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Seawater-lubricated bearings pioneer Thordon Bearings has welcomed the publication of Gard’s latest research into the potential hidden costs of synthetic Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs). Far-reaching financial and environmental consequences can result when a propeller shaft seal failure occurs, with the Norway-headquartered marine insurance firm pointing to a “significant increase” in propeller shaft aft seal damage following the 2013 introduction by the US EPA of new Vessel General Permit (VGP) rules. According to Gard, the increase in the number of seal failures directly correlates with the increase in the use of ...

Swire Projects, the projects and heavy lift shipping arm of Swire Shipping, has officially launched a dedicated semi liner service connecting East Asia with the West Coast of North America. Previously offered on an ad hoc basis, the service will provide enhanced cargo connectivity and support the growing demand for reliable breakbulk and project cargo transportation into the West Coast and a gateway to the interior of the Continent avoiding the need to route cargo via the Panama Canal. Swire Projects’ semi liner service connects the base ports of Qingdao ...

DP World has cuts carbon emissions from its UAE operations by nearly 50% this year by accessing renewably produced power from the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). DEWA has issued more than 200,000 International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) to DP World so far this year. These guarantee that the electricity consumed is generated from renewable sources, with each equivalent to 1 megawatt-hour of electricity. I-RECs from DEWA are generated by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. These power DP World’s UAE operations which include Jebel Ali Port, ...

If big shipping lines move to non-EU ports as a result of an environmental tax that will be introduced by the European Union next year “it will be close to impossible” to bring them back, maritime law expert Ann Fenech told The Malta Independent on Sunday. Expressing her disappointment that the European Commission is biding its time with regard to the effect that such a tax will have on the industry, Fenech said that in international shipping there is no such thing as “wait and see”. In shipping, time is ...

China has raised its 2023 fuel oil import quotas by 3 million mt for non-state-run enterprises, the Ministry of Commerce announced Nov. 27, which will allow independent refineries to bring in more barrels as alternative feedstock for the remainder of the year. MOFCOM said on its website that qualified enterprises would follow the existing rules to apply for quotas to import fuel oil this year. Unlike quotas for importing crude oil or exporting oil products, which are allocated to each oil firm, refineries or oil companies are required to apply ...

Grain thunders into rail cars and trucks zip around a storage facility in central Ukraine, a place that growing numbers of companies turned to as they struggled to export their food to people facing hunger around the world. Now, more of the grain is getting unloaded from overcrammed silos and heading to ports on the Black Sea, set to traverse a fledgling shipping corridor launched after Russia pulled out of a U.N.-brokered agreement this summer that allowed food to flow safely from Ukraine during the war. “It was tight, but ...

Several cargoes of French wheat that had been due to load for China in December have been postponed to March, dampening hopes of an imminent upturn in exports and helping push prices to two-year lows, European traders said on Monday. Chinese buyers are thought to have booked around 2-2.5 million metric tons of French wheat in recent months for shipment between December and March, a welcome flurry of sales for France that has faced stiff export competition from cheaper Black Sea supplies. However, at the request of buyers, exporters have ...

Fitch Ratings believes the combined fundamentals of China’s steel and cement market will remain neutral in 2024, on stable single-digit expansion in manufacturing and infrastructure (6% yoy in 9M23). We expect margin improvement in steel to be backed by prudent production, as property-related product demand contracts further, with a continued volume tilt towards higher-margin products. However, this should be offset by a higher capex requirement for technology upgrades to match shifting demand and decarboniation targets. We think the cement margin will remain largely stable with slight improvements; the yoy decline ...

Export prices for Russian wheat rose last week, helped by a continuing drop in shipments owing to stormy weather in ports, analysts said. The price of 12.5% protein Russian wheat scheduled for free-on-board (FOB) delivery in January was $235 per metric ton last week, up $5 from the previous week, the IKAR agriculture consultancy reported. The Sovecon agriculture consultancy pegged the same class of wheat at $234-239 a ton FOB last week. “News about Black Sea storms damaging or even destroying ships in the region also could have provided some ...

Chicago wheat rose for the first time in three sessions on Tuesday as bargain buying supported the market although improved health of the U.S. winter crop limited the upside potential in prices. Soybeans gained ground on concerns over planting delays in top exporter Brazil, where dry weather is threatening to cut yields, while corn was little changed. “U.S. winter crop ratings are better than expected which has raised hopes for supplies next year,” said a Singapore-based trader. “But the crop still has to go through the development phase early next ...

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as the possibility that OPEC+ will extend or deepen supply cuts was compounded by a storm-related drop in Kazakh oil output to send the Brent benchmark above $80 a barrel. OPEC+, comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, is due to hold an online ministerial meeting on Thursday to discuss production targets for 2024. futures were up 79 cents, or 1%, at $80.77 a barrel by 1131 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 76 cents, or 1%, ...

Forecast colder temperatures provided some support for the Atlantic LNG market last week but milder weather set to return next month was a weight on prices. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the January JKM at $16.067/MMBtu and JKM balance-of-month-next day derivatives at $16.35/MMBtu on Nov. 27, from $17.638/MMBtu and $17.80/MMBtu, respectively a week earlier. The West India market for January was assessed at $15.375/MMBtu on Nov. 27. NWE, Med ** As temperatures began to cool, sources saw support brewing for Northwest European and Mediterranean prices as heating ...

Libya’s oil state firm the National Oil Corporation (NOC) needs a budget of $17 billion to increase national oil output to 2 million barrels per day in three to five years, its chief Farhat Bengdara said in an interview. Bengdara told Alwasat tv on Sunday there were no obstacles to increase the output but “there is a lack of funding, not in the way it should be.” The NOC has a plan that includes projects stabilizing production and maintaining pipelines and equipment, and projects for increasing production, Bengdara said. The ...

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais on Monday accused the International Energy Agency (IEA) of vilifying the oil and gas industry, in the latest clash between the groups over climate policy. Al Ghais was referring to a note published by the West’s energy watchdog on Thursday that said the fossil fuel industry was facing a “moment of truth” where producers had to choose between deepening the climate crisis or shifting to clean energy. “This presents an extremely narrow framing of challenges before us, and perhaps expediently plays down such issues ...

Global stocks steadied on Tuesday, underpinned by the conviction among investors that the Federal Reserve will not raise rates again, which kept the dollar at three-month lows and supported gold above $2,000 an ounce. Traders will have to weigh up data this week on how the U.S. economy fared in the third quarter, along with a key read of consumer inflation and spending – both of which could be instrumental in setting expectations for the timing of the first rate cut. The MSCI All-World index was last unchanged on the ...