Paulo News

In 2018, convicted cocaine trafficker Slobodan Kostovski fled a Brazilian prison and made his way back to Europe with a fake passport.The Serbian senior quickly fell into old habits, police allege. Last August, Kostovski was arrested in Belgrade, accused of shipping 2.7 metric tonnes of cocaine from Brazil aboard a 22-meter vessel apprehended near Spain’s Canary Islands.Nicknamed “the General” by his associates, he had been trafficking “large amounts” of powder to “Europe for a long period of time,” Serbian police wrote in a 2022 intelligence report obtained exclusively by Reuters.

Iran’s foreign minister said the crew of a seized Portuguese-flagged ship linked to Israel have been granted consular access and are expected to be freed, Iranian media reported on Saturday.Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the container vessel MSC Aries with a crew of 25 in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route.Recent attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis…

The presidents of France and Brazil on Wednesday launched a submarine built in the South American country with French technology in a program that aims to build Brazil's first nuclear-powered submarine by the end of the decade.Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended a ceremony in the Itaguai shipyard near Rio de Janeiro, launching the third diesel-powered submarine built in a $10 billion partnership.Brazil first lady Janja da Silva smashed a champagne…

The European Union, Canada, Japan and climate-vulnerable Pacific Island states are among 47 countries rallying support for a charge on the international shipping sector's greenhouse gas emissions, documents reviewed by Reuters showed.The documents, being discussed at an International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting now entering a second week, outline four proposals with a combined 47 backers for imposing a fee on each tonne of greenhouse gas the industry produces.Support for…

Earlier this year, 30-year Port Houston veteran Jeff Davis announced his retirement as Chief Port Operations Officer. The port's Executive Director Roger Guenther has subsequently announced the promotion of two long-term, well-regarded members of Port Houston’s executive leadership team to vital roles to ensure sustained operations and exceptional service.Ryan Mariacher, a 20-year employee and formerly Director of Container Terminal Operations, was promoted to Chief Port Operations Officer.

A fire has broken out on board a Liberian-registered containership off Canada's East Coast, the Canadian Coast Guard said.At around 11 p.m. on Sunday, the MSC Sao Paulo V issued a call for help after a blaze erupted in the engine room of the 294-meter-long vessel. The ship had left Montréal in the morning and was approaching the Les Escoumins pilot station while en route to Portugal when the incident occurred.By Monday afternoon, the containership crew had informed the Coast Guard that the fire was under control…

The Indian Navy on Friday rescued the crew of a merchant vessel after its attempted hijack in the Arabian Sea and said it had not found any pirates on board.An Indian Navy warship intercepted the Liberian-flagged MV Lila Norfolk bulk carrier less than a day after it had received a report that the vessel had been hijacked about 460 nautical miles off Somalia.About five to six armed people boarded the vessel on Thursday, according to a report received by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency…

The first hybrid Platform Supply Vessel (PSV), which uses batteries and diesel for propulsion, has started operating for Equinor in Brazil.With the battery bank installed, the PSV is able to operate with hybrid propulsion, switching between the use of electricity and diesel. This is expected to reduce emissions by up to 40% during vessel’s activities.The PSV will be part of the logistics of the Bacalhau field, in the Santos Basin, where Equinor has a majority stake secured in…

For centuries, riverside communities, including the "quilombola" descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped from plantations and ranches, have shared Xingu Island in Brazil's Amazon Basin.Its inhabitants live in brightly painted wooden houses overlooking rivers where small boats crisscross between islands and Abaetetuba city on the mainland to trade fish, seeds and fruits gathered from the Amazon forest in their backyard.In 2016, however, strangers docked on Xingu Island, in Para state…

Once again, SAAM Towage verified and fully offset the greenhouse gas emissions from its Colombian operations. The measurement process, certified by Bureau Veritas, considered all direct emissions and all indirect emissions from energy consumption, transportation and products and services used by the organization.“We operated sustainably to benefit our planet and our community, and to generate value for our customers and strategic partners. We have become more and more efficient at using our resources…

Brazil sank a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean off its northeast coast, the Brazilian Navy said, despite warnings from environmentalists that the rusting 1960s French-built ship would pollute the sea and the marine food chain.The 32,000-tonne carrier had been floating offshore for three months since Turkey refused it entry to be scrapped there because it was an environmental hazard and the ship was towed back to Brazil.The carrier was scuttled in a "planned and controlled sinking" late on Friday…

A decommissioned 32,000-ton 1960's aircraft carrier has been floating off Brazil's shore for three months since Turkey refused it entry to be scrapped there because the rusting ship is an environmental hazard.The Brazilian Navy's Sao Paulo carrier had been towed by tugs to Europe but did not get past the Gibraltar straits, and was returned across the Atlantic.The Navy has acknowledged the ship is a risk to the environment and could sink, so it has not been allowed into Brazilian…

