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Shipping Corp News

13 Dec 2023

Tanker in Red Sea Targeted by Speedboat Gunfire and Missiles

© FER737NG / Adobe Stock

A tanker in the Red Sea off Yemen's coast was fired on by gunmen in a speedboat and targeted with missiles, maritime sources said on Wednesday, the latest incident to threaten the shipping lane after Yemeni Houthi forces warned ships not to travel to Israel.A second commercial vessel was also approached by the speedboat in the same area though not attacked, British maritime security firm Ambrey and other sources said.Separately, a U.S. defence official in Washington said the U.S.

02 Nov 2023

Cargo Ship Catches Fire Off the Philippines

(Photo: Philippine Coast Guard)

A fire that broke out Thursday aboard the cargo ship Ken off the Philippines has been extinguished, the Philippine Coast Guard said.The vessel, owned by Pherwin Shipping Corp., reportedly caught fire near Castilla Anchorage Area in Sorsogon at around 11 a.m. local time.The Coast Guard said it coordinated with the Philippine Navy and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) for joint search and rescue and firefighting operations.According to the eight crewmembers on board, the fire started in the vessel's mess hall. No injuries were reported.

11 Apr 2023

India Set to Finally Privatize Shipping Corp of India after Years of Delay

The Indian government plans to invite financial bids for the privatization of Shipping Corp of India Ltd (SCI) next month, as it looks to sell the state-run company after years of delay, two government officials told Reuters.The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had, in 2019, announced plans to privatize a number of state-run companies, including selling its stake in SCI, which was stalled due to regulatory delays.SCI – which owns and operates bulk carriers and crude oil tankers, among others – had to spin off its non-core assets before the government could sell its 63.75% stake, which hit a roadblock over the amount of funds to be transferred to the demerged entity.SCI completed the spinoff last month after getting regulatory approval late in February.This demerged entity…

31 Oct 2022

COSCO Shipping to Buy $2.7B Port Assets from Parent. Enters $2.9B Shipbuilding Deal

©Wolfgang Jargstorff/AdobeStock

COSCO Shipping Holdings Co Ltd  said on Monday it has agreed to buy port assets from its parent for an aggregate 19.7 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) as it aims to build a global digital supply chain for its customers. The Chinese shipping group said it would buy 14.9% of Shanghai International Port (Group) from its indirect controlling parent China COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd for 18.9 billion yuan, and a 3.2% stake in Guangzhou Port for 778.7 million yuan. COSCO Shipping Holdings also…

18 Mar 2022

Bangladesh Seeks $22.4 Million After Missile Hits Ship in Ukraine

State-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corp is seeking $22.4 million from its insurer for a cargo ship hit by a missile in March, government officials with knowledge of the talks said, in the first major marine insurance claim from the conflict in Ukraine.The UN's shipping agency said last week it would create a safe maritime corridor for merchant ships and crews stuck in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, although shipping industry sources expect progress to be slow. Projectiles have hit four other vessels in recent days with one sunk.Insurance premiums have soared by over 100% for voyages to the region since the war started. Insurers are watching…

16 Mar 2022

Russia-linked Oil, Fuel Cargoes Rush to US Before Ban Starts

At least 10 vessels carrying Russia-linked cargoes of crude and refined products were approaching the United States on Wednesday, as suppliers rushed to deliver ahead of the U.S. government's deadline to wind down Russian energy purchases, data from traders and Refinitiv Eikon showed.The United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, this month banned imports of Russian energy products due to the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special operation." Washington's ban gives importers until April 22 to discharge cargoes moving under pre-ban contracts.At least one tanker carrying fuel oil heading to the United States has diverted, and at least two others that stopped at Russian terminals are awaiting discharge at U.S. ports, according to Refinitiv data, one since March 7.U.S.

03 Mar 2022

Two Cargo Ships Hit by Blasts around Ukraine, One Seafarer Killed

An Estonian-owned cargo ship sank on Thursday off Ukraine's major Black Sea port of Odessa, hours after a Bangladeshi vessel was hit by a missile or bomb at a port east of Odessa, underlining the growing peril to merchant shipping after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Many shipping firms have suspended journeys to Black Sea ports and other terminals in Ukraine amid soaring recent insurance premiums for such voyages. At least three commercial ships have been hit separately by projectiles since Feb. 24 when Russia's invasion began.Viktor Vyshnov, deputy head of Ukraine’s Maritime Administration, said six crew members from the Marshall Islands-flagged Helt were picked up by Ukraine's rescue service and taken to a hospital in nearby Chernomorsk after floating in cold water for many hours…

16 Aug 2021

SEACOR Acquires USSC

(Photo: USSC)

SEACOR Holdings Inc. completed its acquisition of U.S. Shipping Corp (USSC), a privately owned provider of long-haul marine transportation for chemical and petroleum cargoes in the U.S. coastwise trade, operating under the Jones Act.

