Maritime Industry Top News
Baltic Dry Index Dips Further as Demand Weakens for Larger Vessels
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index extended its slide on Monday, hitting a fresh 18-month low, as demand for capesize and panamax vessel segments remained subdued.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 9 points, or 0.7%, to 1,270 points, its lowest level since December 2020.The capesize index fell for the third straight session, shedding 9 points, or about 1.2%, to 747 points, its lowest in more than six months.Average daily
Waters Near Somalia Removed from List of High-risk Piracy Areas
An area of the Indian Ocean near Somalia—once known as a piracy hotbed—has been removed from the shipping industry's list of high-risk areas following more than a decade of military, political, civil society and the industry measures to secure the waters. No piracy attacks against merchant ships have occurred off Somalia since 2018.On Monday, shipping industry groups International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)…
Chinese Military Ship Leaves Sri Lanka After Controversial Visit
A Chinese military survey ship that docked at Sri Lanka's Chinese-built port of Hambantota despite opposition from neighboring India left on Monday after a week-long stay…
Japanese Firms Working on Ammonia Floating Storage & Regasification Barge
NYK Line, Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. (NSY), ClassNK, and IHI Corporation (IHI) have signed a joint research and development agreement for the commercialization of an ammonia floating storage and regasification barge (A-FSRB). Specifically, the parties will work on the R&D of the world's first barge equipped with a floating storage and regasification facility for ammonia.Since ammonia does not emit carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted…
Ecochlor Launches “EcoOne Container Unit” for Offshore Market
Ecochlor launched a containerized version of the EcoOne filterless ballast water management system (BWMS), targeting the Semi-Submersible Rigs, Jack-Up Rigs, Drillships, FPSOs, FSRUs and other vessels with infrequent ballasting operations at medium to high flow rates.“The EcoOne Container Unit offers incredible benefits to Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU),” said Andrew Marshall, Ecochlor CEO.
ABB, Keppel O&M Verify Next-level of Harbor Tug Autonomy with Collision Avoidance Trials
ABB said Monday its digital technologies have enabled the harbor tug Maju 510 to become the first vessel in the world to receive Autonomous and Remote-Control Navigation Notation from ABS classification society, and first Singapore-flagged vessel to receive the Smart (Autonomous) Notation from MPA. The notations acknowledge the breakthrough performance of the tug, demonstrating autonomous collision avoidance capabilities in trials conducted at Raffles Reserved Anchorage…
Germany Aims to Train More Inland Waterways Boatmasters
Seeking to grow its inland navigation workforce, Germany is offering new programs to train inland waterways boatman/boatwoman and boatmasters."In the light of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the importance of inland navigation for the supply of goods to our society has become once again more than clear. Unfortunately, the sector has been suffering under an extreme lack of young professionals for years…
Container Prices, Leading Rates Decline
Average container prices have declined by more than half from the last year in August as China picks up containerized trade volumes more recently, according to an analysis published by Container xChange.Trade in China was impacted in the first half of the year, but the containerized trade seems to have picked up since July (2022) according to the analysis put together by Container xChange. “Shippers…
Siem Offshore Inks 18-Month Charter Extension for AHTS Vessel in Canada
Norwegian offshore vessel owner Siem Offshore has secured a contract extension for one of its AHTS vessels in Canada.The extension is related to the Ice Class AHTS vessel "Avalon Sea," covering a firm duration of 18 months upon completion of the current term. The extension will ensure continued operations for the vessel well into Q2 2024. The 87-meter-long vessel was built in Poland's Remontowa Shipyard in 2015.According to MarineTraffic.com…
Conflict in the South China SeaThreatens Australia’s Fuel Imports
China’s saber-rattling around Taiwan underlines the need for Australia to be prepared for conflict in the South China Sea.With its growing navy and air force, and the bases it has built throughout the area, China is increasingly capable of disrupting shipping lanes crucial to Australia’s exports and imports.Chinese military bases across the South China Sea (© OpenStreetMap contributors)Of particular concern is our reliance on liquid fuels imported via South China Sea shipping routes.
