Asia News

Oil traders are scouting for newly built supertankers to store diesel for the next few months as they brace for lower demand in Europe amid renewed restrictions aimed at battling the COVID-19 pandemic, shipping and trade sources said.Trading companies, including oil majors, are making enquiries to charter very large crude carriers (VLCC) to carry diesel with 10 parts-per-million (ppm) sulphur for up to six months, they said, indicating that diesel floating storage could rise again.Several such supertankers…

While there is no consensus on what will be the maritime 'fuel of the future', developers across the world are for the first time testing the use of hydrogen to power ships as the maritime industry races to find technologies to cut emissions and confidence grows the fuel is safe to use commercially.To reach goals for the shipping industry set by the United Nations, industry leaders say the first net-zero ships must enter the global fleet by 2030. Ships powered by green hydrogen…

Ferry industry trade group Interferry announced Brittany Ferries CEO Christophe Mathieu as the new Chair of its board of directors. He was elected at the association’s annual general meeting on October 27 - held virtually due to COVID-19 travel restrictions - in succession to John Steen-Mikkelsen, former CEO of Denmark’s Danske Faerger. The meeting also confirmed the appointment of a new director extending Southeast Asia representation on the board.Mathieu, an Interferry board member since 2010…

Engineering firm BMT said it has appointed John Godwin as Regional Business Development Director for the Asia Pacific region. Based in Adelaide, Australia, Godwin will oversee the business development for the Asia Pacific region including Asia, Australia, and the Pacific.Godwin has over 25 years’ combined defense and industry experience, spanning engineering, consulting, business development, programs, operations, and general management. His international experience includes Europe, South East Asia, and the Middle East.

CSSC Marine Service Co (CMS), the worldwide equipment service subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), has extended its range of services for WïnGD and RT-Flex two-stroke engines, with the introduction of an injection control unit (ICU) overhaul and testing service. The development marks the first time that OEM-authorized ICU overhaul and testing has been available in China.ICU overhauls are traditionally carried out in two key ports worldwide and often require international shipment of complete ICUs to and from the repair shop at great cost.

When Captain Will Whatley guides a ship through Arctic waters, he is starkly aware of what can go wrong.Double the manpower is needed to navigate. Lookout shifts are kept to just one hour, so sailors don't lose concentration and miss a mass of floating ice. Big icebergs show up on radar, but smaller, truck-sized "bergy bits"—even more dangerous—can be missed, the captain says.The cold can freeze equipment and the earth's magnetic field disrupts compasses. If anything goes wrong…

Surging shipments into the United States are fueling record high freight costs and logjams at seaports, but transportation executives say the rally will lose steam with a second wave of COVID-19 restrictions on the cards.Container shipping companies, which move goods for customers including Amazon.com and Walmart, got stung late last year and early this year when COVID-19 halted trade around the world, and they question whether the U.S. import boom can be sustained."Let's not get carried away," Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive of Germany's Hapag Lloyd, told reporters.

The U.S. national security adviser said on Friday the U.S Coast Guard was basing Fast Response Cutters in the western Pacific for maritime security missions, citing illegal fishing and harassment of vessels by China.In a statement, Robert O’Brien also said the Coast Guard planned to evaluate next fiscal year the feasibility of basing Fast Response Cutters in American Samoa in the South Pacific.The statement described the United States as a Pacific power and added that China’s “illegal…

Bollinger Shipyards delivered the USCGC Charles Moulthrope to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla., the Louisiana-based shipbuilder announced Thursday. This is the 164th vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 41st Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.The 154-foot USCGC Charles Moulthrope is the first of six FRCs to be home-ported in Manama, Bahrain, which will replace the aging 110’ Island Class Patrol Boats, built by Bollinger Shipyards 30 years ago, supporting the Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), the U.S.

Thailand on Wednesday further eased coronavirus restrictions and plans to shorten a quarantine period to encourage foreign tourists, an official said, after the country welcomed its first vacationers since a ban in April aimed at halting the spread.Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy suffered its worst contraction in over two decades in the second quarter as the vital tourism sector was badly hit.Relaxed rules will make it easier for people on yachts and the foreign crew of ships to enter the country…

GCube, an insurer for renewable energy projects, hired three new underwriters for its offshore wind team, including Joshua Cantwell, formerly of Talbot Underwriting, and Zoe Massie, formerly of Allianz Global.The appointments come alongside a number of new hires in the U.S. as GCube builds its global presence in the renewable energy insurance sector.Prior to joining GCube, Cantwell held the position of Class Underwriter and subsequently Interim Head of Energy for Talbot Underwriting.He was responsible for the global Upstream portfolio and has been directly managing the Upstream London team over the course of the past year. Cantwell will…

