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Strait Of Malacca News

13 Feb 2024

Four Japanese Companies Form Consortium for Eco-Friendly VLCCs Concepts

Eco-Friendly VLCC Concept (Credit: NYK)

Idemitsu Tanker, IINO Kaiun Kaisha (IINO Lines), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), and Nihon Shipyard have established a consortium to conduct joint research and development of design concepts for Malacca Max-type very large crude oil carriers (VLCCs).The design concepts, including machinery and environment equipment, will be developed with a view of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the consortium that was initiated by Idemitsu Tanker said.Aiming to reduce emissions by 40% or more compared to previous levels…

11 Aug 2022

Fuel Oil Stored in Ships Near Singapore to Rise on More Russian Supplies

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

The number of tankers used for storing fuel oil along the Singapore Strait has risen since the Ukraine war broke out and could rise further as more of Russia's supplies hit by sanctions head to Asia, industry sources and analysts said.A rise in floating storage supply along the strategic waterway is an indicator that more supplies are available to Asia, which will help ease tight markets. But, at the same time, it could limit a recovery in spot fuel oil prices for the year and weigh on Asian refining profits for the grade.Earlier this month…

27 Jul 2022

Floating Oil Storage Stacks up in the Singapore Strait

Copyright Adwo/AdobeStock

The number of tankers used for storing fuel oil along the Singapore Strait has risen since the Ukraine war broke out and could rise further as more of Russia's supplies hit by sanctions head to Asia, industry sources and analysts said.A rise in floating storage supply along the strategic waterway is an indicator that more supplies are available to Asia, which will help ease tight markets. But, at the same time, it could limit a recovery in spot fuel oil prices for the year and weigh on Asian refining profits for the grade.Earlier this month…

24 Jun 2022

DSIC Hands Over New VLCC to China Merchants Steamship

(Photo: China State Shipbuilding Corporation)

A 300,000-ton very large crude carrier (VLCC) built by DSIC, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, for China Merchants Steamship was named and delivered on June 18.New Valor is the fourth ship in the series of six new-generation energy-saving and environmentally friendly VLCCs built by DSIC for China Merchants Shipping, and also the 23rd 300,000-ton super-large crude oil carrier delivered by DSIC to China Merchants Shipping.The ship has a total length of 333 meters, a width of 60 meters and a depth of 30 meters.

19 Jul 2021

China Launches Energy Efficient VLCC

CS Hunan Venture - Credit: CSS

CS Hunan Venture very large crude carrier, dubbed one of the most advanced and energy-efficient VLCCs ever built in China, was recently launched by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group (DSIC).The vessel is owned by China Shipbuilding Consulting Company and operated by Wah Kwong Ship Management Hong Kong.Fan Qiang, Vice President of China Classification Society which conducted extensive survey of the vessel, said the CS Hunan Venture’s innovative design means its Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) is more than 20pc below the baseline…

29 Mar 2021

Top Three Takeaway Lessons From the Suez Canal Blockage

© Cnes2021, Distribution Airbus DS

For a week the world was gripped by the extraordinary sight of a massive container ship that had run aground in the Suez Canal in Egypt. The Ever Given is 400m long (1,312ft) and weighs 200,000 tonnes, with a maximum capacity of 20,000 containers. It was carrying 18,300 containers when it became wedged in the canal, blocking all shipping traffic. Efforts to free it finally paid off when it was partially dislodged in the early hours of Monday 29 March. Adejuwon Soyinka asked maritime…

10 Nov 2020

Malaysia Starts LNG Bunkering Ops. Makes First Delivery

Avenir Advantage Credit: Keppel

Malaysia, through state oil firm Petronas, has ventured into the liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering business and made its first delivery in the southern state of Johor this week, the country's marine department said on Tuesday.The maiden operation involved supplying 1,150 tonnes of LNG from bunkering vessel MV Avenir Advantage, which Petronas leased from Future Horizon, to vehicle transport vessel Siem Aristotle at the Pasir Gudang port on Monday."This makes Malaysia among a few first-mover countries able to provide LNG bunkering services to the marine industry in the east," Marine Departme

29 Sep 2020

RoRo Carrier Rescues Fishermen in Strait of Malacca

(Photo: NYK Group)

An Indonesia-flagged car carrier operated by the NYK Group company PT. NYK-SPIL INDORORO, rescued eight fishermen in distress at the Strait of Malacca last week.The 100-meter roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) ship Kalimantan Leader was sailing from Belawan, Indonesia, to Jakarta, on September 23 when its crew spotted eight fishermen in the water after their vessel sank.The merchant vessel rescued the distressed fishermen immediately, and the eight men were transferred in to an Indonesian Coast Guard vessel on September 24 off Batam Island, Indonesia. All are said to be in good health.(Photo: NYK Group)

31 Jul 2020

Maritime Security: Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail

© Denys Yelmanov / Adobe Stock

North America is historically one of the world’s safest regions for maritime transit and operations. Our data shows that of the 2,915 reported global maritime crime incidents that have occurred in the last decade, only nine of them took place in North America. This figure comes from a range of threats against both commercial, and pleasure craft vessels, primarily, attempted, or successful: attacks, suspicious approaches, illegal boardings, hijackings, kidnappings, robberies and exchanges of gunfire. This is what many of us boil down to the eye-catching buzzword “piracy”.

