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Susan Fenton News

18 Feb 2024

Two Dead in Migrant Rescues off Libya

Source: MSF

More than 80 migrants were saved, but two died and three were missing following two sea rescue operations in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity said on Sunday.MSF's vessel Geo Barents picked up over 60 people late on Saturday from a rubber dinghy in distress in international waters off Libya. It also recovered one body, and one of the migrants taken on board died shortly after the rescue.Another 19 people were picked up from a nearby abandoned Tunisian offshore oil platform, MSF said.

08 Feb 2024

Russia's Arctic LNG 2 Last Line is on Hold

Source: TotalEnergies

The third and the last train of the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia has been put on hold but the second train is likely to be installed, the head of stakeholder TotalEnergies' said.The liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Russian Arctic has faced challenges from U.S. sanctions imposed on the project last November over the conflict in Ukraine, and subsequent force majeures by shareholders.At the end of 2023 Arctic LNG 2 started tentative production at its first train, which is yet to deliver a first cargo.

21 Jan 2024

Drone Attack: Russia Suspends Operations at Ust-Luga

© grigvovan / Adobe Stock

Russian energy company Novatek said on Sunday it had been forced to suspend some operations at a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal due to a fire started by what Ukrainian media said was a drone attack.The giant Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km (110 miles) west of St. Petersburg, is used to ship oil and gas products to international markets. It processes stable gas condensate - a type of light oil - into light and heavy naphtha, kerosene and diesel to be shipped by sea.It was not clear how long the disruption would last…

11 Jan 2024

Iran Confirms Seizure of Oil Tanker Involved in US-Iran Dispute

© evannovostro / Adobe Stock

Iran seized a tanker with Iraqi crude destined for Turkey on Thursday in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its oil by the U.S., Iranian state media reported, a move likely to stoke regional tensions.The seizure of the Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas coincides with weeks of attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militias targeting Red Sea shipping routes."After the theft of Iranian oil by the United States last year, St Nikolas tanker was seized by Iran's Navy this morning with a judicial order ...

08 Jan 2024

India Providing Escort for Ships Around the Red Sea

© Alexeiy / Adobe Stock

India's defense ministry is providing protective escorts to Indian containerships in the high seas around the Red Sea as the security situation there continues to simmer, a government source said on Friday.Containers could face delays of 14 days in their turnaround time due to taking a longer sea route around Africa which is also causing higher transport and insurance costs, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added."The cost of freight & insurance has risen due to ships being compelled to avoid the region & take a longer route.

20 Oct 2023

Strait of Hormuz: The World's Most Important Oil Artery

© Lotharingia / Adobe Stock

The Israel-Hamas war has raised the spectre of a wider regional conflict which could embroil Iran and other regional factions.Analysts and market observers say the conflict could prompt the United States to tighten sanctions on Iran, which may spur Tehran to take retaliatory action against ships in the Strait in Hormuz.The Marshall Islands registry, one of the world's top shipping flags, last week flagged that vessels with links to Israel or the United States may face a heightened threat of attack within Israeli territorial waters…

17 Oct 2023

Finland Probing Russian, Chinese Ships Over Gas Pipeline Damage

© jnelnea / Adobe Stock

Finnish investigators looking into damage to a Finnish-Estonian gas pipeline said on Tuesday they are probing several ships, including one Chinese and one Russia-owned, which were present in the Gulf of Finland at the time.“Investigation measures have been focused on several vessels, such as Newnew Polarbear and Sevmorput, but also on others which according to data have been in the area at the time of the damage,” Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation added in a statement.Related: Finland Can't Rule Out 'State Actor' Involvement in Pipeline Damage(Reuters - Reporting Anne Kauranen, writin

09 Oct 2023

Israel's Ashkelon Port Shut Down

© Vita / Adobe Stock

Israel's port of Ashkelon and its oil terminal have been shut in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Islamist group Hamas, shipping and trade sources said on Monday.The port is located just over 10 kilometers (sox miles) from the border with the Gaza Strip.

