Elaine Hardcastle News

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday the global oversupply of container ships and a crisis in the Red Sea will force it to cut costs in 2024, adapting sailings and ports following a bruising 83% fall in net profit.Ship operators face prolonged disruption while Yemen-based Houthi militants are attacking vessels travelling on one of the world's busiest routes, wiping out the benefit from higher freight rates with costly redirections around Africa.Hapag-Lloyd's problems chime with those of competitors such as Maersk and CMA CGM, exacerbated by the arrival of additional ships orde

Norwegian oil companies resumed helicopter flights to offshore oil and gas fields on Friday following Wednesday's deadly crash off the country's west coast, operator Equinor and airports said on Friday.On Thursday helicopter traffic was halted to oil and gas platforms following the crash in which one person died and five were injured. Norway said it was considering grounding Sikorsky's S-92A aircraft model while investigating the accident."Based on dialogue with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)…

Russia on Friday failed to win enough votes for re-election to the United Nation's shipping agency's governing council after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had urged countries not to allow Moscow to be part of the UN body's executive arm.The outcome is another blow for Russia after it failed in its bid to return to the UN's top human rights body in October, in an election seen as a key test of Western efforts to keep Moscow isolated.Last year Moscow also failed to win…

Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk reported a steep drop in third-quarter profit and revenue on Friday and said it would cut at least 10,000 jobs in the face of overcapacity, rising costs, and weaker prices.Maersk, which controls about one-sixth of global container trade, transporting goods for a host of major retailers and consumer goods companies such as Walmart and Nike, flagged a steeper downturn in demand than analysts and investors had expected."Our industry is facing a new normal with subdued demand…

Maritime nations including Denmark and the Marshall Islands are rallying support for a global carbon dioxide emissions levy on shipping, with talks at a critical stage ahead of a U.N. agency meeting next month that could back the measure.The levy could provide funds to help countries cope with climate change and help curb emissions from shipping - a sector that transports about 90% of world trade and accounts for nearly 3% of global CO2 emissions, but whose international nature means it often avoids national CO2-cutting regulations.Member countries of the U.N.

South Africa has granted Turkey's Karpowership access to the three ports of Ngqura, Durban and Saldanha Bay for a period of 20 years, the transport ministry said on Thursday, as it tries to find solutions to the country's power crisis.Karpowership aims to generate power on its floating gas ships and distribute it through South Africa's electricity grid. The plan received a boost from President Cyril Ramaphosa last week after he told lawmakers the ships would help ease the prolonged…

State oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) plans to float its marine and logistics subsidiary in the coming months, two sources said, the second initial public offering of one of its businesses this year.ADNOC, which raised $2.5 billion from listing its gas business in March, is gearing up for a June listing of ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), said the sources, declining to be named as the matter is not public.HSBC was appointed as joint global coordinator on the syndicate this week…

French-based shipping group CMA CGM has completed its withdrawal from the Russian market by divesting stakes in terminals through an asset swap, the company said.“With this finalized transaction and the decision to suspend all new bookings to and from Russia since March 1st, 2022, the CMA CGM Group will no longer be involved in any entities operating in Russia,” it said in an emailed statement.The deal was concluded on Dec. 28, it said.CMA CGM inherited 25% stakes in four terminals in Russia and Finland through the acquisition of Finnish firm Containerships in 2018…

A few liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels have turned away from the Freeport LNG export plant in Texas over the past few days on expectations the plant's restart will be delayed until December or later, according to ship tracking data from Refinitiv.Federal pipeline safety regulators on Tuesday released a heavily redacted consultant's report that blamed inadequate operating and testing procedures, human error and fatigue for the June 8 explosion that shut the Freeport plant.Freeport had not yet submitted a request to resume service to the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) as of earlier this week.

A crime scene investigation of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Europe found evidence of detonations, strengthening suspicions of "gross sabotage", Sweden's Security Service said on Thursday. Swedish and Danish authorities have been investigating four leaks after the pipelines, which link Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis, were damaged at the start of last week. Europe, which used to rely on Russia for about 40% of its gas…

QatarEnergy CEO and state minister for energy Saad al-Kaabi said on Wednesday that his company will become the world's largest trader of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over the next 5-10 years, a position that is currently held by Shell. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Europe in particular has become a prime market for the seaborne fuel, where massive amounts are being bought to help replace Russian pipeline gas that used to make up almost 40% of the continent's imports.Analysts…

A.P. Moller-Maersk's chief executive said on Thursday he expects a "modest" pick-up in trade for the upcoming holidays this year amid concerns about the slowing global economy and consumer demand."Volumes headed into the Christmas season are lower than a normal year," Soren Skou said in a Reuters Newsmaker interview.Ocean freight volumes will be flat or lower this year, though there is still congestion in global supply chains, he said. U.S. consumers aren't buying as much as they…

