Steve Orlofsky News

Smaller-than-expected soybean harvests in the major production states of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Ohio sparked a surprise cut to the U.S. harvest outlook, the government said on Tuesday.But U.S. corn production will be bigger than previously projected as farmers recorded their biggest yield ever, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department's monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. Expectations for rising production estimates had put pressure on soy and corn prices heading into the report.

Leading British ports operator Peel Ports aims to become net zero of carbon emissions at all its operations by 2040 and is exploring hydrogen fuel solutions for some of its energy needs, the private group's chief executive said.Britain has said it is committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, and finance minister Rishi Sunak told companies this week to set out plans by 2023 for a transition to a low-carbon economy.Mark Whitworth, CEO of Liverpool-headquartered Peel Ports…

Dozens of Greenpeace activists in Rotterdam port used a ship, buoys and a small flotilla of kayaks on Monday to block traffic around Shell’s Pernis refinery, Europe’s largest, as part of a campaign seeking a ban on fossil fuel advertising.Police ended the blockade after several hours and the port’s authority said economic disruption to the wider harbor was minimal.The action comes as Greenpeace and more than 20 other environmental groups began seeking a million signatures for a European Union-wide ban on adverts and sponsorships by oil and gas companies…

Indonesian navy has increased patrols around its Natuna islands in the South China Sea after Chinese and U.S. vessels were detected nearby in international waters, despite saying there were no disturbance from the vessels, a navy official said on Thursday.Five navy vessels, assisted by an air patrol, have been deployed in North Natuna Sea to secure the area, Indonesian Navy western fleet commander Arsyad Abdullah told reporters.“The Navy’s position on the North Natuna Sea is very…

Royal Dutch Shell on Monday began evacuating staff from a U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil platform, and other energy companies began preparing for hurricane-force winds from a second Gulf Coast storm in as many weeks.Tropical Storm Nicholas was about 105 miles (115 km) south of Port O'Connor, Texas, and moving north with winds of 60 miles per hour (97 kph). It could become a hurricane just ahead of landfall on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.Waves stirred up by Nicholas neared 12 feet (3.7 m) in height were reported outside of Port Aransas…

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest U.S. privately owned deepwater crude terminal, has fully reopened its marine operations for imports and exports, a spokesperson said on Friday.The facility closed on Aug. 28 ahead of Hurricane Ida, which caused extensive damages to U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production and processing. More than two-thirds of oil production was shut-in on Friday.There were no vessels docked at the port on Friday, the spokesperson said. However, at least one tanker…

Leading shipping associations have proposed creating a global levy on carbon emissions from ships to help speed up the industry's efforts to go greener.With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions and the sector is under growing pressure to get cleaner.For the first time, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and Intercargo jointly proposed a levy based on mandatory contributions by ships trading globally…

Grains ships and vessels transporting other products on the Paraguay River are loading at around half capacity due to a historic drought that has hit river levels in the South American region, hurting trade of key agricultural commodities.Industry insiders said that many cargo holds on ships were being left empty, travel times were being delayed and farmers in the world's fourth-largest exporter of soybeans were having to hold on longer to grains that they couldn't ship."The situation is critical and delicate…

The European Union will push for tougher standards to cut the CO2 emissions intensity of ships at a meeting of the United Nations' maritime agency next week, a senior official said on Thursday.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will next week discuss measures to steer shipping towards its pledge to halve shipping's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, from 2008 levels.Among them are standards requiring ships to reduce their CO2 intensity. An IMO working group has proposed an 11% carbon intensity cut by 2026…

More than 1,000 barges were backed up on the lower Mississippi River on Friday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, while traders anxiously awaited an update on the shutdown of a portion of the waterway that is critical to U.S. crop exports.The Coast Guard on Tuesday stopped all traffic on the river near Memphis, Tennessee, after a fracture was discovered in the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, which carries vehicular traffic on Interstate 40 over the river. The closure is disrupting shipments of goods including oil and corn toward export terminals at the Gulf of Mexico.As of Friday morning, 62 vessels with a total of 1,058 barges were waiting in the queue for the river to reopen, the Coast Guard said on Twitter.

Cheniere Energy Inc, the top U.S. liquefied natural gas producer, on Wednesday raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast, predicting higher demand for the fuel as COVID-19 vaccinations boost economic recovery.Lockdown measures implemented to curb the pandemic slashed demand for energy and hurt prices for natural gas in 2020. But with economic recovery in Asia, particularly in China, fuel sales have picked up.Shares rose 1% to $70.37 in midday trading, a more than two-year…

The Pakistan navy’s seventh biennial multinational “Aman” (peace) exercise in Pakistani waters aimed at fostering international cooperation to fight piracy, terrorism and other crimes threatening maritime security concluded on Tuesday.Around 45 navies, including those of the United States, Britain and China, took part in the Arabian Sea exercise with ships and observers.“The purpose of this exercise to bring regional and extra-regional navies on one platform and conduct exercises to enhance intra-operability in addition to counter terrorist threat and the crime which are happening in maritime

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index dropped on Monday, as weaker rates for the larger capesize segment offset gains in panamax and supramax vessel rates.The Baltic dry index, tracking rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell 14 points, or 0.8%, to an over one-week low of 1,740.The capesize index retreated 54 points, or about 1.9%, to 2,839.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $448 to $23,541.The panamax index gained 2 points , or 0.1%, to 1,618.Average dail