02 Oct 2023

Freight Rates for Grain Exports via New Black Sea Route Fall Sharply, Ukraine Says

Credit: Андрій Данилюк/AdobeStock

A new corridor allowing cargo vessels to carry Ukrainian grain and iron ore from Black Sea ports has significantly lowered freight rates and they are likely to fall further, Ukraine's farm minister said on Monday.Kyiv launched what it calls a temporary humanitarian corridor in August to allow agricultural exports as an alternative arrangement after Russia blocked the U.N.-backed Black Sea grain deal that had been in place for a year.Three more cargo ships left Ukrainian seaports on Sunday, while five new vessels came in for loading. "New vessels are coming.

05 Sep 2023

South Africa Inquiry Finds No Evidence of Arms Shipment to Russia

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that an independent inquiry has found no evidence that a Russian ship had collected weapons from the country late last year destined for Russia.In claims that sparked a diplomatic row, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, told local journalists in a May briefing that Russian cargo ship Lady R had uploaded weapons at a naval base near Cape Town in December.The U.S. accusations raised questions over South Africa's professed stance of non-alignment and neutrality over Russia's war in Ukraine and concerns of possible Western sanctions.In an address to the nation, Ramaphosa…

07 Aug 2023

Shipping Traffic on Belgium's Scheldt River Halted After Accident

© AlvaroRT / Adobe Stock

Shipping traffic on Belgium's Scheldt River was halted until at least Tuesday morning 10am local time (0800 GMT) after a Dutch ship sank on Monday morning, a spokesperson for the Flemish agency for waterways said, confirming local media reports.The captain of the ship, which was transporting bricks, was the only person on board and was missing with rescue efforts underway to find him, the spokesperson, Max Verdonck, said.Verdonck added that five to 10 boats were currently stuck behind the sunken boat but couldn't confirm how many of those were leisure boats and how many were carrying cargo.He

28 Jul 2023

CMA CGM Braced for Weaker Profit Before Demand Picks up in 2024

© VanderWolf Images / Adobe Stock

French shipping group CMA CGM expects container freight demand to improve from next year but the group's profits will continue to ease this year as a slump in freight rates from record highs and a weak economy weigh on results, it said on Friday.The company, privately controlled by the Saade family, reported a second-quarter net profit of $1.3 billion, down from $7.6 billion in the year-earlier period and from $2.0 billion in the first quarter. It expects the first quarter to…

08 May 2023

CMA CGM to Buy Bollore Logistics Unit for $5.5 Billion

© Björn Wylezich / Adobe Stock

French shipping group CMA CGM has committed to buy the logistics operations of family-run conglomerate Bollore for an enterprise value of 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion), the two companies said on Monday.CMA CGM granted the Bollore group an option to sell it the logistics business, which generated more than 7 billion euros in revenue last year and employs 13,500 people.Bollore said it would decide whether or not to exercise the option after consulting employee representatives.The…

05 May 2023

Shipments from Ukraine Slowing as Black Sea Grain Deal Deadline Nears

©Mikhailov Studio/AdobeStock

The pace of shipments from Ukraine under a U.N.-backed initiative has slowed as concerns grow over ships getting stuck if a deal is not renewed later this month, according to sources and data. Russia, which is one of the key parties involved, said it will keep talking, although Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18, which has created more uncertainty for traders and shipping companies trying to plan ahead. Under the accord, Ukraine has been able to export some 29.5 million tonnes of agricultural products, including 14.9 million tonnes of corn and 8.1 million tonnes of wheat.

01 May 2023

US LNG Exports Go Full Steam Ahead

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

U.S. producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported at top capacity in April for a second consecutive month, with over two-thirds of shipments bound for Europe and rising volumes to Latin America, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Monday.Following the full restart of a key Texas export facility in February, U.S. LNG producers are taking advantage of firm prices overseas and increasing demand in some markets.A total of 107 cargoes departed from U.S. ports last month carrying 7.78 million tonnes of LNG…

