Uae Port News

Iran has released two Greek-flagged tankers that it seized in the Gulf in May, the Greek shipping ministry said on Wednesday.Iran detained the tankers in response to the confiscation of oil by the United States from an Iranian-flagged tanker off the Greek coast, fuelling bilateral tensions amid a broader deterioration in relations between Iran and the West."The final agreement was reached today in Tehran," the ministry said in a statement, confirming an earlier Reuters reportof a deal.Ship tracking data showed the vessels, Delta Poseidon and Prudent Warrior, were under way from Iran.The Prudent Warrior's destination was listed as the United Arab Emirates port of Khor Fakkan and the Delta Poseidon as the UAE port of Fujairah, according to the data.Merchant shipping remains prey to hazards i

A Hong Kong-flagged tanker was briefly detained in Iran before being freed after armed Iranian guards in speedboats directed the vessel into its waters while it was sailing through the Gulf of Oman, maritime security sources said on Wednesday.The sources said the SC Taipei chemical tanker had been sailing in international waters on Tuesday when it was stopped."The vessel was approached 48nm (nautical miles) offshore Fujairah and hailed by four skiffs carrying armed Iranian coastguard personnel," British maritime security company Ambrey Intelligence said."The vessel's crew were ordered to lower the ladder and were then boarded. The vessel was later directed to Kooh Mobarak…

The United States Navy on Wednesday displayed limpet mine fragments and a magnet it said it had removed from one of two oil tankers attacked in the Gulf of Oman last week, saying the mines bore a striking resemblance to Iranian ones.The United States, waging a "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign against Iran to curb its nuclear and regional activities, has been trying to build an international consensus that Iran was behind last week's blasts, as well as a May 12 strike on four…

Region's largest bunkering hub shuns Qatari vessels; affected shippers may face delays, higher costs. The costs of Qatari energy and commodity exports are likely to rise as the United Arab Emirates' ban on Qatari vessels cuts the ships off from the region's main refuelling port, forcing ships to sail further for fuel or pay higher prices. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain, on Monday cut diplomatic ties with Qatar amid accusations the country supported terrorists. The Arab allies are applying many economic pressure points, including barring Qatari flagged ships from entering their waters. Around half a dozen oil…

The Al Khattiya liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker, one of the world's largest, suffered damage to its hull in a collision with an oil tanker off the United Arab Emirates last week, operator Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday. Sitting empty off the UAE port of Fujairah, a busy anchorage point on the Gulf of Oman, the tanker was struck by the Jag Laadki operated by India's Great Eastern Shipping Company, Shell said in an email. No injuries or pollution were reported in the Feb. 23 incident, but two of the Al Khattiya's ballast tanks were breached with a loss of some water, it said. Shell said cargo tank pressures were stable indicating no loss of LNG containment on the Al Khattiya, which has a capacity of 210,000 cubic metres. The vessel is owned by Qatari shipping group Nakilat.

Singapore-flagged oil products tanker Alpine Eternity has reached the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates safely after coming under attack in the Gulf earlier, the vessel's manager said on Thursday.   A spokesman for the vessel's Norwegian manager Transpetrol said the vessel was attacked at sea at 0800 GMT on Thursday on its way to the UAE port of Fujairah.   "The nature of the attack is still unclear," the spokesman said. "She reached UAE waters and she is in the port of Jebel Ali now. The vessel is safe and there are no injuries to crew."   The spokesman said the attack had been reported to Singaporean authorities.     (Reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Iranian naval vessels fired what appeared to be warning shots over a Singapore-flagged ship in international waters in the Gulf on Thursday, prompting it to flee to United Arab Emirates waters, U.S. officials said. The Alpine Eternity, a 29,130 gross tonnes oil products tanker, has safely reached the UAE port of Jebel Ali after coming under attack in the Gulf, its manager said. The UAE sent Coast Guard vessels toward the ship once it reached UAE waters and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy ships turned away, one U.S. official told Reuters, adding the account was based on preliminary information. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, were unaware of any U.S. Navy involvement.

Iran has earned $1.35 billion for selling more than 3 million tonnes of fuel oil in the 10 months to Jan. 21, up 30 percent in revenue from the same period of last year, oil ministry news website Shana cited an official as saying. The OPEC member also earned $963 million in gasoil revenue during the same period, a 30 percent increase from last year, and sold 107,000 tonnes of heating oil, Shana cited Mohammadreza Mazloumi, manager of the commercial division at National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) as saying. Iran has a target to sell 4 million tonnes of fuel oil and gasoil during the current Iranian year to March 20, 2015, he added. The Iranian year started on March 21, 2014. U.S.