Serbs Wade in Shrinking Danube as Dredgers Work Flat-out
Serbian sunseekers flocking to the riverside beaches of Novi Sad have adopted new pastime this summer—wading across a vast stretch of the Danube usually reserved for cargo barges and cruise ships.The navigable channel of western Europe's longest river, a trade and transport artery that passes through ten countries, is usually several hundred meters wide where it flows through Serbia's second-largest…
Workers at UK's Biggest Container Port to Begin 8-day Strike
More than 1,900 workers at Britain's biggest container port are due on Sunday to start eight days of strike action which their union and shipping companies warn could seriously affect trade and supply chains.The staff at Felixstowe, on the east coast of England, are taking industrial action in a dispute over pay, becoming the latest workers to strike in Britain as unions demand higher wages for members…
UK's Felixstowe Port: Disappointed Strike Action Will Go Ahead
The company that operates Britain's biggest container port, Felixstowe, said on Friday it believed its pay offer to workers was fair and it was disappointed strike action due to begin on Sunday had not been called off.More than 1,900 workers at Felixstowe represented by the Unite union plan eight days of strikes from Aug. 21 in a dispute over pay."The company is disappointed that Unite has not taken…
US Advances Plans for Offshore Wind in Maine
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced next steps to bring offshore wind energy to the Gulf of Maine. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has made available a Request for Interest (RFI) and Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) in the Federal Register for public comment.“President Biden has set ambitious goals to address the climate crisis, and in response the Interior Department is taking historic steps to develop a robust and sustainable clean energy future…
Next 10 Grain Ships Set to Leave Ukraine's Sea Ports
A further ten cargo ships are being loaded with grain in Ukrainian Black Sea ports and being prepared for shipment under a food export agreement brokered last month, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Friday.Ukraine’s grain exports have slumped since the start of the war because its Black Sea ports - a vital route for shipments - were closed, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.At the end of July…
Oil Tanker Detained After Nigerian Navy Says It 'Resisted Arrest'
Equatorial Guinea has detained an oil tanker capable of carrying 2 million barrels after it attempted to load in Nigeria without proper paperwork, both countries said this week.The Nigerian navy said in a statement that the Heroic Idun, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), was attempting to load oil at the Akpo SBM on Aug. 8 without due clearance from state oil company NNPC, and that it "resisted arrest" when ordered to stop.It was not immediately clear who was the vessel's owner or operator.
Royal IHC and KSBL Sign Deal for CSD Builds in Bangladesh
Royal IHC and Karnafuly Ship Builders Ltd (KSBL) in Bangladesh have signed contracts for the design, engineering and hardware of four cutter suction dredgers (CSD). The four mono-pontoon custom-built CSDs (2x 700 mm and 2x 600 mm) will be built in Bangladesh by KSBL for Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) for maintenance dredging in Bangladesh. Royal IHC will provide yard assistance for the installation…
France Favors Gas Terminals Over New Pipeline to Tackle Crisis
A third gas pipeline between Spain and France would cost at least 3 billion euros ($3 billion) and take years to complete, making it a less attractive option to address Europe's supply worries than new terminals to receive fuel by boat, France's energy transition ministry said.The European Union is bracing for any further fall in gas flows from Russia, which had been the 27-nation bloc's biggest supplier…
Rhine Water Too Low Even for Some Empty Vessels
Water levels on Germany's Rhine river are so low that some vessels cannot sail even when empty, a shipping cooperative said on Friday, although long-awaited rain has begun to ease bottlenecks on one of the country's main commercial routes.Weeks of drought across Europe and beyond have added to supply chain problems as vessels have had to lighten their loads to ensure they can travel along depleted water channels."Empty ships can no longer sail in some cases…
New Buoys Aim to Help Protect Whales from Ship Strikes
A network of acoustic monitoring buoys aims to help protect North Atlantic right whales—one of the world’s most critically endangered species—from ship strikes along the U.S. East Coast.Although North Atlantic right whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, serious threats to their survival abound with only approximately 336 of these great whales remaining on the planet.
