Cargo News

Ship traffic through Bab el-Mandeb fell on Sunday after Yemeni Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast, while transit through the Strait of Hormuz stayed low over the weekend, shipping data from Kpler showed on Monday.Eleven commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday, the lowest level in months, the data showed.Red Sea traffic has been disrupted off the coast of Yemen since last week by the Tehran-aligned Houthis, who want to blockade Saudi exports…

SimFer, the Joint Venture between the Government of Guinea, Rio Tinto and the Chinalco-led CIOH Consortium, has named its first transhipment vessel (TSV), Wontanara.The vessel will be deployed to support Simandou, the largest greenfield mining and related infrastructure project in Africa, where it will become the first of five specialized TSV vessels supporting SimFer’s marine logistics operations at the Port of Morebaya in Guinea.Each specially designed TSV will transport more than 40…

OCIMF and the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) published the second edition, updated July 2026, of the International Safety Guide for Inland Navigation Tank-barges and Terminals (ISGINTT), making the industry reference guide available simultaneously in English, French, German, Dutch and Portuguese.ISGINTT provides recommendations for the safe handling and transport of crude oils, petroleum products, chemicals and liquefied gases as well as guidance on the interface between inland tank-barges and other vessels or terminals.

For decades, cargo criminals followed a familiar playbook: steal consumer electronics, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals or luxury goods. These products were easy to fence and commanded healthy profits. But according to the latest BSI Consulting and TT Club 2025 Cargo Theft Report, the economics of cargo theft are changing rapidly—and nowhere is that more evident than copper. The report reads less like a crime summary and more like a lesson in commodity markets. Criminal organizations are no longer simply stealing what is valuable today…

SeaTac Marine Services, a small business marine transportation company in Seattle, WA, took delivery of a Taylor 700XL Forklift in May 2025. With help from the US Maritime Administration’s Marine Highway Grant program, SeaTac Marine Services was able to purchase this American-made machine, built by Taylor Forklifts in Louisville, Mississippi, it is fully "Build America, Buy America Act" compliant. Established in 2007, the US Marine Highway Program provides federal funding for projects and water-based freight improvements.

Qatar Gas Transport Company Q.P.S.C. (Nakilat) announced its consolidated financial results for the first half of the year ended 30 June 2026, with a net profit of QAR 857 million compared to QAR 860 million for the corresponding period in 2025.Eng. Abdullah Al-Sulaiti, Nakilat’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “In light of the current situation in the region and its impact on business performance, our Marine Services segment was significantly affected, with ship repair, shipping agency, and towage services experiencing a noticeable decline.

“Global grain shipments have increased 13% y/y so far this year, supported by strong wheat, maize and soya bean exports from the Americas and Europe. Improved harvests across most major exporters have boosted their export surpluses, driving higher shipments to Asia, the Middle East and North Africa,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.Grain shipments to China have jumped 15% y/y, supported by stronger soya bean, sorghum and barley imports. An improvement in trade relations between the US and China has led to a 137% increase in US grain shipments to the country…

“So far this year, crude tanker newbuilding contracting has reached 60m deadweight tonnes (DWT) across 234 ships, driven by a surge in orders for Very Large Crude Tankers (VLCCs). This already makes 2026 the year with the highest crude tanker contracting on record. High freight rates and the need to replace an increasingly older fleet have both encouraged contracting,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.Orders for new VLCCs are already more than double than in the whole of 2025.

Cool Carriers has taken another step in its fleet renewal strategy with the delivery of MV Snow Flake, the second vessel in its next-generation Snow-class series, reinforcing the company's position as the world's largest operator of specialized refrigerated cargo vessels.The vessel was officially named June 29 at Kitanihon Shipbuilding in Japan, just three months after the delivery of sister ship Snow Flower. The ceremony was attended by Cool Carriers CEO Mikhail Ganyushin, while Nikolay Pavlyuchenko…

“In June 2026, global coal shipments jumped 14% y/y, driven by a 41% y/y increase in coal shipments to China, as the country looked to offset weaker domestic supply and to meet higher demand from electricity generation. Since the start of the year, global coal shipments have risen 3% y/y, a reversal of last year’s trend, when they fell 4% y/y,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.So far this year, coal shipments to China have fallen 3% y/y, only accelerating from May 2026.

U.S. shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes increased 4.5 percent from June 2025 to 3 million tons. This June’s U.S. loadings were also above the month’s 5-year average by 6.9 percent.Year-to-date, the Lakes U.S. limestone trade stands at nearly 7 million tons, a decrease of 7.5 percent compared to last year and 7.2 percent below the month’s 5-year average.U.S. ports: Calcite, MI; Cedarville, MI; Drummond Island, MI; Marblehead, OH; Port Inland, MI; and Presque Isle, MI. Canadian ports: Bruce Mines…

No cargoes of North Sea Brent crude oil are scheduled to load in August as production steadily declines, traders told Reuters on Tuesday, marking a milestone for the global Dated Brent oil benchmark, which prices over 60% of the world's oil.Brent crude from the North Sea lends its name to the global Dated Brent benchmark, used for pricing physical cargoes and underpinning Brent crude futures and other derivative contracts. Over time, S&P Global Energy, known as Platts, which manages the benchmark…

The world's oil tanker fleet is behaving as if the Strait of Hormuz is reopening — even as the waterway itself remains only partially navigable and politically contested. From ship tracking data to freight rates, the signals are clear: owners and charterers are moving early to position vessels for a return to Gulf exports.But the gap between expectation and reality remains wide, leaving the global oil shipping system in a fragile middle ground between crisis and recovery.The most immediate evidence of adjustment lies in real-time vessel movements.

