Eileen Soreng News

Hong Kong-based shipping company Wah Kwong is finalizing a deal later this month to double the number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers that it has ordered to four, as it eyes growing global trade in the superchilled fuel, its chairman said.The ships would be delivered from 2027 onwards, Wah Kwong's Executive Chairman Hing Chao told Reuters on the sidelines of the Singapore Maritime Week ShipZERO28 event late last week."We have always been very optimistic about the outlook of LNG as a global energy," said Chao, adding that a lot of supply will have to come from the U.S.

Pertamina International Shipping (PIS), a unit of Indonesian state energy company Pertamina, said on Wednesday it plans to add six new very large gas carriers (VLGC) in 2024 as it eyes fleet expansion focused on gas transport.The company this week launched two VLGCs, built by South Korea's Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, and each vessel has a 91,000 cubic metres capacity, which PIS said is among the biggest in the world.The two vessels were designed to transport liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as ammonia, PIS said in a statement."We plan to add six VLGCs in 2024, starting from the two VL

Dubai's state-owned ports giant DP World said on Thursday its first-half profit fell nearly 10% from a year earlier, even as revenue climbed nearly 14%, and flagged an uncertain outlook for trade.Profit attributable to DP World's owners in the six months to June was down 9.7% at $651 million from a year earlier, when the port operator posted record profit of $721 million."While the near-term trade outlook may be uncertain due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, the solid financial performance of the first six months positions us well to deliver a steady set of full-year results…

Chicago corn and soybean futures slid on Tuesday after a weekly report from the U.S. government showed better-than-expected conditions for both crops.Wheat fell for a third consecutive session on increasing estimates for Russia’s production and exports.The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) lost 0.2% to $13.23-3/4 a bushel, as of 0401 GMT, and corn fell 0.7% to $4.84-1/2 a bushel. Wheat gave up 0.2% to $6.15 a bushel.Weekly condition ratings for the U.S. soybean and corn crops improved in the past week more than analysts expected, U.S.

Singapore's Keppel Corp KPLM.SI on Thursday reported a more than seven-fold jump in its first-half profit boosted by a one-off gain from the sale of its offshore and marine (O&M) unit and strong performance from the infrastructure business.Keppel sold its offshore and marine business in February for S$4.50 billion ($3.40 billion) to Sembcorp Marine, recognising a gain of S$3.3 billion, as it aims to transform into an asset manager overseeing $150 billion by 2030 and focus on green energy.It managed S$53.2 billion in funds as of June 30.In May…

Japan received its first low-carbon ammonia cargo from Saudi Arabia on Friday, which it plans to use for co-firing with fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions, a joint statement from the four companies involved in the deal said. Energy-poor Japan wants to add hydrogen and ammonia to its energy mix, a move criticized by climate activists as costly and not fully effective. Japan has agreed with a number of countries to study hydrogen and ammonia supply chains. Ammonia shipped to…

Marine fuel sales in Singapore surged to a one-year high in October, latest official data showed on Monday, as more competitive prices attracted ships to refuel at the world's top bunkering hub. October bunker sales totaled 4.25 million tonnes, climbing 7% from September, while vessel arrivals for bunkering at Singapore rose 9% month-on-month at 3,431 vessel calls, data from Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority showed. Prices for ship refueling were lower in Singapore in October, compared with other regional bunkering ports such as Zhoushan and South Korea, bunker fuel traders said.

Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index , which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell for the fifth consecutive session on Tuesday, pressured by weaker rates across all vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 45 points, or 1.4%, to 3,179.The capesize index eased 56 points, or about 1.7%, to 3,293.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of coal and steel-making ingredient iron ore, declined $464 to $27,309.The panamax index dipped 81 points, or 1.9%, to

Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index , tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, hit a more than 11-year peak bolstered by firmer rates across vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up 69 points, or 2.1%, at 3,324, its highest level since June 2010The capesize index edged up 34 points, or 0.9%, to 4,021.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, increased $279 to $33,348.Iron ore futures in Asia rose on Monday, supported by a steady

UK's Unite union's Scotland unit on Tuesday said talks to prevent industrial action at Sullom Voe Terminal have ended with no movement on the part of Shetland Islands Council (SIC) to resolve the dispute over a long service award.Unless the Council accepts liability, around 40 towage workers employed by SIC are set to begin an overtime ban on July 5, which will continue over a seven-week period, the union said.The ban would hugely disrupt the multi-million-pound contract to bring oil tankers on to the shore for oil processing and also on production for the Brent and Ninian fields, it added.

