Spot LNG exports in government's cross-hairs; ConocoPhillips, Origin, Shell now in the firing line. The Australian government on Monday warned that the country's east faced a worse-than-expected natural gas shortfall in 2018, but the competition watchdog said the gap could easily be filled by diverting uncontracted exports to the local market. It is now up to the government to decide by Nov. 1 whether to pull the trigger on its Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, which…

In addition to the East Coast, West Coast, Gulf and Great Lakes regions the Top 10 global distributors, as determined by the MR editorial staff, will be featured with a full page editorial profile. For your company to be considered for inclusion, you must apply, either online by clicking here https://distributors.maritimeequipment.com/Company or via email to trauthwein@marinelink.com.

Abu Dhabi celebrated the official commencement of operations of Fujairah Terminals in the East coast of the United Arab Emirates. The announcement came following an official event held at Novotel Fujairah, attended by Sheikh Saleh bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Chairman of the Board of Port of Fujairah, Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, along with a delegation of Senior Managers, Key Stakeholders and Customers. Earlier this year, Abu Dhabi Ports signed a 35-year concession agreement with the Port of Fujairah…

A second powerful storm in as many weeks was bearing down on a string of battered Caribbean islands, with forecasters saying Maria would strengthen rapidly into a major hurricane as it ripped into the Leeward Islands on Monday night. Maria's strength was building as it approached the Lesser Antilles, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, estimating its winds near 90 miles per hour (145 kph). "Maria is expected to become a major hurricane as it moves through the Leeward Islands," the forecaster said, marked by "rapid strengthening" during the next 48 hours. Maria is approaching the eastern Caribbean less than two weeks after Irma hammered the region before overrunning Florida.

The largest containership ever to serve the U.S. East Coast, the 14,414 TEU CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, called the Port of Savannah on Friday. Working the vessel with seven cranes at the 1,200-acre Garden City Terminal, the Port of Savannah is expected to move 4,500 containers (approximately 8,000 TEUs) on and off the ship. The GPA will work six other vessels simultaneous to the Roosevelt. “Not only do these massive ships play to Savannah's strengths, they actually make us more efficient,” said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch.

​ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (ZIM) has announcd an enhanced Asia to US East Coast and Gulf service offering, with seven different weekly services, extensive direct port-to-port coverage and best-in-market Transit time from key ports in Asia to US East Coast & Gulf. The full scale services offered by zim in this trade: ZIM Seven Star Express (Z7S), inaugurated in May 2015, a premium service from South China, Vietnam and India Sub continent to US East Coast, will be upgraded with a direct Port Kelang call, offering 24 days transit time to New York.

The Grand Alliance, comprised of OOCL, NYK Hapag-Lloyd, and the New World Alliance, comprised of APL, MOL and Hyundai Merchant Marine announced the addition of the Asia-East Coast service (also known as the EC3 service), a new express, all-water service between Asia and Savannah via the Panama Canal. The Asia-East Coast will be a weekly service and make its first call on Savannah in September. Port rotation is Shanghai, Chiwan, Shekou, Hong Kong, Manzanillo, Savannah, Norfolk and back to Shanghai. The Asia-East Coast is an express service from Asia to Savannah further reducing transit times in all-water services to the East Coast.

Maersk Line will transform its TP12 service in to a standalone, around-the-world service that provides significantly faster transit times between Far East Asia and the US East Coast. From the Far East to the US East Coast the TP12 service will transit the new Panama Canal locks and call the ports of Newark, Norfolk and Baltimore on the US East Coast. On the return leg to Asia, the TP12 will go through the Suez Canal and call the ports of Salalah (Oman), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Singapore.

Refiners from the Midwest United States are fighting for access to a vital Pennsylvania pipeline – a move that could cripple their East Coast competitors and redraw the map for international flows of crude and fuel into coveted coastal markets. The regulatory dispute centers on a proposal by pipeline operator Buckeye Partners’ to that state's Public Utilities Commission. The plan would reverse the flow of fuels on a section of Buckeye’s 350-mile Laurel Pipeline, which currently flows from the East Coast to Pittsburgh.

A very rapidly developing storm is expected off the East Coast of U.S. and Canada as air pressure is forecast to drop abt 30 hPa in 12 hrs; from abt 998 hPa 26/00UTC to abt 968 hPa at 26/12UTC, after that the low deepens further on NE-ly track.   Widespread Storm and high sea (9-14 max 20m) in connection with the low 26-27 as it moves NE-wards along U.S./Canada East Coast.   Also vessels moving short coastal distances along U.S. and Canada East Coast should keep themselves updated on the development.  

MOL (America) Inc. announced the expansion of its Americas service profile. In May 2004, MOL will be adding a new service, the Americas Container Express (ACE), which will call the U.S. East Coast, Northern Caribbean, and the East Coast of South America. MOL has operated an extensive, South America service network for nearly 90 years. However, this is the first time the company has offered a direct service link between the East Coasts of North and South America.