17 Oct 2019

MOL Intros AR Navigation System

Japanese transportation major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced that, along with Furuno Electric, it made a joint presentation of their advanced augmented reality (AR)-based Navigation System.The presentation introduced the background behind the technology and development of the system, as well as MOL’s efforts to "forge ahead to become the world leader in safe operation."The AR Navigation System provides visual support to crew-members during their watch-keeping and ship operations by using AR technology to superimpose real-time video imagery and voyage information.Large tankers, which have a deep draft (The vertical distance between the bottom of the hull and the waterline), require very careful ship operations in waters such as the Strait of Malacca, a highly congested shipping lane.

26 Jul 2019

Vladimir Rusanov Opens Northern Sea Route

Russian natural gas producer Novatek announced that the Arc7 ice-class LNG tanker 'Vladimir Rusanov' completed the Northern Sea Route (NSR) passage via the Eastern direction, delivering an LNG cargo from the Yamal LNG project, at the port of Sabetta, to China's port of Tianjin.The 168,560 cbm vessel shipped transited the ice-covered part of the route in only 6days, setting a new record for independent passage via the NSR without ice-breaking support with cargo on board.The net voyage time from Sabetta to the destination port was completed in a record 16 days, which is less than half the time required to transport a cargo of LNG along the traditional westbound route via the Suez Canal and Strait of Malacca."For the second year in a row…

12 Nov 2018

Iranian Military Ready to Protect Oil Tankers

File Image: AdobsStock / © Jose Gill

Iran's armed forces will protect Iranian oil tankers against any threats, an Iranian military official said on Monday after the United States called the ships a "floating liability" and warned ports operators not to allow them to dock.The United States resumed sanctions on Iran's oil, shipping and banking industries last Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 international agreement curbing Iran's nuclear programme in May."Iran's armed forces...are prepared…

25 Apr 2018

Singapore Awards Another $1.1 Bln for Mega-port Project

© ake1150 / Adobe Stock

Singapore on Wednesday announced a $1.1 billion plan to expand and modernize its port, the world's second-biggest, but which is in fierce competition with several Chinese harbors including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it has awarded a project worth S$1.46 billion ($1.10 billion) for the second phase of its Tuas Terminal port development to a joint venture of firms, including Korea's Hyundai Engineering and Construction.Other companies in the joint venture include Japan's Penta-Ocean Construction Co Ltd and Boskalis International from

28 Sep 2017

Statoil Charters ULCC to Hold Crude for Asia buyers

Oil storage is feasible with low freight rates, capital costs; backwardation pushes traders to churn oil faster from storage. Norway's Statoil ASA has chartered the last remaining Ultra-Large Crude Carrier (ULCC), the world's largest oil tankers, to store oil off of Malaysia for distribution in smaller parcels to its clients in Asia, company executives said. Statoil has booked the TI Europe, capable of carrying up to 3 million barrels of oil, more than the daily consumption of South Korea, to reduce the time it takes for customers to ship their crude, Stale Endre Berg, senior vice president of crude and refining at Statoil, told Reuters on the sidelines of the APPEC conference.

13 Jun 2017

Asian Crude Storage Trend Impacts OPEC Cuts

Current markets make it profitable to store oil for future sale; many tankers sitting around Singapore storing oil. A 10-percent decline in oil prices since late May could push traders to keep crude in storage, looking to sell down the line when forward prices are higher. That would undermine the impact of supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which partly aimed to force traders holding oil in storage to sell to reduce bloated inventories that have sapped global prices . Brent crude futures for delivery in half a year's time were this week around $1.50 per barrel above current prices, a market structure known as 'contango' that makes it profitable to store fuel instead of selling for direct use.

09 Jun 2017

Oil's Price Fall Stalls Despite Supply Glut

Brent down 12 pct since OPEC-led production cut extension. Oil prices steadied on Friday after steep falls earlier in the week under pressure from widespread evidence of a fuel glut despite efforts led by OPEC to tighten the market. Brent crude oil was up 10 cents at $47.96 a barrel by 1130 GMT, but still 12 percent below its opening level on May 25, when an OPEC promise to restrict production was extended into 2018. U.S. crude was 10 cents higher at $45.74. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other big producers have agreed to pump almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) less than they supplied at the end of last year, and hold output there until the first quarter of 2018. But world markets are still awash with oil.