MacArtney completed its order of a launch and recovery (LARS) system for Taiwan National University, the fifth Ocean Research Vessel (ORV) in the Asia Pacific region to date. MacArtney Asia Pacific provided the full launch and recovery system solution for the new vessel R/V New Ocean Researcher 1 (ORV 1), including slip rings, cables and docking heads. The 1,000 GT RV was completed on July 21, 2020.Behind ORV 1 is the CSBC Corporation, which built the ship for end-user Taiwan National University. CSBC, owning two shipyards, is the largest shipbuilding company in Taiwan.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has been granted approval in principle (AIP) by Bureau Veritas (BV) for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel gas supply system (FGSS) for marine four-stroke dual fuel engines. The approval was confirmed in a presentation ceremony at Mitsubishi Shipbuilding’s Headquarters in Yokohama.The FGSS comprises an LNG fuel tank, gas supply unit, control systems and other relevant equipment. The system was developed mainly to be installed on coastal ferries and small to mid-sized cargo ships.Claude Maillot…

Japan’s exports fell in September at the slowest pace in seven months as U.S.-bound vehicle shipments rose from lows brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating easing pressure on the world’s third-largest economy.Exports fell 4.9% in September compared with the same month a year earlier, more than the 2.4% economists forecast in a Reuters poll. Still, the pace followed six months of double-digit decline, including a 14.8% drop in August.Fewer exports of iron to Taiwan and ships to Panama left September marking the 22nd consecutive month of export decline…

Keppel Offshore & Marine has delivered its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, Avenir Advantage, to Avenir LNG. The vessel also functions as an LNG bunkering vessel (LBV), making it the first in South East Asia to do so, Keppel said.Avenir Advantage is the first of two such vessels that Keppel O&M is building for Avenir LNG. The 7,500m3 LBV was built at Keppel Nantong Shipyard in China and is equipped with engines that can run on both diesel and LNG. Keppel O&M’s technology arm…

The world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered containership, CMA CGM Jacques Saade, has set a new world record for the most full containers loaded on a single vessel.On her Monday departure from Singapore, the CMA CGM Group’s new flagship was carrying a record 20,723 full containers, according to French shipping company CMA CGM.After joining CMA CGM’s fleet in September, the new record-breaking containership is now on her maiden voyage on the CMA CGM Group’s French Asia Line (FAL 1), connecting Asia with Europe.

Maritime classification society ABS has granted its Approval in Principle for Damen Shipyard's Fast Crew Supplier 2710 crew transfer vessel aimed for deployment in the U.S. offshore wind industry.To achieve approval, Damen has modified the design of its standard FCS 2710 to meet the US requirements. Waterjets are now incorporated, driven by engines that are compliant with US Environmental Protection Agency regulations. According to Damen, the FCS 2710, over 65ft in length, is suited for operating conditions on the US Atlantic coast.

German container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd is benefitting from a rebound in transport demand but its chief executive warned about the longer-term impact on economic activity from the coronavirus."We see a recovery, which started probably some time in the course of third quarter, and we would expect that to continue going into 2021," chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen said in an embargoed briefing session with journalists held on Thursday."But there will be a clear long-term effect on the global economy from COVID-19…

A strengthening Hurricane Delta dealt the greatest blow to U.S. offshore Gulf of Mexico production in 15 years, halting most of the region's oil and nearly two-thirds of its natural gas output.An already large and powerful storm, Delta could intensify further on Friday as it churns through the Gulf's prime oil-producing area. Its winds reached 120 miles per hour (195 kmh), according to the National Hurricane Center.Delta has shut 1.67 million barrels per day, or 92% of the Gulf's oil output…

MacGregor has won an order with an unnamed client to deliver cargo handling cranes for four 62,000 dwt general cargo ships to be built in Asia. The company, part of Cargotec, said Friday the order was booked into Cargotec's third quarter 2020 order intake. Deliveries are planned to start during the third quarter of 2021 and completed during the first quarter of 2022."MacGregor has won this contract in a difficult and highly competitive market environment, demonstrating both the quality of MacGregor equipment and confidence in the comprehensive through-life support provided to customers…

South Korean shipping company HMM said all 12 of its new 24,000 TEU containerships—the world's largest—have each made their maiden voyages fully laden with containers.On September 31, HMM St. Petersburg, the last of the 24K-class series, departed for Europe from the Port of Yantian, China with 19,529 TEUs loaded on board.Consequently, all 24,000 TEU ships delivered to HMM have been entirely filled with cargoes on their first voyages, starting with HMM Algeciras which carried a total of 19…

Danish offshore wind turbine transportation and installation company Swire Blue Ocean (SBO) is getting ready for listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange, to position the company for the next phase of its growth.Also, Swire Blue Ocean, as a subsidiary of Swire Pacific Offshore, will be rebranded and renamed Cadeler. The company said the new name would reflect the company’s Scandinavian maritime heritage "and its commitment to excellence in maritime operations."In connection with the Mikkel Gleerup…

More than half a dozen liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers were waiting to enter U.S. export plants in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Delta marches toward the Gulf Coast.Most tankers were located outside of Cheniere Energy Inc’s Sabine Pass and Cameron LNG’s Cameron plants in Louisiana, according to data from Refinitiv. There were also a few outside of Freeport LNG’s Freeport plant in Texas.Delta is expected to slam into central Louisiana as a major hurricane on Friday, putting the storm closer to Cameron than Sabine.