Export Solutions News

Shipping major AP Moller-Maersk Group's export-import (exim)-focused trade finance arm Maersk Trade Finance is targeting a 33 percent loan disbursal growth at $200 million in 2019 in India.The trade financing solution arm of Danish business conglomerate said that it disbursed a total of USD 0.7 billion globally till date since its inception in 2015, with over 150 million in India in the year 2018, a 53% Y-o-Y increase as compared to 2017.Vipul Sardana, Global Head of Maersk Trade Finance said “Indian SME sector continues to play a significant role in India's economic development. As the sector is gearing up for its digital transformation…

Dallas-based oil and gas company Sentinel Midstream is planning to develop a deepwater crude oil export terminal, located near Freeport, Texas. The completed facility will be capable of fully loading Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) vessels.Texas GulfLink will include an onshore terminal with up to 18 million barrels of storage, an offshore 42-in. pipeline, and a manned offshore platform to facilitate port operations with two  Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM) Single Point Mooring (SPM) buoys. Projected export loading rates will be up to 85,000 barrels per hour, with a nominal capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day over the course of a calendar year.“Texas GulfLink will provide the United States with an economical solution to clear the over-supply barrels destined for the Gulf Coast…

Starting May 9, container shipper CMA CGM has launched the new Baltic Levant Express service, offering a direct connection between Saint Petersburg and the Eastern Mediterranean region. Dedicated to the Eastern Mediterranean region - Northern Europe trade, the new service links four major Northern European ports Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp and le Havre to the main Eastern Mediterranean ports Alexandria, Beirut, Mersin and Aliaga. Alexandria is now directly linked from le Havre in nine days.

CMA CGM is offering more Reunion Island services as it positions the French department to be its hub in the Indian Ocean. CMA CGM presented its new strengthened services offer linking the Reunion Island during the inauguration of the Group’s new offices, on Tuesday 26th January. The event took place the day before the inauguration of the New Port Reunion. The Reunion Island now becomes CMA CGM Group’s maritime hub in the Indian Ocean. CMA CGM positions the Reunion Island as a strategic hub in the Indian Ocean: by offering 5 weekly calls compared to 3 previously, the Group links Reunion Island with Europe, Australia, Asia, India, East Africa, West Africa and South Africa. The weekly NEMO service now allows direct links between Europe, the Reunion Island and Australia.

CMA CGM has made a service upgrade in New Zealand by adding a new call in Wellington on its Panama Direct Line (PAD) service starting November 23rd. The PAD service offers a connection between Europe, the US East coast, Australia and New Zealand via the Panama Canal. The CMA CGM Group is the first and only maritime carrier to provide a direct connection from Wellington to Europe and the US East Coast. CMA CGM answers its clients’ needs by offering a unique and innovative product on the market. This new call is in line with the Group’s development strategy and global presence reinforcement in New Zealand. The new rotation will be as follow: Tilbury…

French container shipping company CMA CGM has upgraded its services in Morocco, offering improved connections for the country’s citrus and vegetable exports to key markets including Russia, France, Spainand the UK. Via its subsidiary OPDR, the group said it had re-configured its operations to provide the Moroccan fresh produce export trade with five maritime services, offering new transport links to Russia, northern Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa. The port of Agadir is the heart of Moroccan citrus fruit and vegetable production, and will thus be served with three weekly calls serving northern Europe and Russia, via the Dunkrus, Ciss and Agax services.

The CMA CGM Group upgrades its Lebanese service by adding a call in Beirut on its EPIC line, joining North Europe to Indian sub-continent, and on its MEX line, joining the Mediterranean to Asia. "We are pleased to announce that starting July 27th the Port of Beirut will be called each week by two of its most emblematic lines. Those lines complete the Group's offer in Lebanon," says the release. The CMA CGM Group provides producers new solutions for imports and fruit and vegetable exports to the Arab Gulf, the Red Sea and the Indian sub-continent. By adding weekly calls in Beirut to its EPIC service, joining North Europe to the Indian sub-continent, and to its MEX service, joining the Mediterranean to Asia, the CMA CGM Group adapts its offer to the Lebanese companies' demand.

This being the “Yearbook” edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, it would be remiss to not have coverage of LNG, one of the hottest fueling trends in maritime circles, particularly in North America. For a unique insight on a rapidly evolving market, MR caught up with Edward Scott, COO, Excelerate Energy, which is making big strides in the LNG Regasification sector, and recently received on the of the world’s largest and most capable units, the FSRU Experience which he touts as the world’s largest and most capable FSRU.

Statoil and the partners in the Johan Sverdrup field have decided on a concept for the first development phase. The partners have agreed on a field center consisting of four installations and power from shore. The partners have decided on power from shore for the Johan Sverdrup field in the first phase, which will reduce total CO2 emissions from the Utsira High area by 60-70%. “This is historic. We have not made a concept selection for a field this size since the 1980s,” says Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for development and production in Norway.

Statoil, on behalf of the licence owners, issued a Letter of Intent (LOI) to Samsung Heavy Industries for a permanent floating oil storage unit (FSU). The contract is worth an estimated US$ 230-million and includes options to buy two additional units. The new storage unit will replace the existing buoy loading system on the Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea. The Heidrun field has been developed with a floating tension leg platform with a concrete hull and has been on stream since 1995.

DNV has developed a new pipeline concept, called X-Stream, that can significantly reduce the cost of a deep- and ultra-deepwater gas pipeline while still complying with the strictest safety and integrity regime. X-Stream is based on established and field-proven technologies which have been innovatively arranged. X-Stream can reduce both the pipeline wall thickness and time spent on welding and installation compared to deep-water gas pipelines currently in operation. The exact reduction in the wall thickness depends on the water depth, pipe diameter and actual pipeline profile.

Horizon Logistics, LLC, has launched an international ocean shipping service to offer supply chain solutions to U.S. importers and exporters. Horizon Logistics has been licensed by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to operate as a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC). As an NVOCC, Horizon Logistics is able to issue its own bills of lading and public tariffs, utilizing the service of vessel operating partners. The first shipments moving under this new service were loaded during the week of Jan. "Our entrance into the international ocean shipping arena is actually a re-entrance," said Brian Taylor, President of Horizon Logistics.