A third gas pipeline between Spain and France would cost at least 3 billion euros ($3 billion) and take years to complete, making it a less attractive option to address Europe's supply worries than new terminals to receive fuel by boat, France's energy transition ministry said.The European Union is bracing for any further fall in gas flows from Russia, which had been the 27-nation bloc's biggest supplier before it invaded its neighbour Ukraine in February and trade was disrupted.German…

Around 20 ships are stuck in traffic along Germany's river Rhine, where low water levels have already impeded shipping this summer, after a vessel's engine failure closed part of the waterway, authorities said on Wednesday.A vessel with a 1,660-ton load was forced to drop anchor due to an engine failure, closing traffic between St Goar and Oberwesel, river police said."It's backing up," a spokesperson for the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration told Reuters. "The berths are full all the way to Mainz." Mainz is about 50 kilometres south-east of Oberwesel.Downstream was affected more.

Germany's Uniper is prepared to swap liquefied natural gas (LNG) it gets from Australia's Woodside or U.S. gas, so it can boost supplies in Europe more quickly during the coming winter, it said.The strategy reflects efforts by companies and governments across Europe to seek alternative lines of supply and draw up contingency plans for the winter gas season, fearing Moscow could fully stop supplies of natural gas. In case of supply shortages, Uniper could make available to customers in Europe, U.S.

A Syrian ship under U.S. sanctions has docked in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli carrying barley and wheat that the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut told Reuters on Thursday had been plundered by Russia from Ukrainian stores.The Laodicea docked in Tripoli on Wednesday, according to shipping data website MarineTraffic."The ship has traveled from a Crimean port that is closed to international shipping, carrying 5,000 tonnes of barley and 5,000 tonnes of flour that we suspect was taken from Ukrainian stores," the embassy told Reuters."This is the first time a shipment of stolen grains and flour reaches Lebanon," the statement said.Russia has previously denied the allegations that it has stolen Ukrainian grain.

Russia's leading shipping company Sovcomflot plans to sell part of its fleet on Friday, as it grapples with Western sanctions and seeks to repay outstanding loans.Sovcomflot has faced growing challenges in concluding charters as ports, end purchasers, marine insurers, and other freight companies pull back from Russian business amid sanctions imposed in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Lloyds List shipping newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources, that up to a third…

Contaminated fuel supplied to some 200 ships in Singapore came from a tanker that loaded the oil from Khor Fakkan port in the United Arab Emirates, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.MPA began investigations after it was notified on March 14 that a number of ships had been supplied with high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) containing high concentration levels of chlorinated organic compounds (COC) in Singapore.MPA said in April that the tainted oil was supplied by Glencore Singapore Pte Ltd.In further investigations to trace the oil's origin…

One of the world's biggest container ships, the Mumbai Maersk, has run aground off the German island of Wangerooge in the North Sea, Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies and Maersk said on Thursday.No injuries were reported among the 30 people on board, no fuel leak sighted and the entrance to the port is not obstructed, they said in a statement.Maritime transport accounts for 80%-90% of all global trade and Mumbai Maersk belongs to a class of very large ships that can carry over 18,000 twenty-foot (33 cbm) equivalent containers holding furniture, vehicles, textiles and other export goods.A first attempt to tow the 400-meter ship into deeper water on Thursday morning by two multi-purpose vessels and five tugs failed.

ABB expects supply chain bottlenecks to ease during 2022, the Swiss engineering group said on Thursday, after shortages of semiconductors hurt its ability to deliver increasing orders during the fourth quarter.The maker of fast chargers for electric vehicles and industrial drives for factories reported a 21% jump in orders as demand surged from machine builders, food manufacturers and general industry.But revenues grew by only 8% as ABB battled shortages of key components such as semiconductor chips that have hit the rest of industry.

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) has agreed to a multi-billion dollar merger with Keppel Corp's larger offshore and marine unit, a year after the Temasek-backed firms began deal talks to cope with an industry downturn.The loss-making oil rig builders have been whiplashed by years of oversupply and oil price volatility as well as a drop in new orders.Such troubles have been exacerbated by the global transition towards renewable energy, consolidation at Chinese and South Korean rivals…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will convene a special meeting next week to discuss the risks to seafarers and ships in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UN’s shipping agency said on Friday.Over 15 countries earlier this week called for an IMO meeting as concerns grow for the safety of ships and their crews amid ships being damaged by projectiles.Many shipping firms have suspended sailings to affected Black Sea ports and other terminals in Ukraine. Insurance premiums for voyages have soared since Russia’s invasion on Feb.

Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries said on Thursday it aims to achieve carbon neutrality in its domestic factories and offices in 2030 by using electricity generated by a 100 megawatts (MW) hydrogen-fueled power plant it plans to build.The company is trying to make hydrogen a key growth driver by building liquefied hydrogen carriers, hydrogen power stations and other facilities to create a global supply chain of the fuel that may help decarbonize industries and aid the global energy transition.Kawasaki aims to transport 225…