Eastern Russia News

Despite the very strong freight rates and the apparently tight market, the all-important driver for dry bulk shipping, China, has in fact seen imports of its two largest dry bulk commodities shrink year-on-year so far this year. The two largest imported commodities for China, iron ore and coal are however, interestingly on two different trajectories, as the latter could be ending the year with higher total volumes than in 2020.“The high freight rates that the dry bulk market is currently enjoying cannot directly be linked to higher volumes from the world’s largest dry bulk importer.

Container shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company doubled down on its position to avoid sending its vessels through the Northern Sea Route and urged others to follow suit, citing environmental concerns.“As a responsible company, this was an obvious decision for us,” said MSC CEO, Soren Toft. “MSC will not seek to cut through the melting ice of the Arctic to find a new route for commercial shipping, and I consider this a position the whole shipping industry must adopt.”Running from Murmansk near Russia’s border with Norway to the Bering Strait near Alaska…

Designer and builders of specialized vessels Vard said it has signed an agreement for the design and construction of another stern trawler for Russian fishing company Luntos Co. Ltd., due for delivery in the third quarter of 2022.The order, which follows the first placed in 2019, is for a new fishing vessel with a length of 87 meters and a beam of 18 meters, will be built at Vard Vung Tau shipyard (Vietnam).The newbuild is designed to ensure optimal productivity, sustainability and operational efficiency…

In May 2020, the US Department of State, US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and US Coast Guard issued a joint Sanctions Advisory for the Maritime Industry. The advisory builds on and expands several prior sanctions advisories for the maritime community issued in 2018-19.The advisory is intended as a guidepost to help participants in the maritime sector achieve the desired level of compliance. Most of the guidance is couched in the language of suggestion (e.g., parties “may wish to consider…”), rather than as a mandate.

According to the latest monthly climate report from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), July 2019 was hottest month on record for the planet and Polar sea ice melted to record lows.Much of the planet sweltered in unprecedented heat in July, as temperatures soared to new heights in the hottest month ever recorded. The record warmth also shrank Arctic and Antarctic sea ice to historic lows.The average global temperature in July was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees…

Ampelmann, provider of offshore access to the energy industry, has unveiled its latest walk to work system which has been specially designed for operation in extreme cold conditions. The N-type, nicknamed Icemann, was officially launched in front of 200 guests on Thursday, April 20, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Designed to safely and efficiently transfer crew in extreme icing and temperatures as low as -28C (-18F), the fully enclosed and insulated system is operational in sea states up to 3.5 meters significant wave height and comprises active motion compensation.

U.S. agents searched the offices of a California-based wood importer this week as part of a broadening government crackdown on imports of illegally harvested timber, according to a previously unreported federal search warrant seen by Reuters. The Department of Homeland Security agents are probing whether privately held Global Plywood & Lumber Inc violated U.S. and Peruvian law by importing wood that officials say was taken from the Amazon without proper permits, according to the warrant filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego on Monday and executed on Tuesday. No charges have been brought against the company. A Homeland Security spokesman in Houston said the investigation was ongoing.

The Gazprom Management Committee addressed the Company's large-scale efforts aimed at implementing the Eastern Gas Program. It was noted that the gas industry growth in Russia's East was strategically important for the socioeconomic development of eastern regions. The Company is active in expanding its resource base in eastern Russia as well as putting in place its gas production, transmission and processing capacities. A long-term balance plan for Gazprom's natural gas from the Irkutsk and Yakutia gas production centers was drawn up to ensure the execution of the contract for pipeline gas supply to China signed in May 2014 with due consideration of gas supply to Russian consumers via the Power of Siberia gas pipeline.

Yakutsk hosted today celebrations dedicated to welding the first joint of the Power of Siberia gas transmission system (GTS) meant to be a crucial element of the gas supply system being built in eastern Russia. The GTS will convey gas from the Yakutia and Irkutsk gas production centers to the Far East and China. The attendance was comprised of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zhang Gaoli, First Vice Premier of China's State Council, Yury Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Wang Dongjin, Vice President of China National Petroleum Corporation and Yegor Borisov, Acting Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Russia is an energy superpower and the country has vast and rich natural resources. Besides gas and coal reserves (some of the largest in the world), Russia today is ranked as the world’s biggest oil producing nation accounting for well over 12% of the global output. Moreover, the country exports more than 70% of its oil to the world markets. That said, Russia’s output of oil amounts to a third of what collectively the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produces. The country has relied on oil production for decades, however there has been a notable geographical shift.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) – part of the World Bank Group that provides development loans to poor nations - is poised to support the ferry industry for the first time after asking trade association Interferry to help identify deserving countries and operators. The initiative will be explained at Interferry’s 37th annual conference in Dubai from October 21-24, which will also feature dramatic insights from power solutions giant Wärtsilä on how a fast-changing world could impact on shipping by the year 2030. IFC interest in the ferry sector was prompted by the ongoing IMO/Interferry joint programme to improve ferry safety in developing nations.

According to a report from UPI.com, Russian icebreakers began rescue operations Jan. 10 to free a commercial vessel trapped in ice in the Sea of Okhotsk off eastern Russia, officials said. (Source: UPI.com)

Wärtsilä won an order for four engines for installation on the first Sakhalin ice breaker to be built by the Kvaerner Masa-Yards shipyard in Finland. The vessel will be equipped with three 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 38 main engines in diesel electric drive and an additional 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engine to power a harbor/emergency generating set. Kvaerner Masa-Yards has been commissioned to design and build the icebreaker by the Russian Far-Eastern Shipping Company PLC (FESCO). Headquartered in Vladivostok, FESCO is the largest shipping company in Eastern Russia. Its strategy is to be the leading operator of icebreakers and ice class vessels in East Asia. Scheduled for delivery to FESCO in 2005, the 4,000 dwt vessel will be 100 m long and have a shaft output of 13 MW.

World LNG demand is forecast to rise from 158 billion cubic meter (bcm) to 269 bcm by 2010 and to 428.5 bcm by 2020. This growth represents an average annual trade growth of 7.6% over the near-term, with a slowing to 5.4% through to 2015 and 4.9% up to 2020. Such trade growth will necessitate an increased vessel building program. Currently there are 59 vessels on order, but to match the expected development of trade volumes an additional 33 vessels are required through to 2010, 76 vessels in the period 2010-15 and 83 vessels up to 2020. These are some of the findings of the new report on the LNG sector, published by Ocean Shipping Consultants Ltd.

Exxon Mobil subsidiary, Exxon Neftegas Limited, has commenced production from the multiphase Sakhalin-1 Project offshore Eastern Russia. The initial phase of the project will produce 50,000 barrels (6,300 metric tons) a day by year-end 2005 and 250,000 barrels (33,000 metric tons) a day of oil by year-end 2006 from the Chayvo field. Associated domestic gas sales will start at about 60 million cubic feet (1.7 million cubic meters) per day, and ultimately are expected to increase to about 250 million cubic feet (7.1 million cubic meters) per day by the end of the decade. The project start-up was on schedule and within about 10% of unit development cost expectations.