Usg News

Freight rates to ship U.S. crude to Asia continued to surge, with costs to charter a supertanker rising to a record $12 million on Thursday, shipping sources familiar with the matter said.South Korea's top refiner, SK Energy, tentatively chartered the supertanker Maxim to ship U.S. crude to South Korea in November for a record $10 million earlier in the week but that fixture has since failed, the sources said.The company now has conditionally booked the Pacific M at a new record of $12.35 million…

McQuilling Services Announces the Release of the 2019 Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook Update.The Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook Update provides an outlook on the global tanker market in the context of global economic growth and oil fundamentals influencing tanker demand and vessel supply. The outlook includes a view on future asset values, time charter rates, market freight rates and TCE revenues for 24 major tanker trades and four triangulated routes across eight vessel segments for the second half of 2019 through the remaining four years of the forecast period 2019-2023.

Export Control Lists Include Key Marine Tech Categories  Each year, the U.S. Department of Commerce receives thousands of inquiries from businesses looking to export, many of which involve licensing questions. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), together with other USG agencies, is responsible for export licensing and controls. BIS export licenses may be required for items (commodities, software, or technology) with proliferation, military, or terrorist uses, or which warrant control for other reasons.

The very large crude carriers (VLCC) market market was relatively strong in Q1, with VLCC earnings averaging USD 29,000/day an increase of close to USD 20,000/day versus Q1’18, said Norway's Hunter Group ASA.High USG activity was the main contributor to the rate increase, said the company focusing on shipping and oil services investments.However, rates have dropped significantly towards the end of Q1 due to amongst other things; continued OPEC+ production cuts, heavy refinery maintenance ahead of IMO 2020, and a high number of newbuildings being delivered."We believe this trend will continue through H1. Although we expect the market to remain weak for the above-mentioned reasons until the end of H1…

Each year, the U.S. Department of Commerce receives thousands of inquiries from businesses looking to export, many of which involve licensing questions. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), together with other USG agencies, is responsible for export licensing and controls. BIS export licenses may be required for items (commodities, software, or technology) with proliferation, military, or terrorist uses, or which warrant control for other reasons. Export licensing requirements can apply to a wide array of products, including marine technologies.

Mideast demand especially strong due to refinery outages. Rates for tankers carrying refined fuels like gasoline and diesel have soared this month as trade activity picked up and caused a supply crunch in ships, several shipbrokers and traders said. The high rates indicate strong consumer fuel demand due to the persistently low crude oil prices that have resulted from years of oversupply, refiners said. "Our order books are pretty good. Whether it's gasoline for cars or diesel for industry, we're receiving calls to ship more fuel," said one shipper based in Singapore. Rates for medium-range (MR) tankers carrying about 30,000 tonnes of oil products like gasoline…

Harvey Gulf International Marine said it has accepted delivery of its fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered offshore supply vessel (OSV). The M/V Harvey Freedom, built at Gulf Coast Shipyard Group in Gulfport, Miss. is 310’ x 64’ x 24.5’, U.S. Flagged Subchapter I and L, SOLAS compliant and capable of carrying 253,000 USG of fuel oil, 18,000 bbls of liquid mud, 1,600 bbls of methanol, 10,250ft3 of dry cement and 78,000 USG of LNG fuel. In addition to being powered by cleaner burning natural gas…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. delivered the DNV classed factory processor fishing trawler F/T Araho (Hull 175) on January 28, 2017 to the O’Hara Corporation of Rockland, Maine. She is the first U.S. flag freezer processor factory trawler constructed in over 25 years. The F/T Araho will be in service in the waters of Alaska. The O’Hara family and Eastern Shipbuilding are no strangers to each other. The F/T Araho is the sixth fishing vessel Eastern has built for the O’Hara family over the last 20 years. This factory processor fishing trawler is far more sophisticated than the prior five vessels. The O’Hara and D’Isernia families go back to the early 1990s with the F/V Enterprise a Catcher Processor Conversion delivered in 1996.

