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Leading Classification Society ClassNK has certified “Sunflame Smart Support System”, developed by Sunflame Co., Ltd., as Innovation Endorsement*1 for Products & Solutions, under the Society’s certification service for innovative technologies. In July 2020, to promote the spread and development of innovative technologies, the Society launched Innovation Endorsement as a swift certification service in cooperation with technological front runners to establish appropriate evaluation criteria. Among the certification categories, “Products & Solutions” covers digital equipment and software technology installed for use on vessels. Sunflame Smart Support System is a condition monitoring and ...

Two weeks ago we discussed China’s LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) imports in 2020. This time round,

Plans to deploy the world’s first commercial cargo transport vessel powered by hydrogen have been announced by the Flagships European innovation project. The vessel, owned by French inland shipowner Compagnie Fluvial de Transport (CFT), will start moving goods along Paris’s river Seine later this year. “The demand for more sustainable technologies in inland waterway transport is on the rise,” said CFT director Matthieu Blanc. “We are happy to be leading the way on reducing emissions from transport and demonstrating the superior features of hydrogen fuel cells in waterborne applications.” The ...

Marlink Group, backed by Apax Partners sas, has obtained final regulatory approvals to acquire 100% of ITC Global from Panasonic. The Marlink and ITC Global management teams are preparing for a swift closing of the transaction in the coming weeks, while remaining fully focused on providing best-in-class services to their customers across the world. Both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) have given their approval to the deal. All is now on track for ITC Global to join the Marlink ...

Wrist continues to support sustainable measures with a new partnership with Fresh Water Norway, offering customers from the Northern part of Europe a more environmentally option when sourcing fresh water for those at sea. Fresh Water Norway and Wrist recently signed a contract for the supply and distribution of the eco-friendly, recyclable Tetra Pak water cartons. The water will be shipped from Norway to Rotterdam and be part of Wrist’s product range in the Rotterdam warehouse from week 15. Plastic pollution of the sea is an environmental problem that requires ...

Global supply chains already strained by the disruption caused by the pandemic have been further challenged recently by the blockage of the Suez Canal, an artery that carries 30% of the world’s container cargo each year. Happily, the Canal is now functioning normally again, but a reported 300 ships have been delayed awaiting transit, many others were re-routed via the longer passage around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. In its advisory capacity as a mitigator of risk and loss in the supply chain TT Club is warning of the ...

The 15th Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) 2021 will be held from 19 to 23 April 2021. Organised by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), in collaboration with industry stakeholders and research and educational institutions, this week-long event will bring together industry experts and thought leaders in the maritime sector to discuss the changing face of the industry, and explore solutions that will enable the industry to thrive in the post-Covid-19 environment. Themed “New Frontiers, Shifting Paradigms”, the 15th SMW will provide a platform for maritime leaders to discuss new ...

Chairman of Suez Canal Osama Rabie stated that 61 percent of oil tankers’ traffic passes through Egypt’s international waterway. Yet, Rabie added that container ships and bulk carriers still compose the majority of vessels crossing Suez Canal pointing out that the incentives offered by the authority in 2020 resulted in a rise of eight percent in vessels using the canal in spite of COVID-19. The official highlighted that around 18,000 ships cross the Suez Canal every year, and that the authority has 17,000 workers. Rabie noted that the authority is ...

From 2008 to 2019, the carbon footprint of the Port of València has been reduced by 30%, from 3.19 to 2.23 kg of CO2 per tonne handled. In the same period, the activity of Valenciaport grew by 42%, from 52 million tonnes handled in 2008 to 74 million tonnes at the close of the 2019 financial year. These figures position Valenciaport as an international benchmark in port developments and strategies for decarbonisation by showing with facts and figures that the growth of economic activity is not incompatible with the reduction ...

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia will meet most Asian customers’ requirements for May-loading crude after some buyers had asked for lower volumes partly because of refinery maintenance and higher prices, several trade sources said on Monday. The demand for lower volumes comes just as the kingdom is set to phase out additional voluntary production cuts over the next few months under plans agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia to ease supply cuts. Reuters reported last week that four state Indian refiners had ...

The US will likely surpass Ukraine as China’s top source of corn this year for the first time since 2015, as China’s corn imports from the US continue to grow amid increasing demand, soaring prices and the China-US phase one trade agreement, experts said on Sunday. Since March 2020, corn prices have soared, peaking at 2,900 yuan ($442) per ton. There have been some fluctuations since March, and the price was just 2,730 yuan in early April, but it rose again by 150 yuan per ton in the past week ...

Brazilian soybean harvest continued to accelerate in the week ended April 10 on dry weather in most states and surpassed 5-year average pace, agricultural consultancy AgRural said, putting pressure on US soybean export demand. Soybean farmers had harvested 85% of the projected acreage as of April 8, compared with five-year average of 78%, AgRural said. Dryness remains widespread across the safrinha corn belt in Brazil, particularly in southeastern Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Parana, weather agency Maxar said April 8. Steady harvest progress in Brazil is likely to ...

This report is part of the S&P Global Platts Metals Trade Review series, where we dig through datasets and digest some of the key trends in metallurgical coal, iron ore, scrap and alumina. We also explore what the next few months could bring, from supply and demand shifts, to new arbitrages, and to quality spread fluctuations. Strong iron ore prices have been touted as a key indicator of an emerging post-pandemic commodity super-cycle since reaching a nine-year high of $178.45/dmt March 4, but volatility since then provides a sneak peek ...

China raised the floor price for wheat auctioned from state reserves on Monday, a government notice said, in an effort to dampen demand for the food grain. The floor price for most of the wheat put out for weekly sale from state reserves was raised to 2,350 yuan ($358.99) a tonne, up from 2,290 yuan set in 2019, a notice on the website of the National Grain Trade Center said. Chinese traders and feed producers have been scooping up wheat from state reserves to substitute for corn in animal feed ...

Oil prices ticked up on Tuesday after strong Chinese import data but markets broadly shrugged off Middle East tensions which have so far not disrupted oil supply. Brent crude oil futures were up 25 cents, or 0.4%, at $63.53 a barrel by 0855 GMT while U.S. crude oil futures gained 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $59.84 a barrel. Both contracts are on course for their fifth session of sub-1% change. China’s exports grew at a robust pace in March in yet another boost to the nation’s economic recovery as global ...