Metallurgical Products News

Insurance broker Marsh and Lloyd's of London underwriters have expanded a marine war insurance program backed by Ukraine from grain shipments to all non-military cargo, such as iron ore and steel, Marsh said on Friday.Marsh, Lloyd's and Ukrainian state banks launched an initial program in November to cut the cost of claims for damage to ships and crew transporting grain through the Black Sea corridor, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago."Expanding insurance to cover ships carrying all non-military cargo is extremely important for Ukraine…

Ukraine has managed to boost its Black Sea grain exports to a level not seen since before Russia's invasion, although the Red Sea shipping crisis poses a new challenge to its crucial agricultural trade.Kyiv's success in replacing a UN-backed Black Sea export deal with its own shipping scheme has brought relief for Ukrainian farmers and importing countries while representing a naval breakthrough for Ukraine's military as a land counteroffensive has stalled.The export turnaround…

A ship has entered the Ukrainian port of Mariupol for the first time since Russia completed its capture of the city to load metal and ship it east to Russia, TASS news agency reported on Saturday, in a move that Kyiv decried as looting.A spokesperson for the port told TASS that the vessel would be loading 2,700 tonnes of metal before traveling 160 km (100 miles) east to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Monday.The spokesperson did not say where the metal being shipped had been…

Aker Yards has signed a contract with the large Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel for delivery of four container/cargo ships for arctic operations, with an option for a fifth newbuilding. This order of Aker Yards' Business Area Merchant Vessels has a total value of approximately EUR 320 million for four vessels and follows Norilsk Nickel's recent deployment of the first vessel of this type, MS Norilskiy Nickel. The newly contracted vessels are scheduled for delivery by Aker Yards' German shipyards from the third quarter of 2008 through the first quarter of 2009. These specialized container/cargo vessels traverse ice-covered seas without icebreaker assistance, due to the double-acting hull form and propulsion system developed and patented by Aker Yards.

MS Norilskiy Nickel, an arctic container vessel built under NB 505 at Aker Yards in Helsinki, was delivered to the Russian MMC Norilsk Nickel. The vessel is intended for traffic on the Northern Sea Route. The vessel left Helsinki on March 3 for ice trials in real arctic conditions in Northern Russia. After successfully completing its trials, it was handed over to the owners in Murmansk on April 11. MS Norilskiy Nickel is a prototype based on the double-acting ship concept developed by Aker Yards. The 14,500 dwt Arctic Container Vessel worth $84.9 m is 169 m x 23 m, with 9 m draught and capable of breaking 1.5 m ice. It will transport metallurgical products from Dudinka on the river of Yenisey to Murmansk.