26 Oct 2020

UK Special Forces Storm Oil Tanker, Detain Stowaways in English Channel

British special forces stormed a Greek-operated oil tanker in the English channel on Sunday to wrestle control of the vessel from seven stowaways who had threatened the crew in a suspected hijacking.Troops from the Special Boat Service, a navy special forces unit whose headquarters in just a few miles away from where the vessel began showing signs of distress, boarded the Nave Andromeda near the Isle of Wight off southern England.Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel authorized the armed forces to board the ship “to safeguard life and secure a ship that was subject to suspected hijacking”, the defense ministry said.“Armed forces have gained control of the ship and seven individuals have been detained,” the ministry said.

25 Feb 2020

Marine News' 2020 ATB Report

(Photo: Vane Bros.)

There’s a barge full of reasons why many operators turn to ATBs.A  mainstay of the U.S. coastwise dirty and refined products trades, articulated tug barges (ATB) have increasingly filled a void left as the fleet of Jones Act tankers (with crew complement requirements exceeding that of tugs) has aged out. With the cargo capacity of the larger ATBs – some with barges exceeding 300,000 barrels capacity – rivalling that of workhorse tankers that had served oil consuming regions, the concept certainly makes sense from a supply and distribution perspective.With 50…

16 Oct 2019

U.S. Frets About Untrackable China Ships with Iran Oil

Stock / © Carabay

The White House is warning Chinese shipping companies against turning off their ships' transponders to hide Iranian oil shipments in violation of U.S. sanctions, two senior administration officials said."We've been messaging very heavily to the shipping companies, you don't want to do this, it's not worth it," said one official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. "It's incredibly dangerous and irresponsible behavior."China is the largest remaining buyer of Iranian oil after U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Tehran's main export. Trump tightened U.S.

24 Sep 2019

U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Firms Moving Venezuelan Oil to Cuba

© Marit / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four maritime firms and vessels transporting Venezuelan oil to Cuba, amid an acute fuel scarcity in the island that is forcing people to line up for gasoline and public transport.Despite tough U.S. measures against Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA in January, Cuba's state-run oil import and export company Cubametales and other Cuba-based entities "have continued to circumvent sanctions by receiving oil shipments from Venezuela…

27 Jun 2019

Shipping Companies: Is Bigger Better?

© Julien/Adobe Stock

“If consolidation was the solution to all that ails shipping, then container liner companies would be super profitable. They are not. In ‘commoditized’ sectors of the shipping industry, which by now includes pretty much everything apart from very small niche markets, there is hardly any economies of scale at the company level. As long as bigger is not in fact much better, then meaningful consolidation will not happen.”Dr. Roar Adland, visiting scholar at MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics and Professor at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).Like any other business…

12 Apr 2019

U.S. Sanctions Firms, Ships for PDVSA Cargoes

The United States on Friday announced more sanctions on shipping companies transporting oil from Venezuela, blacklisting four shipping companies and nine vessels, some of which the U.S. Treasury Department said carried oil to Cuba.The U.S. Treasury identified the firms as Liberia-based Jennifer Navigation Ltd, Lima Shipping Corp and Large Range Ltd, and Italy-based PB Tankers S.P.A.It blacklisted one tanker belonging to each of the Liberian firms and six owned by the Italian firm.A Treasury statement said Venezuela’s oil sector continued "to provide a lifeline to the illegitimate regime" of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.“We continue to target companies that transport Venezuelan oil to Cuba…

28 Jan 2019

Orient Overseas Container Line Reports 10% Revenue Growth

Hong Kong-based container shipping and logistics service company Orient Overseas Container Line said that its revenue in 2018 increased by 9.9% to USD 5.96 billion for all services, compared to USD 5.42 billion reported in the previous year."Loadable capacity increased by 7.4%. The overall load factor was 0.8% lower than the same period in 2017. Overall average revenue per teu increased by 3.4% compared to the same period last year," it said in a press release.For the fourth quarter of 2018 (ended 31st December 2018), total volumes were 6.4% up from the same period last year.Total revenues increased by 13.5% to US Dollars 1,566.5 million. Loadable capacity increased by 6.1%. The overall load factor was 0.2% higher than the same period in 2017.