The JSI Alliance has successfully completed a major project in India for client Afcons Infrastructure Limited. Afcons was contracted to construct a new liquid cargo berth for Gujarat Chemical Port Ltd. (GCPL). The JSI Alliance was contracted for the execution of critical heavy lifting operations for the development.The project scope was complex, requiring heavy-lift capabilities for the installation of eight jackets and fifteen berthing dolphins weighing between 500 and 600 t, at an outreach of 10 m. Work also took place in an challenging environment.

The Administration has made American manufacturing, shipbuilding, and supply chain resilience national priorities. The Great Lakes region is home to steel, autos, agriculture, energy infrastructure, defense suppliers, and advanced manufacturing. The St. Lawrence Seaway carries maritime commerce into that region.Recent events in the Strait of Hormuz have reminded policymakers and the public that maritime transportation matters. Strategic waterways matter because transportation costs matter.

The maritime industry continues to improve its safety record, but the challenges confronting shipowners, operators, insurers and regulators have never been more complex.According to Allianz Commercial's Safety and Shipping Review 2026, global shipping losses remain near historic lows, yet a new era of geopolitical conflict, cyber-enabled crime, aging fleets, alternative fuels, cargo fires and supply chain disruption is reshaping risk across the maritime sector. Here is maritime safety and shipping in 2026 — by the numbers.90% -Approximately 90% of global trade still moves by sea…

"Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens, significant uncertainty will remain and continue to shape market outcomes,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Key uncertainties include whether the US/Iran agreement will hold, when the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) will fully reopen, whether ships can return to normal Suez Canal routings, and how US import tariffs will evolve once the current 10% emergency tariffs expire at the end of July.To reflect this, BIMCO continues to apply two scenarios.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council said in a statement on Thursday that the country's Persian Gulf Strait Authority will take measures to issue fast authorizations to ships wanting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as per the memorandum of understanding signed by Tehran and Washington.Measures on mine clearance will be carried out under the Islamabad MoU, though ships are advised to stick to the path and timing allocated by the authority, the statement published by state media added.The U.S.

"Global fertilizer shipments have fallen 11% y/y since the start of the Iran war. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has restricted fertilizer exports from the Persian Gulf, tightening the global supply and increasing prices. The ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran could lead to a rebound in shipments,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.Under normal conditions, 16% of global fertilizer shipments come from the Persian Gulf and pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The closure of the strait has significantly disrupted cargo volumes.

More than 130 charities, experts and celebrities including Brian Cox CBE, Alan Cumming OBE, Zoë Wanamaker CBE, and Joanna Lumley DBE, are calling for a ban on live exports.Led by Compassion in World Farming, the global partners from 33 countries including Eurogroup for Animals, Four Paws, Animals International, and World Animal Protection have written to the intergovernmental body for animal health and welfare, WOAH, urging it to end the overcrowding, extreme heat, hunger, dehydration, injury, severe stress and death of animals in transport.

NYK Bulkship (Asia), a Singapore-based company of the NYK Group, has concluded a time-charter contract with JERA for two very large gas carriers (VLGCs).The two VLGCs are expected to transport low‑carbon ammonia produced in Louisiana to JERA’s Hekinan Thermal Power Station in Japan. At the power station, commercial operation of large-scale ammonia substitution combustion with 20% heat value ratio is scheduled to commence around fiscal year 2029.This project is expected to mark the first shipment of low‑carbon fuel ammonia for power generation to Japan.

VINGA vessel naming ceremony and 40 years of design collaborationcutFOLDER-VINGA-serien-webb.pdf [Full background and tech spec - MR DEC 2026cutVinga VesselA newly built tanker in Furetank's VINGA series will be named at the Port of Uddevalla on 28 August. The vessel was designed by Furetank and FKAB Marine Design, the cumulative of 40 years of vessel design collaboration."We know operations and FKAB knows shipbuilding. Our collaboration has been a winning equation over the years — one plus one has equalled three.

Imports to the busiest U.S. container port in Los Angeles hit the second-highest level in history during May, as retailers rushed in products like plastic school supplies before cargo ship owners start recouping higher fuel costs from the Iran war on July 1.The Iran war has snarled shipping in the Middle East and reduced the availability of crude oil and its derivatives used to make plastic and other goods. Marine fuel costs have soared and some retailers and manufacturers are…