Transportation Capacity News

Exxon and Canada-based crude pipeline operator Enbridge were sued in Illinois federal court on Tuesday over claims they barred a competitor from building a terminal to ship oil by barge from the Chicago area to refineries in the Midwest and Gulf of Mexico.The antitrust lawsuit from energy infrastructure developer Ducere seeks more than $11 million in damages for work the Illinois company said it already paid for on the project and for lost future profits.Exxon, Enbridge and their…

New York City is looking at ways to help shift freight transportation off of its busy roads and onto the waterways.The city's Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) and Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) on Wednesday jointly released a Request for Information and Expressions of Interest (RFEI) seeking private sector feedback to help it gauge industry challenges and opportunities, and explore ways to implement and support businesses to engage in waterfront freight operations.The initiative is part of NYC's "Blue Highways" program, launched under the city's previous mayor, Bill de Blasio.

U.S. shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) on Thursday announced it has reached an agreement with BP Oil Shipping Company to purchase the Jones Act compliant crude oil tanker Alaskan Frontier.Built by General Dynamics NASSCO in 2004, the 1.3-million-barrel capacity tanker is a sister to three other Alaskan Class vessels operated by OSG’s wholly owned subsidiary, Alaskan Tanker Company. It was part of Alaska Tanker Company's active fleet  until 2019 when the vessel was placed in cold lay-up in Labuan, Malaysia.OSG said it expects the transaction will be completed in early November. Afterward, the company intends to reactivate the tanker…

Floating LNG solutions provider Höegh LNG and the Norwegian oil and gas firm Aker BP have entered a strategic partnership to develop a "fully comprehensive carbon transport and storage offering for industrial CO2 emitters in Northern Europe.""The agreement combines the companies’ respective strengths, expertise, and technologies to establish a strong value chain for CCS on the Norwegian Continental Shelf that includes gathering, transporting and securely injecting CO2 for permanent storage in subsea reservoirs…

At a time when the world has become more aware than ever before about the vital importance of the world’s ocean shipping fleet, which carried supplies, merchandise and much needed personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased risk from a different threat, cyberattacks, presents a set of new challenges. According to Israeli cybersecurity specialist Naval Dome, since February 2020, there has been a 400% increase in attempted hacks on the maritime realm…

A new wood-chip carrier for the Hokuetsu Corporation was delivered on March 2 at Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Saikai city, Nagasaki, Japan. NYK and Hokuetsu have a long-term contract for this vessel.Dubbed Southern Ace, the vessel will transport wood chips made from logs that have been confirmed to have been legally obtained through sustainable plantations in the Southern Hemisphere and the ship will continue serve the company in the tradition of wood-chip carrier HOKUETSU…

A new tank concept for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and carbon dioxide (CO2) transportation promises to more than double current vessel cargo capacity, representing a step forward in the development of maritime transport solutions for the expanding carbon capture and storage (CCS) market, which will require maritime transport of liquefied CO2 to scale up rapidly. The new design, which is based on existing, proven technology, has been developed by automation, gas and system integration specialist…

New Jersey-based Rand Logistics said Thursday it has completed its $260 million acquisition of rival Great Lakes shipping company American Steamship Company (ASC) from GATX Corporation.The combination of Rand and ASC moves almost 50 million tons annually of dry bulk commodities such as iron ore, coal and limestone on vessels ranging in size from 634 feet to over 1,000 feet, the company said."This transaction is a game-changer for both Rand and our customers. Our combined 24-vessel fleet gives us the capability to meet almost every type of dry bulk transportation need on the Great Lakes," said Peter Coxon, Chief Executive Officer of Rand…

The U.S. Postal Service is using ships for overseas transport as the number of commercial flights typically used to send mail abroad has plummeted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The agency said on April 23 that a first mail shipment bound for Europe departed JFK International Service Center in New York three days earlier and is being transported on a containership scheduled to arrive at the port of Rotterdam on May 7. The vessel is said to be carrying 6,036 receptacles in five containers weighing 32…

