "The satellite will play an important role in monitoring the marine environment, islands and reefs, and ships and oil rigs," the official China Daily newspaper said, citing project leader Xu Fuxiang. "Satellites like the Gaofen-3 will be very useful in safeguarding the country's maritime rights and interests," he added, according to the newspaper.
Damen Delivers Cutter Suction Dredger 450 ‘Fen He’
A Damen CSD450 dredger was shipped within 3 weeks from receipt of the order. The environmental cutter suction dredger is right now on its way to Taiyaun, China, where it will arrive well in time to assist in fighting the sedimentation problem of the Fen river. The CSD450 dredger will be called ‘Fen He’, which means “River Fen” in Chinese. It will be based in Taiyuan in the Shanxi province in northern China. There, the river Fen leaves the mountains and flows through the city. The river carries a lot of sediment from the mountains and deposits its load around Taiyuan.
Tognum, Norinco Opens Engine, Genset Facility in China
Tognum, the specialist for propulsion and power solutions, and China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco) have held a ceremony in the Chinese city of Datong to mark the opening of a joint undertaking involving the assembly of large, high-speed MTU diesel engines and emergency standby gensets. Datong is located around 300 kilometers west of Beijing in Shanxi Province. Tognum subsidiary MTU Asia Pte. Ltd. and the Norinco Group Company Shanxi Diesel Engine Industry Corporation (SDEIC) are jointventure partners. SDEIC has been manufacturing MTU engines under license since 1986.
