ClassNK hosted an anniversary party on July to commemorate 50 years of its Singapore Office, established in 1967 to broaden the classification society’s service network in Southeast Asia. Held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the evening commenced with an opening address by Chairman and President of ClassNK, Koichi Fujiwara. Among guests in attendance, the Ambassador of Japan to Singapore, His Excellency Kenji Shinoda gave an honorary address followed by a congratulatory address by Assistant Chief Executive of Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Tan Beng Tee.

The management of the new company,  Ocean Network Express Holdings (ONE) -  the joint venture between three Japanese shipowning societies Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ("K" Linens), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) was unveiled. The existing NYK Line chief executive Jeremy Nixon named as the chief executive of ONE. Nixon has been chief executive of NYK’s liner division since 2012, and moved to Singapore two years before that to head its South Asia operation. The holding company with ultimate governance of ONE will remain in Tokyo…

Singapore welcomes Hong Kong pledge on handling of dispute. Singapore's defence minister on Monday said the nine armoured vehicles seized in Hong Kong could not be detained or confiscated, but that he welcomed Hong Kong's pledge for the dispute to be handled in line with its laws. Hong Kong customs seized the troop carriers in November as they were being shipped to Singapore from Taiwan after military exercises on the island that Beijing regards as a breakaway province, sparking tension between Singapore and China. Beijing, which regained sovereignty over the former British colony of Hong Kong in 1997, then warned countries against maintaining military ties with Taiwan. The vehicles were Singapore property, said Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, answering questions in parliament.

Rate correction likely after low S-Oil charter drags market. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) could see a small respite next week, building on the slight improvement seen in the last two days although sentiment is likely to remain pessimistic of any real recovery, brokers said on Friday. "There was a large drop on Tuesday when South Korea's S-Oil fixed at 45.50 (on the Worldscale measure). But rates are now correcting," a Singapore-based supertanker broker said.

Q2 profit S$161 million versus S$205 million year ago; O&M division net order book at S$3.4 billion. Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp posted a 21 percent drop in its quarterly profit and warned it did not expect a speedy recovery in the offshore and marine market. The conglomerate and its smaller cross-town rival Sembcorp Marine have been hit by an oversupply of offshore oil drilling rigs, with customers delaying contracts and refraining from placing new orders with oil prices expected to stay lower for longer. "Despite some pick-up in activity in the offshore market, the general consensus is that, with the prevailing uncertainty in the oil market, and oversupply in the jackup market, a quick recovery is unlikely," said CEO Loh Chin Hua.

The 28,000-square-meter terminal, which was built at a cost of 500 million Singapore dollars (400 million U.S. dollars) and operated by the SATS-Creuers Cruise Services, will effectively double Singapore's berth capacity. The terminal has the capability to dock ships of up to 220,000 gross register tonnage (GRT) and measuring up to 360 meters in length with a hull draft of up to 11.5 meters. It also has a spacious arrival and departure hall comprising 80 check-in counters and up to 40 immigration counters…

Second such cargo in a year - traders; cargo loads from Cherry Point, heading to Botany Bay. Oil major BP Plc is shipping diesel from the United States to Australia in an unusual shipping flow, several industry sources told Reuters on Thursday. The Jupiter Express carrying about 35,000 tonnes of diesel loaded from BP's Cherry Point, Washington refinery on June 29 and is currently headed to Botany Bay, New South Wales in Australia, shipping data on Thomson Reuters Eikon showed. BP declined to comment.

Majestic Ferries’ fleet continues to grow with the delivery of Majestic Dream, the first of a new class of Incat Crowther-designed fuel-efficient 39m HSC compliant passenger vessels. Majestic Ferries operates vessels between Singapore and Batam in a competitive marketplace. The operator worked with Incat Crowther to develop a cost-effective vessel that offers comfort, performance and fuel consumption superior to that of the competition. This process saw the construction of a trio of 33m vessels; Majestic 7, Majestic 8 and Majestic 9.

Denmark's general prosecutor said on Thursday it had charged a former Singapore unit manager of Denmark-based OW Bunker with fraud.   The prosecutor said the former manager, a Danish citizen, has been charged with committing fraud of agent for more than 800 million Danish crowns ($122.79 million) by granting credit outside his mandate.   The prosecutor also said it did not find legal grounds for criminal prosecution of other management members within the OW Bunker group, the world's biggest marine fuel supplier before it went bankrupt in 2014.   Reporting by Stine Jacobsen 

According to a recent Reuters report, the Singapore government will take over development of its first $1 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal from a consortium to avoid more delays due to the credit crunch. The PowerGas-led consortium, in which GDF had a 30 percent stake, had been due to make its final investment decision this month for the project. The LNG’s completion was deferred by a year, from 2012 to 2013, making it the latest of several Singapore projects to be delayed due to the financial crisis.

Rare cargoes booked out of Europe to Asia, Middle East; Indian demand, refinery maintenance boost Asian prices. Oil traders are shipping diesel out of Europe to Asia and the Middle East where strong demand and tighter supplies have boosted prices, in a rare arbitrage that reverses traditional routes. At least three 90,000 tonne diesel cargoes were booked in recent days out of northwest Europe options to go to Singapore and the Middle East, shipping data showed. BP chartered the…

U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen and the Amver participating Handysize tanker Nord Nightingale came to the rescue of two German sailors who abandoned their burning sailboat more than 500 miles off of Florida. On Friday, July 7, 2017, U.S. Coast Guard rescue authorities in Miami, Fla. received a 406 MHz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) for a 42-foot German flagged sailboat. Working with rescue authorities in Bremen, Germany the Coast Guard personnel learned that two sailors had abandoned their burning sailboat approximately 525 miles east of Port Canaveral…

Middle East rates helped by fewer old vessels; about 96 MidEast cargoes fixed, 25 to come. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) could rise next week on firm sentiment in the Middle East and West Africa markets but higher oil prices and fewer floating storage opportunities could cap increases, brokers said on Friday. "Middle East rates to the east have crept up one or two points (on the Worldscale measure)," said Ashok Sharma, managing director of BRS Baxi in Singapore. "Rates are up to W52.50 today. There is a slightly firm undertone," he added.

