Shipping Agency News

The MSC Foundation, the MSC Group and Mercy Ships International have joined forces to build a new hospital ship.On 8 April, the chairman of MSC Group and MSC Foundation, Capt. Gianluigi Aponte, MSC Group President and Member of the MSC Foundation Board, Diego Aponte, and Mercy Ships Founder, Don Stephens, finalized an agreement to kickstart the new project with a generous anchor donation from MSC Foundation.The new purpose-built hospital ship will expand the impact of Mercy Ships’ life-changing surgeries…

Ship traffic in Turkey's Bosphorus Strait is set to resume for northbound vessels as of 1700 GMT on Sunday, after a suspension due to an anchor failure on one ship, the Tribeca shipping agency said.According to a report shared by the agency, the Liberia-flagged tanker Peria's anchor self-released due to bad weather around the Yavuz Sultan Selim bridge area during its passage through the strait and tugs were dispatched for assistance.The ship will proceed to the Kucukcekmece anchorage area under escort tugs, the report also said.(Reuters - Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

The cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea is rising as Yemen's Houthis step up attacks on ships they deem connected to Israel with fears of a spillover that could disrupt global supplies sailing through the region, industry sources said.Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday they hit a Norwegian commercial tanker with a missile in their latest protest against Israel's invasion of Gaza, underlining the risks of a conflict that has shaken the Middle East.Around 23,000 ships pass through the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden…

The United Nations' shipping agency on Wednesday adopted a resolution targeting illicit shipping practices from the so-called unregulated "shadow fleet" in an effort to clamp down on unsafe activities at sea.There are hundreds of ageing oil tankers that form part of a parallel fleet of vessels transporting oil including for Russia, which has been hit by Western sanctions but also the enforcement of Group of Seven regulation that caps the price of Moscow's oil exports at $60 with penalties imposed on those that ship above that price.Iran, which has also been struggling with separate sanctions i

The crew of the Galaxy Leader commercial ship seized by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis last month have been allowed "modest contact" with their families while various countries push for their release, the vessel's owner said this week.The Bahamas flagged car carrier was taken to the port of Hodeidah in the Houthi controlled north of Yemen after being boarded at sea on November 19 by commandos with the group.The vessel's crew is made up of nationals from Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Philippines, Mexico and Romania, Galaxy Maritime said.

War risk insurance premiums edged up for Red Sea voyages after three vessels were attacked in the area on Sunday and fears grow over worsening perils for commercial shipping, maritime and insurance sources said on Monday.The incidents are the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since a brutal war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas broke out on Oct. 7.The three commercial vessels came under attack in international waters in the southern Red Sea, the U.S.

Russia on Friday failed to win enough votes for re-election to the United Nation's shipping agency's governing council after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had urged countries not to allow Moscow to be part of the UN body's executive arm.The outcome is another blow for Russia after it failed in its bid to return to the UN's top human rights body in October, in an election seen as a key test of Western efforts to keep Moscow isolated.Last year Moscow also failed to win…

Brazil’s commodities export hubs are strained with record volumes of soy, corn and sugar to be moved at a time of the year when rains start to increase in southern ports, according to traders, analysts and shipping data.Exporters are reporting delays in coffee shipments due to a tight availability of trucks and containers, while loading waiting times for vessels have jumped, resulting in additional costs for traders and delays for the commodities to reach destinations.Brazil ports have been dealing with high volumes this year…

The U.N. shipping agency is departing from its impartial role due to "external pressure" and is being used in the interests of "a minor group of beneficiaries", which is impacting the fair treatment of all member countries, Russia said in a submission to the global shipping regulator published this week.The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) is responsible for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution and comprises 175 member state countries.In December…

Maritime traffic from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara has been suspended due to the ongoing forest fire in the Turkish northwestern province of Canakkale, the transport ministry and a shipping agency said on Tuesday."The traffic at Dardanelles was suspended for both directions on Tuesday at 18:45 (1545 GMT) hours due to the aircraft intervening in the forest fire in the region by safely taking water from the sea," Tribeca shipping agency said.The Dardanelles Strait, a narrow and historically significant passage connecting the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea…

Iran's offer to host a maritime event in October has been rejected after a proposal led by the U.S. to rescind the bid was approved in a vote at the UN shipping agency's Council, an agency spokesperson said on Thursday.The move is likely to further raise tensions between Washington and Iran after Tehran tried to seize the Richmond Voyager tanker, which was managed by U.S. oil major Chevron, earlier in July in international Gulf waters.Iran had proposed to host a shipping event in Tehran in late October this year in conjunction with an annual maritime day hosted by the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO), which was accepted in 2015 by the IMO's executive Council.The U.S.…