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has purchased a significant stake in US-based Oryx Midstream Services, the largest privately held crude midstream provider in the Permian Basin.The stake was acquired from an affiliate of Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners. Oryx serves clients in the Permian Basin.Additionally, QIA has pledged to invest in the development of Oryx alongside Stonepeak. The total investment by QIA will be $550m.Since its founding in 2013, Oryx has established itself as one of the leading midstream operators in the Permian Basin in the Southwest US. The Oryx system transports crude oil to market hubs for ultimate delivery to the Gulf Coast.The system helps supply domestic refineries and the growing US export market.

The rising domestic crude oil production in the United States has created a need for more pipeline capacity, revealed the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).EIA recently launched a new liquids pipeline projects database that tracks more than 200 crude oil, hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL), and petroleum products pipeline projects."Rising domestic crude oil production has led to several changes in Gulf Coast crude oil supply and demand patterns, creating a need for more pipeline capacity," it pointed out.Crude oil pipeline capacity additions originating in the Gulf Coast region represent most of the scheduled pipeline capacity growth over the next few years.

Wave-generated power could be considered the Rodney Dangerfield of offshore renewable energy sources; it gets no respect. There have been a number of high-profile, expensive failures that have conspired to give the sector a poor reputation despite a number of engineering advances. A new entrant is SurfWEC offering a patented “surf-making” Wave Energy Converter which has been in development since 2007. Its developers promise it will stand out from the field and perform where others have failed. How?

Dubai-based port operator DP World has partnered with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop One to create a new venture that aims to provide hyperloop-enabled cargo systems.DP World and the U.S.-based Virgin Hyperloop One introduced their vision for “the future of on-demand freight transportation” at an event on April 29 at the historic vessel Queen Elizabeth 2.The joint venture, called DP World Cargospeed, will set out to be the world’s first to ship cargo with hyperloop technology.

There has been little reaction by way of statements or position papers from marine fuel lubricant manufacturers to the IMO MEPC70 proposals for a global fuel sulfur content cap of 0.5 percent by 2020 but they are fully aware of the implications of the proposed regulations and are taking what could be termed a ‘pragmatic approach’ to fuel regulation compliance. Marine lubricant suppliers have avoided getting involved in the debate as to whether the IMO MEPC70 proposals to reduce permissible marine fuel sulfur content to 0.5 percent or less is good…

Plans have been put in motion to develop a new intermodal container terminal on the lower Mississippi River. Designed to service the largest ocean carriers, the new 1,000 acre container terminal will be capable of docking vessels up to 20,000 TEU with deep-water access and 21,600 linear feet of waterfront allow for multiple ocean and APCT vessels to be accommodated simultaneously. The container port, located between mile 50 and 55 on the Mississippi River, will be the southern-most full service port complex on the river…

Global Maritime Consultancy & Engineering, a provider of offshore marine warranty, dynamic positioning and engineering services, has completed a suitability survey for the world’s second largest semi-submersible - the ‘Xin Guang Hua’ - in advance of her maiden voyage. For the survey, Global Maritime carried out an independent assessment of all aspects of the vessel’s condition. The Xin Guang Hua - at 255 meters long, 68 meters wide and with a lift/transportation capacity of 98,000 tons - has been built by Guangzhou Shipyard International Company and is owned by Cosco Shipping.

NYK has concluded a long-term contract with Hokuetsu Kishu Paper Co. Ltd. for a new wood-chip carrier to be built by Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. and delivered in 2018. The ship will be able to load 4.3 million cubic feet of wood chips and will feature an advanced eco-design and electronically controlled engines.   NYK currently has long-term contracts with Hokuetsu Kishu Paper for six wood-chip carriers, the largest share of contracts that any shipping company has with Hokuetsu Kishu Paper, and this new contact will strengthen NYK’s transportation capacity further.   In accordance with its “More Than Shipping 2018” medium-term management plan, NYK will continue its efforts to make use of creative solutions to provide stable and economical coal transport.

