Bulk Carriers News

Transportation of soybeans and corn on barges along the Brazilian Amazon's Tapajos River, which had been suspended in early October due to dry weather, resumed at 50% capacity this week, operators said on Wednesday.Shipping began again on that waterway, which receives grain cargos from Brazil's biggest farm state Mato Grosso and nearby areas, as rain raised river levels, said Amport, an association representing port terminals and cargo transshipment operators of the Amazon basin.Barge shipping on the Madeira River, another Amazon waterway, returned to normal this week, Amport said.

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell to a near three-week low on Wednesday, pulled down by weaker capesize and panamax vessel rates.The index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 72 points to 1,509 points, its lowest level since Nov. 8.The capesize index lost 210 points to 2,569 points, the lowest level in over two-weeks.Average daily earnings for capesize vessels…

Sweden is asking a Chinese vessel to return to Swedish waters to help facilitate the Nordic country's investigation into recent breaches of undersea fibre-optic cables in the Baltic Sea, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday.Two subsea cables, one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged in less than 24 hours on Nov. 17-18, raising suspicions of sabotage, countries and companies involved said.Denmark's military said soon afterwards that its vessels were staying close to Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3…

A climate change protest off the coast of Australia's New South Wales State forced an inbound ship to turn back from the country's largest terminal for coal exports on Sunday, the port operator said.New South Wales police said 170 protesters were arrested on Sunday for refusing to move from the shipping channel near the Port of Newcastle.The port, some 170 km (105 miles) from the state capital Sydney, is the largest bulk shipping port on Australia's east coast.A Port of Newcastle…

NYK Line and MTI have filed a patent application for a technology that monitors the transport of reduced iron on bulk carriers.Reduced iron is attracting attention because it does not require coke in the manufacturing process, a benefit for decarbonization of the industry. The demand for transport by sea is expected to increase, but there is a need for appropriate cargo management on board ships to prevent overheating, fire, and explosion risks during transport, says NYK.The system uses IoT technology to acquire and remotely monitor environmental data (temperature…

U.S. aluminium maker Alcoa AA.N said on Thursday it had halted bauxite shipments from Brazil's Juruti port due to a stranded vessel in the waterway.This was the latest in a series of disruptions to hit the aluminium raw material supply chain, which have pushed alumina prices to record highs and supported aluminium prices.Alcoa declared force majeure at its bauxite mine in the Juruti region on Wednesday as an inaccessible waterway hindered its ability to supply its customers, an…

Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 4.5 million tons in October, a decrease of 12.3 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments were 10.1 percent below the month’s 5-year average.Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 41 million tons, a decrease of 2.1 percent compared to the same point in 2023. Through October iron ore loadings are 5.1 percent above their 5-year average for the January-October timeframe. More information is available at www.lcaships.com.

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.3 million tons in October, a decrease of 13.1 percent compared to a year ago. Limestone cargos were also below the month’s 5-year average by 9.6 percent.The Lake Carriers' Association, the U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet trade group, today announced thatl loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 2.7 million tons, a decrease of 8.4 percent. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 587,069 tons, a decrease of 29.7 percent. Year-to-date the limestone trade stands at 24.2 million tons, a slight decrease compared to 2023.

The BC Maritime Employers Association said it would lock out workers on Monday at Canada's Port of Vancouver after a negotiating deadline passed, potentially disrupting exports of coal, potash and beef.The association, which includes private-sector waterfront employers, said it would lock out foremen and other members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 at the country's largest port starting at 4:30 Pacific time (0030 GMT). A 13-day strike last year disrupted…

Yemen's Houthis said on Monday that they targeted three ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, attacks they called part of their efforts to enforce a naval blockade on Israel.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised address the vessels were targeted for attempting to approach ports bound for Israel.According to the latest data from LSEG, all three targeted vessels were Liberia-registered.One of the vessels, identified by the Houthis as bulk carrier Motaro, was last seen off Yemen's western coast in the Red Sea…

INTERCARGO, the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners, has announced significant changes to its leadership following its annual general meeting. The new appointments will take effect from January 1, 2025.In recognition of their distinguished service, Dimitrios Fafalios has been appointed Honorary Chairman following six years as Chairman. Fafalios, President of Fafalios Shipping, has led INTERCARGO through significant developments in the shipping sector since 2019,…

U.S. soybean export premiums are at their highest in 14 months, as grain merchants race to ship out a record-large U.S. harvest ahead of the U.S. presidential election and fears of renewed trade tensions with top importer China, traders and analysts said.Nearly 2.5 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans were inspected for export last week, including almost 1.7 million tons bound for China, the most in a year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data released on Monday.But while this export flurry is a bright spot for U.S.

