Main Supplier News

Cuban state-run media said at the weekend that 90,000 metric tons of Russian oil had arrived in the cash and fuel-short country to help alleviate power outages and gasoline shortages.In 2022, Russia resumed some oil shipments to the Communist-run Caribbean island after they ceased with the collapse of the Soviet Union.However, according to shipping data no Russian oil left the country for Cuba last year even as Russian media reported in June an agreement was reached between the two governments to supply 1.64 million metric tons of oil and derivatives annually.Jorge Piñón…

On Feb. 10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base.Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named “Big Wave,” according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data.The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade.The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom…

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.

Soy and sugar traders are fighting for room in Latin America’s largest port, rushing to secure loading slots as the slowest Brazilian soy harvest in 10 years pushes the grains export window into the sugar season.Congestion was hitting Brazil’s Santos port just as consumers worldwide have been turning to top exporter Brazil for sugar and soybean supplies. The glut of shipments waiting to leave is boosting transport costs and will likely delay arrivals at destinations.Sugar prices hit a four-year high late last month, boosted by supply tightness.

A prohibitive Chinese import tariff on Australian barley will benefit other suppliers without changing the bleak global outlook caused by large stocks and depressed beer demand, analysts and traders said.Beijing said on Monday it would apply an 80.5% tariff on Australian barley imports for the next five years, a move expected to all but halt flows from its main supplier.“This should benefit Canada and France that have plenty of stock this year,” Helene Duflot of French consultancy Strategie Grains said.

Two Iranian vessels have been stranded for weeks at Brazilian ports, unable to head back to Iran due to lack of fuel, which state-run oil firm Petrobras refuses to sell them due to sanctions imposed by the United States.The vessels Bavand and Termeh came to Brazil a couple months ago carrying urea, a petrochemical product used as fertilizer. They were expected to load corn and return to Iran, but lacked enough fuel for the trip, the port operator in Paranaguá told Reuters.Food is not covered by U.S. sanctions, and Iran is one of the largest buyers of Brazil's agricultural commodities, importing more than 2.5 million tonnes of Brazilian corn so far this year — more than any other country.However, that trade is not usually carried by ships flying the Iranian flag.

Swedish shipping company Swedish Orient Lines (SOL) announced  that it will add the port of Pietarsaari/Jakobstad (Finland) to its liner network with one weekly call using its vessels Thuleland and Tundraland.The service will offer direct port calls to Lübeck (Germany), Zeebrugge (Belgium) and Tilbury (UK). With its new route SOL supports BillerudKorsnäs export of paper products from its mill in Pietarsaari as well as other import and export cargo to the region.BillerudKorsnäs focuses on offering the packaging market sustainable materials and solutions that increase customers’ profitability while at the same time improving the overall environmental impact“From the beginning of January next year SOL offers a weekly RoRo service between Pietarsaari/Jakobstad…

Statoil has decided to launch a large project to write the story about the company for its 50th anniversary in 2022. The University of Oslo has been chosen the main supplier in a project that will also involve other Norwegian research institutions. «Statoil’s history» will be a historical fact-based research project to be ready for the company’s 50th anniversary in 2022. The project aims to acquire new knowledge about Statoil and the petroleum activity’s significance to society through 50 years and convey it to the public. The project is also to be a professional training tool for coming generations. The end product will include a history in two volumes and a comprehensive website that will be integrated with the books and provide further images, films and sound.

India has deferred taking deliveries of at least 20 shiploads of expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its main supplier Qatar and wants a rate cut matching the 60 per cent fall in international rates, as global gas prices slumped, reports Reuters. Sources said that India has imported 30 per cent less liquefied natural gas (LNG) than it is supposed to under a long-term deal with Qatar as a slide in spot prices has cut demand from local buyers . So far this year Petronet LNG has cut imports by 30 per cent, or up to 24 cargoes, under the deal. Petronet buys 7.5 million tonnes a year of LNG on a long-term from RasGas of Qatar on a 25 year contract, indexed to a moving average of crude oil price.

The dry bulk market has been devastating so far in 2015. However, June has somehow reversed it all in less than three weeks if judged by the Baltic Dry Index (BDI). June has delivered what May was unable to – keeping the momentum going. Since the drop in January, we have seen the BDI average at 576 for the four months of February to May. In contrast to that the BDI stand at 829 on 24 June 2015. According to data from Commodore Research, Chinese iron ore fixtures hit an all-year-high in mid-May.