01 May 2023

Three Crew Missing After Tanker Catches Fire off Malaysia

Three crew members of a Gabon-registered tanker were missing after the vessel caught fire on Monday in waters off Malaysia's southern coast, Malaysian maritime authorities said.The tanker was on its way from China to Singapore with 28 crew members on board, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said, adding that 23 were rescued by the MMEA and by nearby vessels.The MMEA said it commenced search and rescue operations after receiving an alert at 1600 local time about a tanker on fire.The cause of the incident was under investigation, the maritime agency said.In a separate statement, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore identified the vessel as 'Pablo'.Pablo Union Shipping…

28 Apr 2023

Shots Fired in "Incident" Involving Vessel Off Yemen

Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Friday a vessel off Yemen's southern coast was involved in an "incident" with a government boat, downgrading the event from its initial assessment of an attack.The agency had previously said the vessel was under attack and that shots were fired, adding that three boats, each with three or four people aboard, were also sighted.UKMTO later said it had confirmed the event by authorities as government agency activity, terming the event incident rather than an attack.Yemen's coast guard, when contacted by Reuters, confirmed a report in Yeme

07 Apr 2023

Swedish Prosecutor Believes State Actor Behind Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts

©The gas leak from the September 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline measured over 950 meters in diameter.- ©Swedish Coast Guard

A state actor's involvement in the blast of the Nord Stream pipelines last year is the "absolute main scenario", though confirming identity will prove difficult, the Swedish prosecutor investigating the attack said on Thursday.In September 2022, several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and newly-built Nord Stream 2 pipelines that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea. The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark and both countries say the explosions were deliberate, but have yet to determine who was responsible.

03 Feb 2023

EU Agrees on Price Caps on Russian Refined Oil Products

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

European Union countries agreed to set price caps on Russian refined oil products to limit Moscow's funds for its invasion of Ukraine, the Swedish presidency of the EU said on Friday.EU diplomats said the price caps are $100 per barrel on products that trade at a premium to crude, principally diesel, and $45 per barrel for products that trade at a discount, such as fuel oil and naphtha. Ambassadors for the 27 EU countries agreed on the European Commission proposal,which will apply from Sunday.The price caps…

21 Feb 2023

China Boosts Australian Coal Imports

© Michael Evans / Adobe Stock

Chinese utilities and traders have stepped up purchases of Australian coal in February, encouraged by signs of further policy relaxation after trade partially resumed last month following a two-year hiatus.In early January, Beijing gave permission to four government-backed firms, comprising steel giant Baowu Group and three state utilities, to ship in Australian coal, the first sign of an easing of the unofficial import ban in place since late 2020. The ban was imposed after relations…

22 Feb 2023

Russia Targets Dutch North Sea Infrastructure, MIVD Says

© familie-eisenlohr.de/AdobeStock

Russia has in recent months tried to gain intelligence to sabotage critical infrastructure in the Dutch part of the North Sea, Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD said on Monday.A Russian ship has been detected at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea as it tried to map out energy infrastructure, MIVD head General Jan Swillens said at a news conference.The vessel was escorted out of the North Sea by Dutch marine and coast guard ships before any sabotage effort could become successful…

02 Mar 2023

US LNG Exports Flat Despite Freeport LNG Partial Restart

© moofushi / Adobe Stock

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) were flat last month at 6.84 million tonnes, shipping data showed on Thursday, even as a long-idled Texas processing facility began shipping the fuel during an ongoing restart.Freeport LNG's Texas plant, the second-largest LNG export facility in the United States, began resuming some processing and export operations in February following an eight-month outage caused by a fire.Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Thursday that the plant is on track to pull in about 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of natural gas from pipelines…

10 Mar 2023

Report: Russia Exporting Diesel to Saudi Arabia via Ship-to-ship Loadings

Russia is ramping up its diesel supplies to Saudi Arabia using ship-to-ship (STS) loadings in addition to direct supplies, market sources said, and Refinitiv data showed.Exporters of Russian diesel are trying STS to save on new longer and therefore costly routes after a full EU embargo on Russian oil products was imposed on Feb. 5. They are switching Russian diesel exports to Africa and Asia instead of adjacent European countries.In February, Russia began direct diesel exports to Saudi Arabia, sending about 190,000 tonnes to the ports of Ras Tanura and Jeddah.STS loadings help to shorten the routes and could save time by going through the Suez Canal…