Iran is sidestepping Western sanctions and managing to sell hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fuel oil every month through companies based in the U.S.-allied United Arab Emirates, trading sources told Reuters. The U.S. and EU sanctions that came into force in 2012 prohibit the import, purchase and transport of Iranian petroleum products to pressure Tehran to halt its disputed nuclear programme. Washington has also pressed its allies around the world to clamp down on the shipping of Iranian oil products. But Tehran has been using innovative methods to circumvent the restrictions, several Middle East-based trading sources said. They include tankers switching off their tracking systems…

Following the expansion to Fujairah and Gothenburg, GAC EnvironHull is now offering its HullWiper underwater hull cleaning service at the UAE port of Sharjah. The HullWiper, a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) underwater hull cleaning unit, uses adjustable pressure sea water jets  for cleaning, rather than brushes or abrasives, causing minimal damage to the antifouling surface. Residues and harmful marine growths captured during cleaning are discarded  in an environmentally-friendly manner, opposed to sea disposal performed in traditional methods.

GAC EnvironHull, part of global shipping, logistics and marine services provider GAC Group, has expanded its eco-friendly, brush-and-diver-free hull cleaning operation to Fujairah, just six months after its global launch. Launched in Dubai in November 2013, the HullWiper Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is an unmanned hull cleaning unit which uses adjustable pressure sea water jets as the cleaning medium rather than brushes or abrasives, resulting in minimal damage to the antifouling surface. Residues and harmful marine growths captured during cleaning are disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner instead of being discharged into the sea as done using traditional methods.

GAC EnvironHull's  hull cleaning solution now available at second UAE port. GAC EnvironHull has expanded itsbrush-and-diver-free hull cleaning operation to Fujairah, six months after its global launch. Launched in Dubai in November 2013, the HullWiper Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is an unmanned hull cleaning unit which uses adjustable pressure sea water jets as the cleaning medium rather than brushes or abrasives, resulting in minimal damage to the antifouling surface. Residues…

Gulftainer, the Sharjah-based port management & logistics company, takes a 51 percent stake in Saudi Arabia’s Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company (GSCCO), to assume full management of three Saudi terminals, located in Jeddah and Jubail. The acquisition makes Gulftainer the largest port operator in the Middle East with regards to the number of terminals operated in the region, with the company managing 40 percent of all the major container terminal facilities in the Middle East that have the capacity to handle ships of 12…

According to a report from the Christian Science Monitor, Japanese oil tanker M. Star was subject last month to a terrorist attack, UAE inspectors said on Friday, August 6, raising fears of a new campaign targeting global oil interests. The M. Star, a 1,082-ft supertanker, was shaken by what appeared to be an explosion shortly after midnight on July 28 as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel of water separating Iran and Oman. On August 6, a state-run news agency in the United Arab Emirates, said experts investigating the cause of the damage in the UAE port of Fujairah had found traces of explosives on the tanker’s starboard hull. (Source: Christian Science Monitor)

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) reported that at about 5:30 a.m. JST (00:30 local time) on Wednesday, July 28, west of the Strait of Hormuz at 26º27’ N 56º14’ E (Oman territorial waters), the VLCC M. Star owned by MOL, suffered hull damage caused by an explosion which seemed to be an attack from external sources. The degree and details of hull damage are currently under investigation but no serious injury was reported, although one of the crew was slightly injured, and no oil leaked from the hull. Further, M. Star continues her voyage, making for the UAE port of Fujairah, where the damage and its causes will be thoroughly investigated. M. Star took on crude oil Tuesday, July 27, at the UAE Port of Das Island, after which it departed for Chiba Port in Japan.

Maersk Line announced the extension of its Far East - West Africa FEW1 service to include Shanghai and Ningbo in China. Maersk Line offers direct calls to the West African ports of Lome (Togo), Cotonou (Benin), and Pointe Noire (Congo). The new FEW1 rotation is: Shanghai (China), Ningbo (China), Nansha (China), Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia), Lome (Togo), Cotonou (Benin) and Pointe Noire (Congo). The first call in Shanghai will be the Maersk Norwich (voyage 0901), which will arrive on 11 March 2009. Maersk Line also announced a series of enhancements and adjustments to its Europe - Middle East & South Asia network. In addition Maersk Line announces changes to Europe - Middle East & South Asia services.

Dynamics within the global marine fuel industry are shifting rapidly according to Chemoil Energy Ltd. With a growing physical presence in the world's four key oil ports, following the launch of its Helios Terminal, Chemoil is confident that its ability to effectively manage its customers complete delivery supply chain on a global basis can lead a new age for independent marine fuel suppliers and present a serious challenge to the industry status quo. In January 2008, the company will begin operations at its 448,000 cubic meter Helios terminal in Singapore, and is also planning to start delivering fuel from the GPS-Chemoil terminal in the UAE port of Fujairah shortly afterwards.