Mammoet announces it has been awarded the heavy lift and heavy haul contract for the Cameron LNG project in Hackberry, Louisiana. The multi-billion dollar project will be comprised of three natural gas liquefaction trains with approved liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity of 1.7 billion cubic feet per day. “We are very happy to work on one of the most important LNG export projects on the Gulf Coast” said Robert Roest, Sales Director of Louisiana at Mammoet. “By contracting Mammoet as main supplier for the lifting and transport equipment, the project will save significant time due to central coordination that leads to optimization of all engineered heavy lifting and transport activities”.

An agreement has been reached between Wärtsilä and Cryonorm Systems BV, the Netherlands based developer and supplier of cryogenic vaporizers, to form a consortium to deliver LNG systems for the Inland Waterway (IWW) European market. The main aim of this cooperation is to create a standard LNG fuel system for inland waterway vessels that will achieve lower costs, while also reducing the lead time for the system so as to conform with the short building time of these vessels. As part of the study, numerous types of vessels that operate on European rivers have been analyzed and, as a result, five vessel types have been identified as potential targets for an LNG fuel system. From this study, standards have been established for both newbuild and retrofit installations.

Asia petrochemicals firms are building tanks and retooling plants to store and process liquefied petroleum gas imported from the United States, counting on a flood of supply from the shale boom to replace costlier naphtha as a raw material. Samsung Total Petrochemical, LG Chem and Royal Vopak are among a number of companies in Asia expanding import terminals or retrofitting plants over the next one to two years as they buy more LPG. The gas is used by petrochemicals firms to make a broad range of consumer and industrial plastics. Asian petrochemicals firms have traditionally used naphtha as a raw material. They are now switching to LPG because rising U.S. supplies have pushed prices below those of both naphtha and LPG from their main supplier, the Middle East.

Millers and wheat importers in Morocco have asked the government to establish a longer annual window for imports after scrambling to secure shipments this season, trade sources said. Morocco, like other North African countries, depends on imports of staple cereals. It is expected to buy around 2.5 million tonnes of foreign wheat in the 2013/14 marketing year. The country's import campaign typically runs from October to May when the local harvest starts. But this season, shipments did not get under way until January, condensing the shipment period and leading to a glut of cargoes at Moroccan ports. To give greater visibility, Moroccan wheat trade federation FIAC and flour millers group FNM have proposed to the authorities that the import campaign start in September, trade sources said.

ABB won a $26m order to supply electrical power and propulsion systems for two next generation ‘Ramform’ vessels, capable of three-dimensional (3D) seismic data acquisition for deep sea resource exploration. The ships will be constructed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and delivered in 2015 to Norway’s Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS), a leading company in marine seismic and reservoir data acquisition, processing and analysis/interpretation services. Oil and gas companies use this data to explore for hydrocarbon accumulations, develop new oil and gas fields, and manage their producing fields.

Kongsberg Maritime has been awarded a contract by HJS Maritime SDN. BHD, Malaysia to deliver two Polaris Ship's Bridge Simulators for use in a new centre of excellence being built for the Malaysian Marine Department. This key contract follows the recent installation of the world's largest 360° marine navigation simulator at the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP), Philippines and reflects Kongsberg Maritime's leading marine simulation position in Asia. The contract…

cooperation partner Esab. opened a new era in the shipbuilding process. times have been reduced to zero and no CAD models are needed. technology allows even unmanned production (in night shift). record level arc and utility time ratios have been achieved. resulted in improved and stable quality and productivity. structures, not only for those of cruise ships. Automation Group Oy and Lappeenranta University of Technology. National Technology Agency of Finland. instead of off-line or pre-programmed systems. input from machine vision. components. high productivity and high return on investment. fabrication and sub-assembly.

Aker Kvaerner has signed a frame agreement with Woodside Petroleum Ltd to become the Australian oil and gas giant's preferred supplier of steel tube umbilicals. The contract could be worth between NOK 150 - 200 million annually. The frame agreement is awarded for a three year period with optional periods of one + one year and has the potential to support Woodside Petroleum Ltd with its proposed LNG developments. The agreement will make Aker Kvaerner's subsea division the main supplier of steel tube umbilicals to Woodside's field developments off the western coast of Australia. As part of the contract, Aker Kvaerner will be responsible for the design, manufacturing, testing, certification, delivery and installation support of the umbilical systems.