Traders News

Logistical constraints at the Port of Vancouver mean waterborne oil exports from the highly anticipated Trans Mountain pipeline expansion due to start up on Wednesday may only be around half what the Canadian government-owned corporation has forecast, traders and shipping sources said.The C$34 billion ($24.82 billion) project to nearly triple the flow of crude from Alberta to Canada's Pacific Coast to 890,000 barrels per day is scheduled to start operating on May 1 after years of regulatory delays and construction setbacks.The extra 590…

Russia's state-owned reinsurer has given financial backing to three Russian insurance firms, allowing them to get Indian approval to provide marine insurance cover to tankers, two sources said, as Moscow seeks to facilitate trade with India amid Western sanctions.A raft of sanctions by the U.S. and allies against Moscow over its Ukraine invasion, along with tighter scrutiny of Russian oil trade, has almost cut Russia off from the global network of service providers such as insurers and brokers.Russian companies Sogaz Insurance…

As U.S. shale oil boomed last decade, an oil pipeline company pitched an ambitious multi-billion-dollar export port off the Texas coast to ship domestic crude to buyers in Europe and Asia.In April, Enterprise Products Partners' SPOT became the first project to receive a license from the U.S. maritime regulator for a deepwater port that could load two supertankers, each of which can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil at a time.But multi-year regulatory delays, a loss of commercial backers and slowing U.S.

Venezuela's loss of a key U.S. license that allowed it to freely export and increase investment in its oil sector will hit the volume and quality of its crude and fuel sales while prompting a flurry of requests for individual U.S deal authorizations.U.S. officials had warned that absent progress by President Nicolas Maduro on implementing an electoral roadmap agreed last year, the U.S. would not renew license 44, which since October had eased oil sanctions in place for the last five years.On Wednesday…

We think of Bermuda as a tiny paradise in the North Atlantic. But long before cruise ships moored up, prison ships carried hundreds of convicts to the island, first docking in 1824 and remaining there for decades.Islands have long been places to deport, exile and banish criminals. Think of Alcatraz, the infamous penitentiary in San Francisco, or Robben Island in South Africa, which held Nelson Mandela. The French penal colony Devil’s Island was immortalised in the Steve McQueen film Papillon…

Cereal and oilseed imports to China, the world's biggest buyer of farm goods, will remain near record highs this year despite a recent spate of cancellations as lower global prices and a domestic output shortfall prompt purchases.China's wheat imports from Australia in January and February this year have nearly quadrupled from the same time last year, the latest customs data show. That trend should continue even after Beijing cancelled or postponed 1 million metric tons of Australian wheat last week.The cancellations, along with those for about 500,000 tons of U.S.

India's Reliance Industries, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, will not buy Russian oil loaded on tankers operated by shipping company Sovcomflot (SCF) after recent U.S. sanctions, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The development adds to oil export problems for Russia as its oil firms may face difficulties finding ships to sell surplus oil after recent Ukrainian drone attacks on the state's refineries. Russian companies are already struggling to collect payments for oil exports due to banking restrictions.The U.S.

With the conclusion of week 11, the ongoing and seemingly endless dearth in the supply of viable candidates has been mercifully keeping the Bangladeshi and Pakistani ship recycling markets steady, reports cash buyer GMS.“On the other hand, the Turkish and Indian markets continue to endure their respective shares of a notably trying time, given that the Turkish Lira continues to plummet even amidst a mercifully quieter week (on account of Ramadan).”GMS says: “India continues to endure its share of nerve-racking volatility in local steel plate prices as well as the Indian Rupee…

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight snapped a 12-session winning streak on Tuesday, as pressure from lower capesize rates outweighed gains in smaller vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was down 0.3% at 2,291 points.The capesize index .BACI snapped its nine-session rising streak, shedding 57 points, or 1.4%, to 4,148.Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal…

New U.S. sanctions on Moscow are more likely than previous ones to cut Indian imports of thermal coal from Russia because they specifically cite top exporters SUEK and Mechel, three major traders of Russian coal said.Russia, historically a minor exporter of the fuel to India, began boosting shipments to the south Asian country after Western sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.The latest U.S. sanctions also include Russia's payment system, financial institutions and energy production."With the new sanctions…

The volume of goods moving through Spain's top ports rose by as much as 25% in January as attacks on shipping in the Red Sea caused companies to divert Europe-bound vessels around southern Africa instead.Spain's northern ports have also seen volumes in transit jump by up to triple as traders opt to avoid moving goods by truck through Europe because of widespread blockades by farmers, Spanish retail and food industry association Aecoc says.Ports such as Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and Barcelona saw a 25.4% and 7.6% increase in the volume of merchandise respectively…

