Ecuador News

Contecon Guayaquil SA (CGSA) became the first port in South America to obtain a carbon-neutral certification, with the Ecuador Ministry of Environment and environmental ratings agency, Sambito SA, recognizing the company’s strong and priority commitment to the environment.According to ICTSI, the operator of the Port, the certification marking CGSA’s compliance to ISO 14064-1 standards lauds the company’s policies that are directed and translated towards greater sustainability initiatives…

Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was offered the opportunity to interview Admiral Karl Schultz, the 26th Commandant in the history of the United States Coast Guard, in his office in Washington, DC. Just five months into his tenure, his plate is predictably full with a number of challenges, including: Attracting and retaining future U.S. Coast Guard personnel; addressing a number of assymetric threats, including cyber attacks; and ensuring captial and operating budgets are adequate to safely and efficiently carry out a global mission envelope, to name but a few.

The GloFouling Partnerships project - a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) -  has been launched.The new international effort to combat the negative environmental impacts of the transfer of aquatic species through ships  will address the build-up of aquatic organisms on a ship’s underwater hull and on other marine mobile infrastructure.The introduction of invasive aquatic organisms into new marine environments not only affects biodiversity and ecosystem health…

As part of their mission to improve services for shippers moving cargo between the US Gulf Coast, Jamaica, and ports in Ecuador, Peru and Chile, Seaboard Marine and BBC Chartering are pleased to announce a new strategic cooperation which will be marketed as “Andino Service.”A press release from the international shipping company based in Leer, Germany said that beginning as early as November 2018, BBC and the ocean transportation service provider in North America Seaboard Marine…

An important strategic objective for International Maritime Organization (IMO)  is improve the way its treaties and conventions are implemented, at the national level.Domestic implementing legislation is required but audits carried out by IMO reveal that, in many countries, it either doesn’t exist or is incomplete.To address this need, IMO offers an intensive 5-day workshop for lawyers and legislative drafters. It provides them with the tools they need to understand IMO treaties and how they are developed and adopted.

Guyana has put planned oil auctions on hold as the impoverished South American country works to establish a Department of Energy to oversee the energy boom, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said on Monday.Since 1999, Guyana has awarded a group led by Exxon Mobil Corp hundreds of oil blocks along Guyana's maritime borders with Venezuela and Suriname. Their finds are turning Guyana, a country with no history of oil production and relaxed energy regulation, into one of Latin America's hottest prospects for oil investments.Exxon…

The Bomin Group, a supplier of marine fuels, has announced that it will exit the bunker markets in Singapore and Antwerp.Going forward Bomin will operate from only two offices: Houston and Hamburg. The two offices will serve all Bomin customers in all German ports, the US Gulf Coast, Panama, Norfolk, and Ecuador.“The Bomin group is in a transformation and restructuring process and intense competition and low margins characterize the situation in all major ports,” says Jan Christensen, Managing Director of Bomin Group.

Dubai-based port and terminal operator DP World said that its gross volumes rose 4.8 percent to USD 35.6 billion s for the six months to 30 June 2018,  despite uncertainties in the container market. On a reported basis, revenue grew 14.4%.Revenue growth is supported by the volume growth across all three regions and the impact of new acquisitions including Drydocks World LLC (Drydocks), Dubai Maritime City (DMC) and Cosmos Agencia Marítima (CAM).Profit attributable to owners of…

Global satellite solutions and projects company, The AST Group, has recently opened new offices in Sydney, Rotterdam, Ecuador and Norwich, U.K. These new locations provide strategic bases for expansion in the maritime and land sectors and increase geographic reach.The company said Australia continues to be a success story, with growth gravitating to the East of the continent with Sydney becoming AST’s third Australian office.AST Marine Networks, a maritime solutions division of AST, has moved into larger premises based in Norwich, Norfolk to accommodate expansion in the maritime VSAT and L-Band sectors as well as opening an office in…

Exxon Mobil Corp and its partners now expect the large Stabroek oil block offshore Guyana to contain about 25 percent more recoverable resources than estimated, they said on Monday.Exxon and U.S.-based partner Hess Corp said more than 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent could be recovered from the Stabroek block, which is part of one of the biggest oil discoveries in the world in the last decade.The previous estimate was 3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil producer, said.Besides Exxon and Hess, China's CNOOC is also part of the consortium that is interested in Guyana's Atlantic coast resources.Exxon said production from Stabroek could reach over 750…

Contecon Guayaquil SA (CGSA),  subsidiary  of Manila-based International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI)  has received the government of Ecuador approval to accommodate mega vessels of up to 305 meters in length at the Port of Guayaquil’s Berths 2 and 3. "ICTSI further strengthened its market position as the main trading gateway in the entire Ecuador after recently getting the government’s nod to service larger vessels," said a press release from the company. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Transport and Public Works…

