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BAWAT is on the verge of achieving full USCG approval for its unique pasteurization-based ballast water management system, with test results demonstrating the total efficacy of the simple, energy efficient and ‘150 year old’ technological process. BAWAT CEO Kim Diederichsen says “a wake up call” is on its way, for both the segment and the broader shipping industry. Tried and tested BAWAT’s system – which is built from off the shelf components, utilizes no chemicals or filters, and works simply by heating ballast water – has now passed all USCG ...

The effects of HHI’s takeover of Daewoo spells opportunities for Singapore’s maritime players on a global scale. The time may be ripe for Singapore’s shipyards to join forces to create a national champion that could stand head-to-head with Korea’s maritime titans who are currently undergoing short-term distress brought about by their consolidation plan. Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) are embarking on the massive task of completing their take-over deal and processing the restructuring exercise which could just be the chance that Keppel Corp, Sembcorp ...

Researchers from the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute and Aalto University will team up with Fleetrange Ltd. and Tallink Grupp as part of a research project carried out under a programme of, and funded by, the European Space Agency (ESA). The goal is to develop techniques for autonomous navigation for ships with focus on safety, using a combination of different sensors, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The technology will combine data from visual images, environmental sound recordings, RADAR and LiDAR ranging, satellite navigation, and vessel transponders. These sensors will be installed ...

CWind, part of the Global Marine Group (GMG), a leading provider of topside, splash zone and subsea engineering services to the offshore renewables and utilities market, has implemented CrewSmart’s advanced management support service across its fleet of 21 crew transfer vessels (CTVs) and team of offshore wind technicians. The cloud-based CrewSmart system provides CWind with comprehensive control over personnel and fleet administration, optimising the overall efficiency of the operations team. In a rapidly expanding offshore wind market, the availability of specialist CTVs, manned with highly skilled technicians and crew, is ...

Poseidon Navigation Services Ltd has signed an agreement to install its back of bridge ‘Challenger’ software platform onboard 100 Offshore Support Vessels (OSV) owned and operated by Houston-based Tidewater. The agreement, which follows hot on the heels of a similar arrangement with the global containership carrier Hapag-Lloyd, includes the digital supply of weekly updates to all the vessels’ bridge teams to ensure they remain compliant. Welcoming the announcement, Thomas Gunn, Managing Director of Poseidon Navigation Services, said installation of the software was completed within the agreed timeframe with special training ...

Vietnam’s petroleum trade balance sheet may look a lot healthier this year as the country is poised to export more of its premium low sulfur crude oil, while shifting domestic refinery feedstock choices to highly economical US crude. The recent commencement of crude output from Vietnam’s offshore Ca Tam oilfield comes as a relief as the Southeast Asian producer saw its exports rapidly decline over the past decade due largely to decreasing production at many aging fields. The new Ca Tam production stream will likely lead to higher exports of ...

China’s steel industry reported profits of 470.4 billion yuan (around 69.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, an increase of 39.3 percent year on year. Crude steel output grew 6.6 percent to 928.26 million tons, whereas steel production hit 1.1 billion tons, up 8.5 percent year on year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. Steel exports dipped 8.1 percent to reach 69.34 million tons, while imports slid 1 percent to hit 13.17 million tons. Coke exports jumped 20.8 percent year-on-year to 9.75 million tons. The steel industry is likely ...

Turkey’s thermal coal imports in 2018 fell 4.55 to 31.5 million mt, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed Monday. That was after imports in December of 2.77 million mt, little changed month on month but down 23% year on year. Colombia grew its share of Turkish imports, with volume up 7% to of 18.2 million mt. In December alone, Colombia shipped 1.67 million mt, unchanged from November but down 16% year on year. Colombia’s gains were felt by Russia, which exports to Turkey fell 16% to 11.2 million mt. ...

Hedge funds are becoming steadily less bearish towards oil as OPEC output cuts and U.S. sanctions on Venezuela remove large volumes of crude from the market amid increasing confidence a global recession can be averted. Hedge funds and other money managers were net buyers of another 30 million barrels of Brent crude futures and options in the week to Jan. 29, according to position data from ICE Futures Europe. Fund managers have been net buyers in seven of the last eight weeks and have increased their position by 96 million ...

Sanctions on Venezuelan exports as well as non-extension of Iran sanction waivers could help oil prices rise higher, analysts said. Oil prices rose by 3 per cent on Friday largely due to sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports by the US administration following political turmoil in the South American nation. “Geo-political factors will continue to play a significant role in oil prices. If the sanctions against Venezuela coincides with the non-extension of waivers against Iran at the same time it will have a profound upward effect on oil prices,” said Jaafar ...

Russian oil production has not yet reached its peak and expectations that it could decline in the next few years are not justified, Alexei Sazanov, head of the finance ministry’s tax department, said on Monday. Sazanov also said the government would take necessary steps if it saw risks of a decline in oil production. Russia’s energy ministry said earlier that Russian oil output could fall significantly in the next few years if some tax and other measures are not taken. Russia has embarked on its most significant oil tax regime ...

Most goods arriving from the European Union will be allowed into Britain without full customs checks for at least three months if it leaves the bloc without an exit deal, the British government said on Monday. With less than two months until Britain is due to leave on March 29, Prime Minister Theresa May has yet to get her Brexit deal agreed by parliament and the government has been stepping up its plans for the chance of a disorderly exit. Freight companies have warned a ‘no deal’ Brexit could lead ...

The U.S. and China are moving closer to settling their fight over tariffs, but data on the state of global trade is worsening, which is a bad sign for markets. What’s Happening Data released late last Friday showed that the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped to 50.7 in January. A reading above 50 indicates growth, but the index is signaling its weakest expansion in 2 1/2 years. The new exports portion of the index was even weaker, dropping from 49.6 in December to 49.4 last month, the ...

Forget about China’s so-called “debt trap diplomacy” – it’s a mere mousetrap compared to the jaws of two more vicious traps that are waiting to close on the global economy. One is the generalised (public and private sector) debt trap and the other is the more insidious “QE (quantitative easing) trap”. Both have been masked by the high-profile threat of trade and economic wars between the world’s two biggest economies – the United States and China. For all the hundreds or even thousands of headlines that trade wars have grabbed, ...

Setting the ambitious targets for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2018-23), the government is projecting to increase total cargo handling of three ports by 47 percent, railways share in passenger and freight transport from 3.32 percent to 6 percent and shifting of transportation of oil from roads to pipelines. This has been projected in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2018-23) by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform, a copy of which is available with Business Recorder. The actions envisaged to improve cargo output and its handling at ports include: (i) development ...