04 Aug 2016

Tanker, Containership Collide in Singapore

An Iranian supertanker collided with a container ship in the Singapore Strait with no loss of life or pollution despite damage to both vessels, shipping officials said on Thursday. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the collision took place just before midnight on Thursday between Dream II, owned by Iran's top oil tanker operator NITC, and MSC Alexandra, owned by the world's no.2 container group MSC of Switzerland. The MPA and MSC said a number of container boxes fell into the sea, and others landed on the deck of Dream II. "We are ... extremely relieved to hear that there has been no loss of life, or pollution caused despite the significant damage to the hull of MSC Alexandra," Yock Juee Tan, managing director of MSC Asia, said in a statement.

28 Jul 2016

Oil Spills from VLOC in Strait of Malacca

Berge Bulk Maritime confirms that an its VLOC (Very Large Ore Carrier)  “BERGE BUREYA” – (IMO/LR # 9297539) operated vessel was involved in an oil spill incident off Malaysia in the Malacca Strait earlier yesterday morning. There were no injuries to any crew-members and there was no grounding or involvement of any third parties. Whilst in transit between Singapore and Brazil, a quantity of oil was identified leaking from the vessel and the crew immediately enacted emergency procedures to halt the leakage and to start a prompt clean-up operation. A quantity of bunker fuel was spilled and Berge Bulk Maritime is cooperating closely with the Malaysian authorities in the management of the spill and the vessel was boomed following the incident. The oil leak was stemmed quickly.

23 Jun 2016

Tracking Global Piracy Trends

Piracy has existed since the conception of shipping, and pirate attacks on vessels continue to disrupt trade, raising vessel security concerns and impacting the operation and insurance costs for ships, says Clarkson Research Services. The drivers behind piracy are wide but primarily economic and clearly, geography is also key. This month, we take a closer look at recent shifts in the regional distribution of piracy ‘hot spots’. Piracy remains a prevalent concern within the shipping industry, raising issues around vessel security, disrupting trade routes and increasing ship operation costs. In the year to date, 85 piracy attacks have been reported globally compared to 142 in the same period of 2015.

06 May 2016

East Asia Trio Agree to Boost Maritime Security

Foreign ministers and defense force chiefs from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines signed a joint declaration on maritime security on Thursday, calling on all governments in the region to increase efforts to tackle marine threats, reports Jakarta Post. The three officials hashed out details of joint patrols, including issues on how the exchange of information would take place between the three countries. The leaders called for intensified maritime security following the recent kidnapping of seamen by the Southern Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf militant group, and other armed sea robberies, that have endangered national security in the region. - set up a hotline of communication among the three countries to better facilitate coordination during emergency situations and security threats.

05 Jan 2016

Saudi-Iran Standoff and Oil Tankers

The Saudi-Iran standoff is certainly one to worry over given its ramifications for oil supply as they sit on either side of the Persian Gulf, the world’s biggest concentration of oil tankers, reports Bloomberg. The Strait of Hormuz at  the mouth of the Persian Gulf is the world’s most important choke point for oil shipments, with about 17 million barrels of crude passing through daily. World chokepoints for maritime transit of oil are a critical part of global energy security. About 63% of the world's oil production moves on maritime routes. The Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca are the world's most important strategic chokepoints by volume of oil transit.

17 Dec 2015

6 Missing in Singapore Strait Collision

Six crew members are still missing after a general cargo freighter sank in the Singapore Strait following a collision with a chemical tanker at 8:14 p.m. (1214 GMT) on Dec. 16. The 10,385 deadweight tonne (dwt) cargo freighter Thorco Cloud, operated by Danish shipper Thorco Shipping and registered in Antigua and Barbuda, had a crew of 12. Singapore's Police Coast Guard, supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), rescued five of the crew members, while the chemical tanker picked up a sixth, the MPA said. The rescued seamen were sent to Singapore General Hospital for observation, it said. Search and rescue operations continued for the six missing crew members, said an MPA spokesman in an update.

12 Oct 2015

20 Nations Reinforce their Commitment to Fight Piracy

Senior officers from Australia and 19 other nations attended the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) meeting in Sydney this week to reinforce the importance of a regional approach to combat piracy and armed robbery at sea. ReCAAP facilitates capacity building efforts and information sharing among its member countries. Rear Admiral Michael Noonan, Commander of Maritime Border Command of the Australian Border Force (ABF), which includes ABF and Defence, stressed the importance of ReCAAP as the only multi-nation regional forum dedicated to combatting piracy and sea robbery.