30 Oct 2017

Cosco Ports Q3 volume up 17%

Cosco Shipping Ports saw third quarter throughput rise 16.6% to 23.10m TEU from 19.81m TEU in the previous corresponding period. "Driven by the growth of international trade and the supports from shipping alliances and shipping fleets of parent company, the Group’s total throughput recorded satisfactory growth," said a company statement. For the nine months ended 30 September 2017, the Group’s total container throughput rose 13.5% to 64,885,641 TEU (corresponding period of 2016: 57,165,661 TEU). For the three months ended 30 September 2017, the Group’s subsidiaries handled 18.9% (3Q2016: 19.6%) of the Group’s total throughput with a total of 4…

29 Aug 2017

COSCO Shipping Ports Reports Better H1 Results

The port terminal operator division of China COSCO Shipping Corp. posted net profits of  US$384.7 million, an increase of  123.7% for FY 2017, compared with the corresponding period last year. Total throughput of the Group’s container terminals increased by 11.8% to 41,780,867 TEU for the six months ended 30 June 2017 (1H2016: 37,358,210 TEU); of which about 19.3% (1H2016: 21.1%) or 8,046,468 TEU (1H2016: 7,880,362 TEU) were handled by the Group’s subsidiaries; and the remaining 80.7% (1H2016: 78.9%) or 33,734,399 TEU (1H2016: 29,477,848) were handled by the Group’s non-controlling terminals. The throughput of the Greater China region accounted for 78.7% (1H2016: 83.0%) of the Group’s total throughput in the first half of 2017…

02 Aug 2017

The Evolving ATB Jones Act Business Model

ATB Corpus Christi/Petrochem Supplier (Image Credit: US Shipping Corp)

Today’s ATB play seemingly has legs for the long haul, as operators build and market needs fluctuate. The refined product trades are always in flux. Similarly, the supply patterns for products (and for chemicals derived from oil refining) are subject to constant change. At the same time, the distribution of refined petroleum products sees great benefit from the efficiency of Articulated Tug Barges (ATBs), which have the flexibility to adjust to dynamic supply programs between refineries and myriad distribution facilities dotting the coastline. It wasn’t always like that.

03 Jan 2017

China COSCO Shipping Buys Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank

Australia & New Zealand Banking Corp (ANZ) has agreed to sell its 20 percent stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank (SRCB) for US$1.33bn. China Cosco Shipping Corp and Shanghai Sino-Poland Enterprise Management Development Corp had each agreed to acquire 10 percent of SRCB. The sale comes as the bank moves to shrink its business and scale back its presence in the region. ANZ said the sale will not have a meaningful impact on its balance sheet, with the price broadly in line with the value of the asset in ANZ's annual accounts. No comment was immediately available from China Cosco Shipping or Sino-Poland. State-owned China Cosco Shipping has amassed stakes in several Chinese banks and financial companies, says a report in FT.

20 Jan 2017

COSCO Shipping Denies OOCL Bid Reports

Rumors that COSCO Shipping Corp plans to bid for Hong Kong's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) are incorrect, a spokeswoman for the Chinese shipping giant said on Friday.   "We deny these rumors," she told Reuters.   On Wednesday, the Caixin newspaper reported that the company would participate in bidding for the unit of Orient Overseas International Ltd, alongside Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp and France's CMA CGM.   Reporting by Brenda Goh

26 Jan 2017

Cosco Shipping Holdings to Post 2016 Loss

Cosco Shipping Holdings (CSH)has announced that its profit for 2016 will be below that of 2015, reports Reuters. The container shipping arm of state-owned China Cosco Shipping Corp expects to post a net loss of 9.9 billion yuan ($1.44 billion) for 2016, citing the impact of asset disposal and a weak freight market. On some trade lanes, including the high-volume route between Asia and Europe, average revenues per TEU in 2016 were at record lows. Cosco said that freight rates began to recover in the fourth quarter which likely helped it to a 700 million yuan fourth-quarter profit before interest and tax. The forecast full-year loss would be Cosco Shipping’s weakest annual performance since 2011 after the firm began restructuring last year in response to a prolonged market downturn.

29 Mar 2017

New Mississippi Container Terminal Planned

Image: Plaquemines Port Harbor & Terminal District

Plans have been put in motion to develop a new intermodal container terminal on the lower Mississippi River. Designed to service the largest ocean carriers, the new 1,000 acre container terminal will be capable of docking vessels up to 20,000 TEU with deep-water access and 21,600 linear feet of waterfront allow for multiple ocean and APCT vessels to be accommodated simultaneously. The container port, located between mile 50 and 55 on the Mississippi River, will be the southern-most full service port complex on the river…

14 Oct 2016

Cosco Raises $1.8bln Capital

China’s COSCO Shipping Development Co Ltd  announced a proposed nonpublic issuance of about 3.28 billion shares to specific investors, including its parent company, to raise up to 12 billion yuan ($1.79 billion), reports China Daily. COSCO Shipping Development will become a financing platform of its parent company-China Cosco Shipping Corp, the country's largest shipping company, according to its public statement. The company will use 6 billion yuan and 2.4 billion yuan from the proceeds for the capital injection into two of its subsidiaries, COSCO Shipping Leasing Co Ltd and Florens International respectively, while it will also use 1.8 billion yuan for the redemption of maturing corporate bonds and 1.8 billion yuan to refill the working capital of the company.