The International Maritime Organization's Council (IMO) has elected Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco from Panama as its secretary-general, the UN shipping agency said on Tuesday.Dominguez beat six other contenders from China, Turkey, Kenya, Finland, Dominica and Bangladesh in a vote and will take office on January 1, 2024, for a four-year term, subject to the approval of the IMO Assembly.Dominguez will take the helm at a crucial time as the shipping industry grapples with challenges including pressures to speed up decarbonization.A trained naval architect…

Insurers are reviewing whether to freeze cover for any ships willing to sail to Ukraine after Russia on Monday quit a U.N.-backed deal that allows the export of grain through a wartime Black Sea safe corridor, industry sources said.The agreement, brokered by Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by Russia's February 2022 invasion of its neighbour to be exported safely."Due to the collapse of the Black Sea corridor deal, most shipowners will now refrain from calling Ukrainian ports…

Countries on Friday adopted a revised greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy for shipping that sets a net zero emissions target "by or around 2050", which was viewed by environmental groups as falling short of what was needed. After days of discussion in London at U.N. shipping agency the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) headquarters, member countries agreed to reach net zero "by or around, i.e., close to 2050, taking into account different national circumstances". Countries…

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for agreement to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at crunch shipping talks in London this week and urged decarbonisation efforts to move faster.China, however, is pushing back on the targets, according to a diplomatic note issued by Beijing.Shipping, which transports around 90% of world trade and accounts for nearly 3% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, is facing calls from environmentalists and investors to deliver more concrete action…

Maritime nations including Denmark and the Marshall Islands are rallying support for a global carbon dioxide emissions levy on shipping, with talks at a critical stage ahead of a U.N. agency meeting next month that could back the measure.The levy could provide funds to help countries cope with climate change and help curb emissions from shipping - a sector that transports about 90% of world trade and accounts for nearly 3% of global CO2 emissions, but whose international nature means it often avoids national CO2-cutting regulations.Member countries of the U.N.

Bangladesh is set to ratify an international convention in early June on recycling ships aimed at increasing safety and environmental standards, a senior official told Reuters."We expect the first week of June for the official declaration," said Mamunur Rashid, a deputy secretary with the Ministry of Industries, who said Bangladesh is the world's top ship breaking and recycling centre.The Hong Kong Convention was adopted in 2009 by 63 countries and so far has been ratified by 20 nations…

The U.S., UK, Denmark, and other countries have called for more action, including increased surveillance, over the booming practice of unregulated oil transfers at sea, as fears grow over potential pollution, according to a paper submitted to the U.N."These transfers undermine the rules-based international order and increase the risk of pollution to nearby coastal States. This threatens global efforts to prevent pollution from ships," the paper said.The paper was submitted to United Nations shipping agency…

Insurers are facing half a billion dollars in claims for up to 60 commercial ships still stuck in Ukraine a year after the start of the war with Russia, industry sources said.When the conflict started, more than 90 merchant ships - many with food cargoes onboard - and some 2,000 crew members were caught in Ukraine and unable to leave due to the fighting.Curtailed shipments from major grain exporter Ukraine played a role in the resulting global food crisis.According to shipping and insurance industry assessments…

Spain has called for tighter scrutiny of oil transfers involving tankers at sea as the number of unregulated ships hit by sanctions grows and raises pollution risks, a U.N. agency session heard this week.Hundreds of extra "ghost" tankers have joined this opaque parallel trade over the past few years as a result of rising Iranian oil exports as well as restrictions imposed on Russian energy sales over the war in Ukraine.The number of incidents last year including groundings, collisions and near misses involving these ships reached the highest in years…

Insurers continue to cover grain shipments from Ukraine through a U.N.-backed corridor although more clarity will be required soon, a senior Lloyd's of London official said on Thursday, after the export accord was renewed for at least 60 days.The deal allowing the safe wartime export of Ukrainian grain from its Black Sea ports, initially brokered last July by Turkey and the U.N., was renewed on Saturday for just half the intended period.Insurance for ships going into the three Ukrainian ports covered by the agreement has been vital…

A fire that engulfed hundreds of shipping containers at Turkey's Iskenderun Port after massive earthquakes in the region has been extinguished, the defense ministry said on Tuesday, but it was not clear when operations would resume at the port.Turkey's maritime authority said on Monday that the port, located on the Mediterranean coast in the southern province of Hatay, was damaged due to the earthquake that struck Turkey and neighboring Syria.Drone footage showed fierce flames blackening hundreds of containers on the dock…

Ship traffic in Turkey's Bosphorus Strait is set to resume for southbound vessels as of 1840 GMT on Sunday, after a suspension due to an engine failure on one ship, the Tribeca shipping agency said.According to a report shared by the agency earlier on Sunday, the Turkish-flagged ship Ilyas Konan had an engine failure during its passage through the strait and dropped anchor.(Reuters - Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Alex Richardson and Hugh Lawson)