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) , the country's top refiner, has loaded its first cargo of Iraq's newly introduced Basra Medium crude grade, according to ship-tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon and a source with knowledge of the matter.IOC loaded the cargo onto Minerva Kalypso, a Suezmax-sized vessel, which left Iraq's southern port of Basra on Jan. 4, the data showed.The ship is expected to arrive at Chennai port in southeastern India for IOC's subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp (CPCL) around Jan. 14.Iraq's state oil marketing company (SOMO) launched the new sour crude grade in January by splitting existing Basra Light production into two grades to provide better quality stability."From this year IOC will get all three grades - Basra Light…

Argentine oilseed workers and grains inspectors said on Wednesday they will spend Christmas on strike, further bogging down agricultural exports by extending a work stoppage that started on Dec. 9.The latest offer from the CIARA-CEC chamber of soyoil manufacturers and exporters was issued late on Tuesday. It was rejected by the SOEA union of oilseed workers and the Argentine federation of oilseed workers."We and our families will spend Christmas on strike," said the two unions…

A Venezuelan floating oil facility that had been listing in recent weeks is upright and shows no sign of sinking, but plans to offload crude from the vessel posed some risks, the energy minister of neighboring Trinidad and Tobago said on Thursday.A team of experts from Trinidad inspected the Nabarima facility on Tuesday and found there was “absolutely no tilt” and that the vessel was “totally horizontal,” Energy Minister Franklyn Khan told reporters.“There is no imminent risk of tilting or sinking…

Tankers were entering and leaving Cheniere Energy Inc's Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas export plant in Louisiana despite draft limitations in the Sabine-Neches Waterway after a rig ran aground in the channel over the weekend.The U.S. Coast Guard said a large semi-submersible rig, called the Jasminia, drifted into and ran aground in the Sabine Bank Channel, limiting vessels entering the waterway to those with a maximum draft of 36 feet (11 meters).The waterway sits on the Texas-Louisiana border and connects the Gulf of Mexico to Cheniere’s Sabine and oil refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas.That area is west of where two hurricanes—Laura and Delta—struck in recent weeks.

Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) plans to offload crude from the Nabarima floating oil facility via ship-to-ship (STS) transfer amid environmental concerns, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday.The Nabarima, part of PDVSA’s Petrosucre joint venture with Italy’s Eni SpA in the Paria Gulf off Venezuela’s eastern coast, is laden with 1.3 million barrels of crude.Images last week showed it tilting on its side, raising worries about a possible oil spill.

More than 70 ships are lined up at Brazil's port of Santos to load sugar for export in a queue that may take a month to clear after buyers worldwide scrambled to get ahead of possible disruption caused by the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.A large share of the global sugar trade turned to Brazil, which posted record output, and after poor harvests in India and Thailand. The South American nation now has, however, the second-most COVID-19 cases worldwide at more than 610,000.Three bulk carriers had loading operations suspended in recent weeks and faced a 14-day quarantine in Santos…

The lead vessel of a five-tanker flotilla carrying fuel supplied by Iran to gasoline-thirsty Venezuela neared one of state-run PDVSA's ports as President Nicolas Maduro thanked Tehran on Sunday.Iran is providing Venezuela with 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and components in a move criticized by U.S. authorities as both nations are under Washington's sanctions, according to the governments, sources, and calculations by TankerTrackers.com.Tanker Fortune was due to arrive at PDVSA's El Palito port, close to the capital Caracas, according to a company source and Refinitiv Eikon data showing its trajectory. A second vessel, the Forest, entered the Caribbean Sea on Saturday.

Shipping group CMA CGM has obtained a 1.05 billion euro ($1.1 billion) loan to be 70% guaranteed by the French government as it seeks to bolster its cash position during the coronavirus pandemic, which has hammered international trade.The loan, secured from a consortium of banks comprising BNP Paribas, HSBC and Société Générale, has an initial one-year maturity and an extension option of up to five years, Marseille-based CMA CGM said in a statement on Wednesday.France is offering guarantees to support billions of euros in loans for French companies to help them survive the economic fallout fro

A U.S. Navy sailor died on Monday after contracting the coronavirus aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, whose captain was fired after warning his crew would die unnecessarily unless strong action was taken.The sailor, the first active-duty U.S. servicemember to die from coronavirus complications, was admitted to intensive care on April 9 after being found unresponsive in his quarters. The sailor had tested positive exactly two weeks ago on March 30, the Navy said.“I am keenly aware of the dedication and commitment of our Sailors and Marines in service to our Nation – in war…

The vessel Aeolian Grace, loaded with some 65,000 tonnes of soybeans, has been stranded in Brazil's São Francisco do Sul port since Wednesday, authorities said in a statement on Thursday.Authorities said they were still evaluating whether there were any damages to the ship and had not identified any oil leaks.In a telephone interview, a press representative for the port authority said ship movements were authorized to resume on Thursday afternoon, with partial restrictions depending on the vessel's size.As operations gradually restart, the Bunga Lilac vessel received permission to maneuver and offload about 5,000 tonnes of vegetable oil, the press person said.Four ships currently are waiting to load soy at São Francisco do Sul, according to the press office.The stranded ship's destination