EUROGATE can look back on a good financial year, 2015. Despite difficult market conditions the European terminal operators Group increased its net profit by 13.4 percent to EUR 73.5 million (prior year EUR 64.9 million). Container handling at the German EUROGATE locations grew faster than the market. In Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg EUROGATE 2015 hit with 8.2 million standard containers (TEU) 1.5 percent more boxes in order as 2014. The entire North Range ports recorded in the same period dropped by 1.6 percent. The total amount of the turned-up in the European group_container totaled 14.5 million TEU two percent on the previous year and corresponded to the market development: The total throughput of European ports 2015 was also increased by two percent rückläufig1.

Most the major Greek-controlled and listed carriers are registered in Greece, and they all have their liquidity placed in banks abroad. Morgan Stanley analyst Fotis Giannakoulis noted that "nearly 20 percent of the global fleet is controlled by Greek owners and is managed out of Athens," giving Greece the largest share of any country. He assured investors that the Greek crisis "has no direct impact on shipping companies." The only headwinds to Athens-based maritime firms, he said, would come from side effects on the global economy. “Operations of international shipping companies are unlikely to be affected,” Giannakoulis said. “From our extensive discussions with several management teams during the last few years…

China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES), a Chinese international oil tanker operator, projects doubled profit in the first half of 2015 from a year ago. The Shanghai-listed Chinese ship-owner predicted on Friday that its net profits attributable to its shareholders would rise 110-130 percent year on year in the first half of this year. It has reported an unaudited profit of RMB253.55m ($40.51m) in the January-June 2015 period. CMES aims to double its revenues in 2015 from 2014, to CNY5.4 billion with the deliveries of newbuilds after a rash of scrapping of old tonnage in 2014. In 2014, CMES' revenues rose 1.4% y/y to CNY2.6 billion. The…

Indian Minister for Road Transport Highways & Shipping,  Nitin Gadkari gave an overview of his Ministry’s achievements as well as plans for future growth. Beginning with Shipping, he informed that while ports around the world had faced losses, Indian ports had shown a growth of 2.6 percent, earning profits of nearly Rs. 6000 crore. At present the country has 12 Major ports and there are plans to add 6 more. The Minister briefly touched upon the Sagarmala Project whose port-led economic growth intends to give a boost to the coastal economy, as it would develop manufacturing hubs as well as promote fishing. The Minister said that according to experts the Sagarmala Industrial clusters will attract investment of 8 lakh crore.

Evergas and JHW Engineering & Contracting have entered into an agreement for the construction of four option two INEOS MAX 32,000M3 liquefied ethane/ethylene carriers. The INEOS MAX 32,000M3 liquefied ethane/ethylene carriers are expected to carry a range of innovative features specifically tailored for safe, environmentally friendly and efficient operations. The cargo capacity has been increased more than 10% by optimizing the design of cargo tanks as well as layout of ship, without changing the main dimensions compared to the latest designs of 27,500 M3 class gas carriers. The dual fuel propulsion flexibility including LNG and ethane and the optimized ECO hull design will significantly reduce emissions, and the ballast water treatment system will protect the sea water environment.

Copenhagen-headquartered gas tanker carrier Evergas has just ordered four ethylene/ethane newbuildings, with an option for two more. The contract for the four newbuildings, each sized 32,000 cu m, has also been signed by Hong Kong engineering company JHW Engineering & Contracting. Despite having dimensions similar to previous vessels, the new vessels have a bigger capacity. Evergas said it expects to start taking delivery of the carriers from the first quarter of 2018. The dual-fuelled vessels which will use LNG to power their engines “will release the LNG transportation capacity of the existing Dragon series of LNG carriers,” according to Evergas.