CMA CGM has introduced its new Bengal Bay Express service, operated with 11 vessels of 6,500 TEU on a weekly basis, in a continuous effort to provide its customers with the best quality service.

Phillips 66 has purchased a cargo of Algerian crude oil for its Bayway refinery in New Jersey for the first time since 2013, two sources said, the latest U.S. refiner on the East Coast to shun domestic crudes in favor of cheaper imports. The rare shipment suggests East Coast refiners are ramping up efforts that started in the past year to shift to a diet of foreign crudes as the era of cheaper domestic supplies continues to fade. A Panamax-sized vessel named Energy Century carrying about 433,000 barrels of Saharan Blend crude oil arrived in New York Harbor on Monday after leaving the Algerian port of Skikda on March 29, according to Reuters Eikon shipping data. BP was listed as the charterer, shipping records show. The oil, which is very similar to U.S.

requirements even more effectively. The East Coast South (ECS) and East Coast North(ECN) will be reconfigured to offer more diverse loading options and optimal transit time from South, North and Central China. The South China East Coast Express (SCE) will serve Taiwan and South China by calling at Kaohsiung, Shekou, Hong Kong, New York, Norfolk and Savannah. Savannah. Each service loop will deploy 8 ships with capacities of between 3,500 and 4,400 TEU. Both services will start from the middle of June. by offering competitive products from major Asian ports. Transit time from Hong Kong to New York and Shanghai to New York will be 23days and 21days respectively.

Grand Alliance members Hapag-Lloyd (HL), Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), along with Partner ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (ZIM) are pleased to jointly announce the new co-operation with Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) within the Trans-Pacific All Water sector. The South China East Coast Express 2 (SCE2) will be launched on 12th May 2011, in conjunction with the enhancement of the established South China East Coast Express (SCE), offering a comprehensive service network for Lines’ respective customers’ requirements.

CKYHE Alliance, COSCON, “K”Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin and Evergreen Line, is reorganizing their service network for Asia-US East Coast trade in 2016. CKYHE Alliance will provide five Asia-US East Coast services (AWE1/AWE3/AWE4/AWE8/NUE) from early June of 2016. The Alliance members have re-designed the services to provide optimum port coverage from Asia to US East Coast with AWE1/AWE3/NUE services upsized & AWE4/AWE8 services re-structured in order to enhance the competitiveness of the Alliance.

The surprising surge in cargo volumes from Asia to the East Coast of North America since July remained strong in September, and even appears to have continued in October says a Drewry Maritime Research analysis. Shipments from Asia to the East Coast of North America (ECNA) continued to grow impressively in September, reaching 382,000 teu. It brought the total for the peak season quarter up to 1.14 million teu, a startling 18% increase over the same period last year. In turn, this took the year-to-date increase up to 10%, which was significantly better than the West Coast’s 3%.

Following the Panama Canal expansion in 2016, up to 10 percent of container traffic to the U.S. from East Asia could shift from West Coast ports to East Coast ports by 2020, according to new research conducted by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and C.H. Robinson. Rerouting that volume is equivalent to building a port roughly double the size of the ports in Savannah and Charleston. The research -- which involved extensive scenario analyses based on differing levels of demand…

Traders prep rare East Coast gasoline exports; cargoes already sailing with exported distillates. Traders are preparing to export cargoes of coveted gasoline from the U.S. East Coast after months of heavy importing and local production swamped the region. At least two cargoes of gasoline are lined up to sail to West Africa, according to three market sources, with others eyeing their own shipments. The United States consumed more than 9 million barrels per day of gasoline in 2016, accounting for nearly 10 percent of global oil demand.

Mediterranean Shipping Company announced a General Rate Increase that will affect westbound freight moving from the USA to Asia effective January 1, 2010.

U.S. East Coast refiners are looking to buy increasing volumes of domestic crude oil from the Gulf Coast, two sources said, the latest twist in a trade flow upheaval in the wake of the opening of the Dakota Access pipeline. Major U.S. East Coast refiners profited from railing hundreds of thousands of barrels of discounted Bakken crude to their plants daily from 2013 until 2015. But as more and more pipelines were built in North Dakota, the discount began to disappear, and so did the rail cars.

CMA CGM announces the reshuffling of its services on the Asia – US East Coast trade. A service operated by CMA CGM with 11 vessels of 5 500 teus. A service operated by China Shipping, Evergreen and UASC with 9 vessels of 4 000 teus. The Columbus Suez service operated by CMA CGM and Maersk Line with 16 vessels of 8 100 teus remains unchanged. “The strengthening of our Asia / USEC loops means 3 departures a week and a wider geographical coverage.

The 14,400 TEU capacity CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt became the largest container ship to call the port of New York and New Jersey when it arrived at the APM Terminals Elizabeth container terminal. The ultra-large container ship also established a new record as the largest vessel to pass under the raised roadbed of the Bayonne Bridge, which now gives air draft clearance to vessels of up to 18,000 TEU capacity. Until recently, container ships calling the Port of New York & New Jersey were mainly of the 5,000-8,000 TEU size class.