Singapore based defense and engineering firm Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) has appointed Neo Kian Hong as nonindependent and nonexecutive director of the company, effective June 30, 2017. Neo is Singapore’s Permanent Secretary (Defense Development) and has held various command positions in the Ministry of Defense, including Chief of Army and Chief of Defense Force. He was also Permanent Secretary (Education Development) at Ministry of Education until June 19, 2017. Neo holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) from the University of London, U.K. as well as a Master of Science (Management of Technology) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S.

HSH syndicate, comprising HSH Nordbank and DBS Bank, has approved the sale of the remaining nine of 14 vessels of Singapore-based Rickmers Trust Management for some $54 million to Navios Partners Containers and Navios Partners Containers Finance. The total consideration will also include an amount to support settlement of operational cash deficits to closing, said Rickmers Trust Management in an update on the winding up of Rickmers Maritime. The sales of these nine vessels are expected to be completed in parts from July 12, 2017, Rickmers said.

The latest report of a tanker hijack in Southeast Asia has prompted Dryad Maritime to issue an advisory to its shipping clients, on the basis that the crime follows a pattern, which has seen up to six such attacks, over the last nine months. The Company issued its advisory to maritime clients from its 24/7 Portsmouth, UK-based operations facility, explaining that the [Thai tankship] MT Orapin 4 laden with a fuel oil cargo, departed Singapore on 27th May 2014 and became the subject of a missing vessel alert the next day when attempts by her shipping company to contact her failed.

The first Singapore Technical Reference (TR) 56 for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Bunkering was launched by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), SPRING Singapore and the Standards Development Organisation @ Singapore Chemical Industry Council (SDO@SCIC). This standard has been developed to provide a safe, efficient, sustainable and transparent technical framework for conducting LNG bunkering operations in Singapore, thereby offering greater assurance to local and international LNG bunker buyers and suppliers.

Members of the G6 Alliance announced today that their groundbreaking cooperation in Asia-Europe container shipping will begin operation in the first week of March – one month ahead of schedule. “We are eager to roll out our competitive products to benefit customers by offering a comprehensive and increased coverage of 40 ports in the Asia-Europe market with more sailing frequency,” the members said in a statement. The G6 Alliance, serving the Asia-to-Europe-and-Mediterranean market was announced last December. The G6 Alliance members are the carriers in the Grand Alliance and New World Alliance: APL, Hapag-Lloyd AG, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line.

Bureau Veritas and Singapore based Ascenz have signed a memorandum to provide ship performance and monitoring solutions to ship owners worldwide. The agreement will enable Bureau Veritas to offer Shipulse, Ascenz’s solution for real time ship performance and monitoring, which captures shipboard fuel consumption, bunkering activity, engine, hull and propeller performance data to provide insights for better decision making, fuel savings and optimized vessel performance. Bureau Veritas…

Twenty more maritime companies came together to sign the Maritime Singapore Green Pledge to signify their commitment towards promoting clean and green shipping in Singapore. They join the 40 companies that have already signed the Green Pledge so far. The signing took place during the Singapore Registry of Ships Forum on "Responsible Shipping" and was witnessed by Lam Yi Young, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The 20 new signatories of the Green Pledge are listed in Annex A and include shipping lines, salvage companies and offshore service providers. A total of 60 organizations have signed the Green Pledge and pledged their commitment to promote clean and green shipping in Singapore.

Hong Kong is to release armoured vehicles belonging to Singapore impounded in the Chinese-ruled city on their way home from military exercises in Taiwan, Singapore said on Tuesday. Hong Kong customs seized the troop carriers in November. Beijing, which regained sovereignty over the former British colony of Hong Kong in 1997, then warned countries against maintaining military ties with Taiwan. Singapore's foreign affairs ministry said Hong Kong authorities would release the Singapore Armed Forces' troop carriers and other equipment to the Singapore government but the ministry did not give details. Hong Kong's commissioner of Customs and Excise, Roy Tang, said in a statement the vehicles were seized because of "a suspected breach of the Hong Kong law".

Facing less-than-expected market demand, members of the G6 Alliance announced additional void sailings within the container shippers’ Asia-Europe service, suspending its Loop 6 service until further notice. The G6 Alliance, which consists of APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line, said it continues to offer various services between Asia and Europe covering major port pairs with weekly sailings. The shippers said further service adjustments are possible as the G6 Alliance continues to review its product profile…

Maersk Line welcomes the Maritime Singapore Green Initiative and actively supports a joint industry approach to cleaner fuels in Singapore. Copenhagen, Singapore: April 13, 2011 - Today, Maersk Line announced its active participation in the Maritime Singapore Green Initiative by committing to switching to low-sulphur fuel in Singapore. The announced fuel switch backs up the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s engagement with the shipping line community to reduce carbon and sulphur emissions in Singapore.