In the Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) segment, which showed modest growth in overall volume from 2014 to 2015, the main changes were concentrated in the eastern hemisphere, says a report by Tanker Research & Consulting department at Poten & Partners. In the Middle East, there was a significant increase in movements from the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea. Reported VLCC fixtures increased almost fivefold from 12 in 2014 to 56 in 2015, mainly as a result of the startup of the 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) Yanbu refinery at the end of 2014, which is located on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. The refinery processes heavy crude from the Manifa oilfield, located offshore Saudi Arabia in the Arabian Gulf and VLCCs shuttle the crude around the Arabian Peninsula.

AAL & PD have followed up their cooperation on a range of global multipurpose tramp solutions with the launch a new joint semi-liner service - ‘Asia - Middle East - Europe’. The route will connect mature and developing markets with regular fixed route sailings, flexible port calls and multiple classes of modern heavy lift MPP vessels and represents a highly competitive solution for the transport of project, breakbulk, container and dry-bulk cargo – big and small. This launch marks further expansion of AAL’s Tramp & Projects Division and a step forward in its cooperation with Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG (Peter Döhle). The joint semi-liner service will offer best-in-class multipurpose heavy lift tonnage and a full-service of chartering, engineering and operations.

Harvey Gulf announced the opening of the first marine LNG fueling terminal in North America. Less than a year after the delivery of the M/V Harvey Energy, America’s first LNG-powered vessel, Harvey Gulf accomplished another first when it completed a successful LNG bunkering of the Energy from the newly constructed LNG terminal facility at its operation base in Port Fourchon, La. The bunkering included the transfer of 43,000 gallons of LNG in approximately 2.25 hours without incident.

After a quiet holiday period, the market has slowly awakened from its slumber, says the weekly report by Fearnleys A.S. Rates are not running away but the market looks like it is finding a bottom. Averages for a Surpa are now around mid $4,000s and only marginally down from pre Christmas levels. 2016 has started with a couple of period fixtures reported at low $6,000s for Ultramaxes. Thus by default Supras will only be worth something in the $5,000s for a 12 month deal. Activity in the Atlantic seems to increase a bit after X-mas and new year, especially grain from USG and ECSA to far east absorbing tonnage. Transatlantic roundvoyages paying arnd 4000 USD depending delivery, duration and redelivery.

Gulf Coast Shipyard Group (GCSG) has delivered Harvey Power, the second LNG vessel operating in the United States—for Shell Upstream America’s deep water operations in the Gulf of Mexico—is fully in service. She is the second of six LNG OSVs being built for Harvey Gulf International Marine, and like her sistership Harvey Energy, Harvey Power is capable of operating on LNG or diesel fuel. Along with being able to operate on LNG, she also meets the strident criteria of the ABS Enviro+, Green Passport notation. When operating on LNG, these vessels exceeds the new Tier IV emissions regulations requiring lower sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides emissions as part of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA).

Liquefied Petroleum Gas, long a niche product used by the poor to cook and the rich to barbecue, has become a rare bright spot amid a broad commodities rout, riding on the wave of strong economic growth in India and parts of Southeast Asia. LPG is best known to consumers as propane or butane used in heating appliances and vehicles. But it is also used in the petrochemicals industry and the electricity sector, acting as a replacement for diesel in generators and power stations. While tumbling prices for oil, gas, coal and industrial metals have seen energy companies and miners slash capital expenditure, investment is flowing into the LPG sector to feed burgeoning demand from the world's poorer nations.

Even though the trend is negative, by about 10% in the last two weeks, the supramax average 6 TC routes still seems to be overpriced compared to what is being fixed on the spot market for short period and rounds, says Fearnley's weekly report. This is certainly true in the Pacific/Indian Ocean, and it is the strong front haul number that are supporting the present index. In general, Indo rounds are still in the low USD 5000’s, longer Pacific rounds command a premium, and in the Atlantic the average round is at about mid USD 10,000. Short period in the Pacific (Singapore delivery) is in the upper USD 7000 mark, and most longer period are being concluded on index linked structures, which is essentially a premium.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. has launched the second of two 302’x76’x26’ multipurpose service vessels in the HOSMPSV 310ES series for Hornbeck Offshore Services, LLC., the shipbuilder announced. The new vessel, HOS Woodland (Hull 242), was launched at Eastern’s Allanton facility on Friday, June 19 at an event with hundreds of Eastern employees and guests in attendance. HOS Woodland is the second ship to be christened on Eastern’s newly constructed 425’ rocker beam system installed on the northeast corner of Allanton’s 760’ launch basin.