African Heads of State have agreed a landmark moratorium on the donkey skin trade. The agreement was reached on February 18 during the 37th African Union Summit in Ethiopia.Over the last decade, Africa has seen its donkey population decimated due to Chinese demand for ejiao, a gelatine used in traditional Chinese medicine that is made from boiling down donkey skins. Believed to have unsubstantiated health benefits, demand for ejiao has obliterated China’s own donkey population…

More ships carrying grain were diverted from the Suez Canal to sailings around the Cape of Good Hope this week as concern about attacks on vessels in the Red Sea continued, shipping analysts said on Friday."Another 13 vessels were diverted this week taking the total cargo diverted away from the Red Sea route to around 5.2 million metric tons of grains in about 90 ships since the attacks started late last year," said Ishan Bhanu, lead agricultural commodities analyst at data provider…

Russia energy infrastructure has been hit by drone attacks and fires in the past month, adding to uncertainty in global oil and gas markets already rocked by the conflict in the Middle East.Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other's energy infrastructure in strikes designed to disrupt supply lines and logistics and to demoralise their opponent as they try to get the edge in a nearly two-year-old war that shows no sign of ending.Following are recent major incidents at Russian oil facilities in the past month:* A Russian appointed official said on Jan.

Russian ports are operating during more severe storms and easing restrictions for non ice-class vessels during winter, traders said and regulations showed, in an attempt to boost exports following disruptions from Western sanctions and harsh weather.Following the European Union oil embargo, Russia has to rely mostly on seaborne loadings, rather than westbound pipeline supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.Traders and analysts said the easing of restrictions carried technical and ecological risks, but could help Russia's revenues that are heavily reliant on oil.Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft,

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…

The economic incentive to import oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia has closed as the cost of booking supertankers on the route has surged amid a jump in bookings for the vessels, traders said this week.With the arbitrage for U.S. shipments closed, Asian refiners may make up some of the difference with similar Middle Eastern crude oil after top regional producer Saudi Arabia cut their sales prices for February, which is expected to carry over to other regional crudes. The spur…

Growth in sea-borne imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Poland slowed 7% last year to 1.084 million metric tons, from a jump of more than 70% in 2022, with sea terminals working almost at capacity, according to traders and LSEG data.Sea-borne imports account for some 35% of total LPG supplies to Poland, while deliveries by rail was more than 50%.Poland also remained the main destination for Russian LPG, which was banned by the European Union last month over the conflict…

Oil and fuel tanker traffic in the Red Sea was stable in December, even though many container ships have rerouted due to attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi militants, a Reuters analysis of vessel tracking data showed.The attacks have driven up shipping costs sharply along with insurance premiums, but have had less impact than feared on oil flows, with shippers continuing to use the key East-West passage. The Houthis, who have said they are targeting Israel-bound vessels, have largely…

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday it was the latest company planning to avoid the Red Sea after attacks there by Yemen's Houthi group on merchant vessels, which have disrupted global trade and triggered a multinational naval action.Hapag-Lloyd said it would reroute 25 ships by the end of the year from the key waterway as freight rates and shipping stocks have increased because of the disruption. Avoiding the Red Sea and Suez Canal means following a far longer route around Africa.The Iran-aligned Houthis…

The U.S.-led coalition imposing a price cap on seaborne Russian oil announced changes on Wednesday to its compliance regime the Treasury Department said will make it harder for Russian exporters to bypass the cap.The Treasury also imposed fresh sanctions on a ship manager owned by the Russian government and three oil traders involved in Russian oil trade.The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries last year imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil shipments in…

A number of container ships are anchored in the Red Sea and others have turned off tracking systems as traders adjust routes and prices in response to maritime attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on the world's main East-West trade route.Attacks in recent days on ships in the major Red Sea shipping route have raised the spectre of another bout of disruption to international commerce following the upheaval of the COVID pandemic, and prompted a U.S.-led international force to patrol waters near Yemen.The Red Sea is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal…

The United States on Tuesday launched a multinational operation to safeguard commerce in the Red Sea as attacks by Iran-backed Yemeni militants forced major shipping companies to reroute, stoking fears of sustained disruptions to global trade.The Houthi militant group, which controls vast amounts of territory in Yemen after years of war, has since last month fired drones and missiles at international vessels sailing through the Red Sea - attacks it says respond to Israel's devastating assault on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.This week…