Asia Dry Bulk-Capesize Rates to Fall as Cargo Dries Up
Rates from Brazil to China fall by $4/tonne, $6,000/day; queues at Dalrymple Bay to ease, return to normal in January. Freight rates for large dry cargo ships on key Asian routes could slide further from multi-week lows as chartering activity thins during the holiday season and abundant tonnage for January weighs on rates, brokers said. Capesize rates from Brazil to China have dropped by $4 per tonne in the last week, equivalent to a daily earnings fall of about $6,000. Port congestion in Australia and China which helped propel rates to three-year highs earlier this month is also expected to ease. Hold-ups at Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay, one of the world's largest coal export facilities and where at least one panamax bulk carrier waited more than six weeks to load, are set to clear.
China, Australia Ports Clogged as Coal, Ore Demand Soars
Around 300 ships caught in jam that would stretch 40 miles; freight rates for biggest coal, ore carrier hit 3-yr high. More than 300 large dry cargo ships are having to wait outside Chinese and Australian ports in a maritime traffic jam that spotlights bottlenecks in China's huge and global commodity supply chain as demand peaks this winter. With some vessels waiting to load coal and iron ore outside Australian ports for over a month, key charter rates have jumped to their highest in more than three years. Placed end-to-end, the total delayed fleet would stretch more than 40 miles, enough to span the English Channel from Dover to Calais and back.
CSIRO, BHP Billiton Join Forces in Marine Research
The World Heritage Listed Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia will be the focus of a new marine research partnership between CSIRO and BHP Billiton Petroleum announced today. Ningaloo Reef is the largest fringing reef in the world, extending 300 kilometres along the North West coast of Australia. The five year, jointly funded A$5 million research program will include both deep and shallow reef research, turtle and shark tagging, a PhD scholarship scheme and opportunities to engage the local community, including BHP Billiton Petroleum employees, in Exmouth, WA. Minister for Industry and Science Ian Macfarlane, joined CSIRO Executive Director Environment, Dr Andrew Johnson, and BHP Billiton Petroleum General Manager, Doug Handyside to launch the partnership in Perth today.
Australia’s First Renewable Energy From Wave Power Array
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) today joined Minister for Industry and Science Ian Macfarlane to officially switch on the Carnegie Perth Wave Energy Project’s onshore power station. Following successful testing last year, the project is now up and running, feeding renewable energy into HMAS Stirling, Australia’s largest naval base. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the occasion marked an important point in the history of wave energy and is the culmination close to a decade of work. “This is the first array of wave power generators to be connected to an electricity grid in Australia and worldwide,” Mr Frischknecht said
Infigen Energy Mulls Shedding U.S. Wind Farms
Australia under pressure to fix renewable energy target deadlock; 45 wind farm projects stalled. Australian wind farm operator Infigen Energy Ltd is exploring the sale of 18 U.S. wind farms, worth about A$500 million ($409 million), so they escape impact from the uncertain future of Australian state rebates for renewable energy firms. Infigen has hired advisers to consider ways of splitting U.S. assets from its six Australian wind farms, so consequences suffered by Infigen from a political deadlock over the rebates would not filter down to assets on the other side of the world, Managing Director Miles George told Reuters on Wednesday. "We have contemplated ... the possibility of separating our Australian and U.S. businesses so that the U.S.