The Baltic exchange's main sea freight index fell to a near two-week low on Thursday pressured by a decline in capesize and panamax vessel rates.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell 62 points, or 2%, to 3,077, the lowest since April 30.The capesize index fell 160 points, or 3.4%, to 4,549, its lowest since April 27.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of coal and steel-making ingredient iron ore, decreased by $1,331 to $37,724.The panamax index fell 50 points, or

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index edged higher on Tuesday, helped by gains in supramax and panamax vessel rates, and marked its best month on record.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose 5 points, or 0.3%, to 1,799.The index surged about 257% in June, driven by a pick-up in iron ore demand from China, following the easing of coronavirus-led lockdowns in many countries.The Baltic capesize index, which had fallen to -48 in mid-May, eased 5 points, to 4,320.Average daily earni

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell to a more than two-week low on Monday, weighed down by weaker rates for panamax vessels.The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell 0.8%, or 15 points, to 1,922 points, its lowest since July 12. Nevertheless, the capesize index rose 13 points, or 0.4%, to 3,660 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000 tonne-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $72 to $27,217.The panamax index fell 59 points, or nearly 3%, to its lowest in two weeks at 2,050 points.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell for a second straight session on Wednesday to its biggest one-day decline in nearly six months, as rates for capesize vessels fell after a strong run.The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell 7%, or 151 points, to 2,014 points, its biggest one-day drop since January 31. The index has still more than tripled since February, mainly driven by strong demand for vessels that ship iron ore from…

There is a 65 percent chance of an El Niño weather pattern emerging during the northern hemisphere spring this year, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday."However, given the timing and that a weak event is favored, significant global impacts are not anticipated during the remainder of winter, even if conditions were to form," the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) added in its monthly forecast.Last month, the weather forecaster pegged the chances of the El Niño emerging at 60 percent during spring 2019.The last El Niño, a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific that typically occurs every few years…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, rose for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday supported by gains across vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, rose 16 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,450 points.The capesize index was up 4 points or 0.2 percent at 1,868 points.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $176 at $16,484.The panamax index gained 30 points, or nearly 2 percent,

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell for the fifth consecutive session on Friday, weighed down by weakness across capesize, panamax and supramax vessels and marked its worst week since late May.* The overall index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, edged down 6 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,341 points.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell for the second day in a row on Tuesday, pressured by weaker rates for capesize and panamax vessels.The overall index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, was down 23 points, or 1.6 percent, at 1,419 points, its biggest one-day percentage decline in three weeks.The capesize index slipped 41 points, or nearly 2 percent, to 2,187 points.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell $437 to $17,796.The panamax index fell 24 points, or 1.6 percent

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, inched higher on Tuesday, propped up by a rise in panamax and supramax vessel rates.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up three points, or about 0.2 percent, at 1,390 points.The capesize index fell 23 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,068 points.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell by $145 to $17,095.Meanwhile, the panamax index gained 23 points, o

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Thursday snapping eleven sessions of losses, supported by stronger capesize vessel rates.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up 48 points, or 4.6 percent, at 1,090 points.The capesize index gained 125 points, or nearly 10 percent, to 1,401 points, after falling for eleven consecutive sessions.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, was up $1,14

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose for the third consecutive session on Thursday supported by stronger rates across capesize and panamax vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, rose 29 points, or 2.1 percent, to 1,433 points.The capesize index climbed 93 points, or 4.5 percent, to 2,184 points.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose by $642 to $17,976.The panamax index

Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose for a sixth consecutive session, helped by stronger rates for capesize and smaller vessels. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, rose 21 points, or 1.45 percent, to 1,470 points. The capesize index was up 87 points, or 3.04 percent, at 2,948 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, increased $631 to $21,325 - their highest since Nov. 25, 2014.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose to its highest in three-and-a-half years on Friday, boosted by strong capesize rates. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, rose 32 points, or 2.18 percent, to end at 1,502 points, its highest since March 2014. The capesize index was up 199 points, or 6.75 percent, at 3,147 points, its highest level since November 2014.