New rules coming into force from 2020 to curb pollution produced by the world's ships are worrying everyone from OPEC oil producers to bunker fuel sellers and shipping companies.The regulations will slash emissions of sulfur, which is blamed for causing respiratory diseases and is a component of acid rain that damages vegetation and wildlife.But the energy and shipping industries are ill-prepared, say analysts, with refiners likely to struggle to meet higher demand for cleaner…

Damen Shipyards Group signed a contract with Corpetrolsa Group of Guayaquil, Ecuador, for the supply of three tugs; one Stan Tug 1205 and two Stan Tugs 1606. The tugs will be operated by Corpetrolsa subsidiary DLEN S.A. to support its bunkering operation. Corpetrolsa Group operates its own fleet of tankers in the 2,000 to 7,000 DWT range and the three new tugs will be used to assist them in the Ecuadorean ports of Esmeraldas and La Libertad. The vessels were already in stock at Damen Shipyards Gorinchem and will be supplied in their standard format without modifications.

Gasoline stored in ships off Europe's coast has ballooned to more than 400,000 tonnes, putting pressure on the continent's traders to compete for buyers once summer demand starts. Several vessels have joined the three initially booked to store fuel off Europe's ports in mid-March, and brokers said even barges have held cargoes of gasoline for three to four weeks as the volumes traded in Europe hit record levels last month. The tankers Torm Tevere, Ridgebury John B and STI Clapham are now parked off Europe's Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub…

Trade infrastructure development to diversify Panama’s economy and DP World’s international experience in over 40 countries were at the centre of discussions held in Dubai yesterday between the global trade enabler’s Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem and Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela. As part of his visit, Mr. Varela was taken on a tour of DP World’s flagship Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone, including Terminal 3, which is among the world’s most productive and technologically advanced…

Oil service and mapping firms still emerging from an industry recession have received a boost from about $800 million of data sales to energy firms considering bidding for Mexican oil and gas blocks. Mexico will on Wednesday hold its most important auction since a 2013 reform ended the 75-year monopoly on the energy sector held by state-run oil firm Pemex. The government of President Enrique Pena Nieto hopes the deepwater sale will attract tens of billions of dollars of investment to turnaround a slump in the country's oil output. Seven previous auctions drew investment pledges of $61 billion.

DP World is planning to annually inject up to $1 billion in global investments until 2020, local media quoted company chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem as saying. The expansion at Prince Rupert in Canada opened for business. DP World Limassol in Cyprus opened a new cruise terminal. A series of acquisitions, technology tie-ups and sustainable business achievements all formed part of the activities that saw the global trade enabler expand its business horizons across the world.

Central and Latin America celebrated the launch of a new women in the maritime network in Valparaíso, Chile (13-15 December), which joins the International Maritime Organization (IMO)  family of regional Women in Maritime Associations (WIMAs), giving visibility and recognition to the role women play as key resources for the maritime sector. Sixty two women from 18 countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala…

Argentina and other South American countries are likely to maintain or increase their submarine programs despite the scrutiny that has followed the fatal loss of an Argentine sub in South Atlantic waters last month, defense specialists said. The disappearance of the ARA San Juan with 44 crew members aboard has put pressure on Argentine President Mauricio Macri to consider boosting spending for the military, including the country’s two remaining submarines. Military spending sharply decreased after the end of Argentina’s dictatorship in 1983.

DP World has completed the acquisition of an additional 66.67% stake in Empresa Brasileira de Terminais Portuários (Embraport) in Brazil from Odebrecht Transport (OTP). This transaction increases DP World’s shareholding to 100% and the terminal will be rebranded to DP World Santos. DP World Santos is the largest Brazilian private multi-modal port terminal and operates in the Port of Santos, which is the busiest container port in Latin America handling 3.4m TEU in 2016 and has strategic access to sea, road and rail, and 90% of the cargo is destined for Brazil’s most populous city, São Paulo.

Inspection training for Port State Control Officers in South and Central America is underway at an International Maritime Organization (IMO) workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina (6-8 November). There are participants from: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay. Port State Control is the process, supported by IMO, by which officials in ports can board visiting foreign-flagged vessels to verify compliance with international safety and pollution standards.

More than three years after completing the first outline sketches, Spanish naval design and architecture firm Oliver Design has completed outfitting the interiors for the Bima Suci, the Indonesian navy’s new sail training ship. This spectacular vessels is one of the largest tall ships in the world and measures 364 x 44 ft. with a 14.8 ft. draft. Built at Freire Shipyards in Vigo, Spain, the new training ship sports 36,200 sq. ft. Oliver Design also carried out turnkey architectural design for Bima Suci…

On its first ocean voyage to Europe, the training ship ‘Unión’ – a large sailed vessel belonging to the Peruvian Navy – called on the port of Cádiz, as part of its second training mission and its first mission with a stop in Europe. On the request of the shipbuilder SIMA and the Peruvian Navy, the engineering and technology group SENER has developed the ship’s complete stability booklet, which required conducting advanced studies of its weights and ballast under various loads.