Though the market for Offshore Support Vessels (OSVs) is soft, advances in technology, fit and finish in  the sector is unrivaled in any other maritime niche over the past five years. Here’s a look at some of the more notable designs and deliveries. Few vessels have inspired as much attention or coverage as the Harvey Energy, the first OSV of its kind in North America, able to run on both Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and diesel. Harvey Energy, chartered to Shell for its deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico and owned by Harvey Gulf International marine…

North American building products company United States Gypsum Corporation (USG) announced that it has entered into agreements to sell two gypsum carrying ships.   The two ships, part of USG’s non-core shipping business, Gypsum Transportation Limited (GTL), will be sold for $42 million. The sales are expected to close in April 2015.   The announcement was made as part of USG’s 2015 Q1 report.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. launched the HOS Warland (Hull 241) on Friday March 6, 2015 for Hornbeck Offshore Services, LLC. The HOS Warland is Eastern’s first of two 302’x76’x26’ multipurpose service vessels (MPSV) launched with the Hornbeck designation HOSMPSV 310ES. The second vessel, the HOS Woodland (Hull 242), will launch this summer. The launching event was held at Eastern’s Allanton facility with hundreds of Eastern employees and guests in attendance. The HOS Warland…

Gulf Coast Shipyard Group (GCSG) informed that Harvey Energy, the first LNG vessel operating in the United States—for Shell Upstream America’s deep water operations in the Gulf of Mexico—is fully in service. The first of six LNG OSVs being built for Harvey Gulf International Marine, Harvey Energy is the break-out vessel capable of operating on LNG or diesel and is the result of a forward-thinking operator, complex engineering and sophisticated building. Along with being able to operate on LNG, she also meets the strident criteria of the ABS Enviro+, Green Passport notation. When operating on only LNG, this vessel meets the new Tier IV sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions regulations—part of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA).

Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC made maritime history in North America last week by being not only the first owner/operator of a dual fuel offshore support vessel to bunker LNG as a marine fuel but to also successfully complete the first truck to vessel transfer of LNG and to power the M/V Harvey Energy on LNG. The Harvey Energy built at GCSG in Gulfport, MS is based on the Vard Marine 1 311 design and is 310x64x24.5ft powered by 3 Wartsila 6L34DF dual fuel gensets providing 7.5MW of power fueled by Wartsila’s LNGPac system. The Harvey Energy is US Flagged Subchapter I and L, SOLAS compliant and is classed by the ABS as +A1, OSV, +AMS, +DPS-2, +ACCU, UWILD, FFV-1, ENVIRO+, GP, GFS (Dual Fuel Diesel) E.

Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC has received the first ABS Classification Certificate and the first USCG Certificate of Inspection for a vessel powered by LNG. The M/V Harvey Energy is the first LNG powered vessel in service in North America. Last week, Harvey Gulf performed the first truck to vessel transfer of LNG, the first vessel to bunker LNG and was the first U.S. Flagged LNG powered vessel to enter into port while being powered by LNG. The vessel will be based out of Port Fourchon, La. and will immediately begin its long term charter role.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. introduced its new 120-foot, 4,200-horsepower Inland Towboat design, THUNDERBOLT, combining twin electric V-Pod propulsion and diesel-electric technology for what the builder calls its “vision of the future for the U.S. Eastern said the idea for the THUNDERBOLT came from across the aisle conversations at the 2013 International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans. On the rivers, thruster propulsion systems are starting to get noticed and are outperforming conventional nozzle propeller propulsion systems with main/flanking rudder steering. Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. and Verhaar Omega, B.V. began discussions and realized they were driving towards a more refined towboat thruster propulsion system design.