ClassNK has granted the class notation ‘a-EA (GRS)’ to Bright Queen, the bulk carrier operated by NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers, certifying the use of green steel in its construction.This is the world’s first case of a notation being affixed for using green steel in a ship.For Bright Queen, built by Higaki Shipbuilding, ClassNK confirmed the use of JFE Steel Corporation’s green steel JGreeX, for which it had previously conducted third-party certification of the GHG emissions reductions made in the manufacturing process.For each JGreeX™ product…

Ukraine has asked the International Maritime Organization to send a monitoring mission to ports in the southern Odesa region amid intensified Russian attacks, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Wednesday.In recent weeks, Russian troops have ramped up missile strikes on Ukraine's southern port infrastructure and damaged a total of four foreign-flagged civilian vessels since Oct. 6."Amid increased Russian terror, Ukraine has officially appealed to the International Maritime Organization to immediately send an international monitoring mission to the ports…

“During the first nine months of 2024, seaborne shipments of jet fuel increased 11% over 2023," said Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO. "Shipments were equivalent to 461 million barrels or 1.7 million barrels per day (mbpd). At the same time, airline passenger traffic measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) exceeded 2019 levels for the first time since COVID,”Airline cargo traffic recovered quickly after the COVID pandemic hit in 2020 and has since remained mostly within +/-10% of 2019 levels.

The bulk carrier Bunun Ace and the Ayed 1, a bulk carrier that appears to have been converted to carry livestock, were involved in a collision in the Bosphorus Strait on October 3.The Turkish Directorate General of Coastal Safety said the Bunun Ace was heading towards the Üsküdar coast, and the swift action of the tug Kurtarma-5 averted the vessel from running aground.The Ayed 1 appeared to suffer minimal delay to its voyage. It has not been confirmed that there was livestock onboard…

Castor Maritime announced that on October 9, 2024, it took delivery of the M/V Magic Ariel, the 2020-built Kamsarmax bulk carrier vessel it had agreed to acquire as previously announced on September 30, 2024.The vessel acquisition was financed in its entirety with cash on hand.The Magic Ariel will be employed under a time charter contract with a minimum duration of about seven months at a gross daily rate equal to 108% of the Baltic Panamax Index 5TC (BPI5TC).

A Russian ballistic missile attack on Wednesday on the port infrastructure of Ukraine's southern Odesa region killed six people and injured eight, Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.The injured were all Ukrainian nationals, Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd., announced a definitive agreement to purchase the remaining 50% equity ownership of its consolidated subsidiary, Nordic Bulk Partners LLC, from HS Nordic LLC, for $17.2 million in cash.The deal is expected to be completed by November 1, 2024. It will see Pangea own 100% of the equity in Nordic Bulk Partners, a joint venture established in 2019 to construct four Ice Class 1A Post-Panamax dry bulk vessels.The terms of the agreement include ownership put and call provisions, which have been negotiated and exercised a year earlier than originally stipulated.

U.S. drybulk shipowner Genco Shipping & Trading Limited on Monday announced it has agreed to acquire a 2016-built 180,000 dwt Capesize vessel for a purchase price of $47.5 million.Genco said it expects to take delivery of the vessel, to be named the Genco Intrepid, from an undisclosed seller within the next 30 days. The company added that it intends to fund the acquisition with cash on hand and a drawdown from its revolving credit facility.John C. Wobensmith, Genco CEO, said, “We are pleased to continue to advance our growth strategy with the acquisition of this modern…

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.8 million tons in September, an increase of 9.4% compared to a year ago, according to latest figures from trade group the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA). Limestone cargos were also above the month’s 5-year average by 4.5%.Loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 3.1 million tons, an increase of 10.6% from 2023. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 678,580 tons, an increase of 4.2%, LCA said..LCA data shows that year-to-date the limestone trade stands at 20.8 million tons, an increase of 1.8% compared to a year ago.

Shipments of iron ore from U.S. ports on the Great Lakes totaled 5.5 million tons in September, a decrease of 1.9% compared to a year ago, according to latest figures from industry trade group the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA). Shipments were above the month’s 5-year average by 6.6%.Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 36.5 million tons, a decrease of less than 1% compared to the same point in 2023, LCA said.Through September iron ore loadings are 7.3% above their 5-year average for the first three quarters of the year.

New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has released its report into the injury of a crew member on the bulk carrier Poavosa Brave on June 23, 2023.The vessel was at anchor outside Tauranga Harbour, preparing to load logs. An on-board crane was hoisting stanchions (vertical posts for securing logs on the main deck) when the crane's block struck an able seaman. The seaman was very seriously injured and was later evacuated to hospital by helicopter.TAIC states that in doing unauthorized work and not telling responsible officers…