At least four Chinese-owned supertankers are shipping Russian Urals crude to China, according to trading sources and tracking data, as Moscow seeks vessels for exports after a G7 oil price cap restricted the use of Western cargo services and insurance.China, the world's top oil importer, has continued buying Russian oil despite Western sanctions, after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping launched what they called a no-limit partnership before the war in Ukraine.The sources said a fifth supertanker…

Brazil's government will not proceed with the privatization of the port of Santos, the largest in Latin America, the incoming minister of ports and airports was quoted as saying on Thursday by a Brazilian newspaper.Marcio Franca, tapped to head the ministry in President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government, told O Estado de S. Paulo's online edition that the decision had been made not to privatize the port, located just southeast of Sao Paulo and a key gateway for exports of agricultural commodities including soybeans and sugar.Franca could not be reached for comment on the decision…

International shipbroker Braemar announced on Monday that it has acquired Southport Maritime, one of the highest volume U.S.-based shipbroking tanker companies.With a particular focus on spot tanker fixtures, Southport’s 18-strong team will complement Braemar’s existing Tanker desks in London, Singapore, Madrid, Houston and Geneva.Braemar’s new offices in West Palm Beach and Winter Park Florida, will continue to be led by Michael Corey and Peter Tornaben, the co-founders of Southport Maritime.

Numerous barges have run aground on the lower Mississippi River, and grain barge shipping rates are soaring to historic highs this week, as drought has dropped inland waterways to levels not seen in decades.And with little rain in the forecast, the low water levels are hampering already sluggish grain exports at the U.S. Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports exit the country.The logistical snarls come as the Midwest harvest progresses and the busiest crop export season starts…

The dispute between Brazilian port operators and global shipping giants Maersk and MSC is expected to escalate in the coming weeks, according to Brazilian newspaper Valor.Local port terminal operators, through their industry group ABTP, are trying to prevent Maersk and MSC from participating in an auction to operate terminal 10 in Latin America's largest port, Santos port, near Brazil's financial capital, Sao Paulo.Maersk and MSC already operate terminals in Brazil.

Shipping companies that transport the world's coal are in the crosshairs of some financial backers who are cleaning up their businesses in the absence of a truly global drive by nations to renounce the dirtiest fossil fuel.In a sign of investors taking the initiative, six European firms collectively representing over 5% of the estimated annual $16 billion capital financing requirements of the dry bulk industry told Reuters they were either reducing their exposure to vessels that…

Gustavo Alcides Diaz, an Argentine fisherman and hunter from a river island community, is at home on the water. The Parana River once lapped the banks near his wooden stilt home that he could reach by boat. Fish gave him food and income. He purified river water to drink.Now the 40-year-old looks out on a trickle of muddy water.The Parana, South America's second-largest river behind only the Amazon, has retreated this year to its lowest level since its record low in 1944, hit by cyclical droughts and dwindling rainfall upriver in Brazil.

Food traders are switching from containers back to dry bulk vessels to transport refined sugar and rice, hoping to avoid shipping delays caused by container shortages and port congestion that the industry is calling "containergeddon", according to traders.Container-based transportation has been hit by sky-high costs and delays amid booming shipping demand, while container terminals at ports struggle to deal with the flow.Commodities such as refined sugar, coffee, rice, cotton…

Cheniere Energy Inc, said on Thursday it would quantify carbon emissions from its suppliers and production sites and supply the information to customers.LNG buyers have begun asking suppliers for natural gas sourcing data and greenhouse gas emissions to reduce their own carbon footprints. Several LNG producers are proposing adding carbon capture and storage alongside their LNG projects.Cheniere said it signed agreements with five natural gas producers and several academic institutions to implement quantification…

Japanese FPSO specialist MODEC has been awarded the contract for the delivery of an FPSO unit for Equinor's Bacalhau development.The EPCI contract award follows the final investment decision for the development of the field, announced by Equinor and its partners Tuesday. The development of the field located in the Santos Basin will cost around $8 billion.As previously reported, more than a year ago, Equinor and Modec signed a deal for the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and pre-investment of the FPSO.MODEC now has a contract in hand for Engineering…

Norwegian oil and gas company Equnior has made a final investment decision for the development of the Bacalhau field offshore Brazil.The development of the field located in the Santos Basin will cost around $8 billion. Arne Sigve Nylund, Equinor’s executive vice president for Projects, Drilling, and Procurement said: "This is an exciting day. Bacalhau is the first greenfield development by an international operator in the pre-salt area and will create great value for Brazil, Equinor, and partners.