Around the world, the environmental agenda is increasing. International focus has been levelled on Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old credited with starting the school strike for climate movement. Extinction Rebellion, which aims to use civil disobedience and non-violent resistance for environmental protest, has received media coverage across the globe. The Ocean Cleanup has become known for its effort to clean the Great Pacific garbage patch, a Pacific Ocean marine debris particle gyre. As resolve to protect the planet has increased, it has filtered into international shipping and as the sector moves ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index climbed to its highest since December 2013 on Monday, pushed by higher demand for vessels ferrying iron ore in the Atlantic. The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, rose about 1%, or 21 points, to 2,191, a peak since Dec. 20, 2013. The index rose for the 10th straight session, mainly spurred by strong demand for vessels that ship iron ore from Brazil into China. Port stocks of seaborne iron ore across China stood at 118.35 million tonnes, ...

Since the Fujairah attacks, we have increased our measures to safeguard our owners and crew interest. Everyone is encouraged to heighten their situation awareness to stay vigilant for any abnormalities. The principles of situation awareness require one to observe the situation, understanding it and projecting ahead. Cultivating a culture that encourages situation awareness is an ongoing focus for us to improve decision making processes. Though situation awareness is considered part of basic seamanship, this attribute will only thrive in a suitable environment and culture. To maintain high situation awareness as ...

Oil traders are chartering more ships and snapping up fuel oil storage tanks in and around Singapore, the world’s top bunkering port, to stock up cleaner fuel that will meet new shipping rules coming into force next year, industry sources said. The move has pushed up lease rates for tank storage in Singapore and increased the number of supertankers floating in Singapore and Malaysian waters as traders store fuel months ahead, betting on a spike in prices for low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO). Under new International Maritime Organization rules aimed at ...

A small oil tanker that Iran accused of smuggling fuel was empty of any cargo when Iranian forces seized it at gunpoint in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month, according to the company that chartered the ship. Iran impounded the tanker Riah when it was scheduled to sail to Oman to load fuel for further shipment to Berbera in Africa’s Somaliland, said Rishi Kumar, who heads the charterer, KRB Petrochemicals. He denied Tehran’s assertion that the Riah, with a capacity of 2 million liters, was smuggling 1 million liters ...

Tensions between Iran and the West have escalated since U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports took full effect in May and British naval forces seized an Iranian supertanker. Below is a timeline of recent incidents: May 2 – The United States, which withdrew from a nuclear accord between Iran and global powers in 2018 and stepped up sanctions on Tehran, ends waivers that had allowed eight countries – China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey – to continue buying Iranian crude May 5 – The United States ...

Scorpio Bulkers Inc. reported its results for the three months ended June 30, 2019. The Company also announced that, its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.02 per share on the Company’s common shares. Results for the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 For the second quarter of 2019, the Company’s GAAP net income was $35.0 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, including: a non-cash gain of approximately $52.6 million and cash dividend income of $0.5 million, or $0.77 earnings per diluted share, ...

Pirates attacked a South Korean-flagged cargo ship in the South China Sea early on Monday, stealing thousands of dollars in cash and even the sailors’ shoes, South Korean authorities said. Two people sustained minor injuries when seven pirates boarded the CK Bluebell and made off with $13,000 and belongings including mobile phones, clothes and shoes from the 22-strong crew, officials from the oceans and fisheries ministry said. Tougher policing has made piracy less frequent on the strategic shipping route in recent years. The dry bulk vessel CK Bluebell had set ...

Survitec has signed a partnership agreement with Netherlands-based manufacturer Evacuator Worldwide for the global distribution rights to the pioneering emergency descent system introduced to the market in April. Evacuator, the world’s first fire-proof and panic proof emergency descent system designed to evacuate people from heights of up to 300m, will be solely marketed and distributed by Survitec across all industry sectors. Survitec will also provide after-sales service, training and installation support to Evacuator customers. Eugene Verstegen, co-owner of Evacuator Worldwide and inventor of the system, said: “Demand for the Evacuator ...

Kris Shepherd has been appointed the General Manager of GE’s marine gas turbine business; he is based in Evendale, Ohio. Shepherd is responsible for the full lifecycle of all GE marine gas turbine programs, product management, engineering, marketing, supply chain, services, and commercial organizations. GE’s marine gas turbine business serves commercial and naval customers worldwide and offers a suite of six propulsion engines to meet any mission profile with power options from 4.6 megawatts to 52.7 MW: LM500 (4.6 MW), base LM2500 (25.1 MW), LM2500+ (30.2 MW) and LM2500+G4 (35.3 ...

International maritime charity Sailors’ Society is supporting three hospitalised seafarers following the death of two of their crewmates in a tragic incident while reportedly cleaning the ship’s pipeline last week (July 17). The cargo ship MV Ap Dubrava is in an emergency berth in the port of Vitoria for an investigation into the incident, after a reported poison gas leak while the ship was 160 miles off the coast of Brazil. Sailors’ Society’s chaplain in Vitoria, Ailton De Souza, has been visiting the crew in hospital, offering them emotional support ...

Sunday, 14 July 2019 marked the arrival of twenty locomotives at the Port of Durban from Freetown in Sierra Leone. The locomotives, owned by Grindrod Limited (Grindrod), the JSE listed Freight and Financial services company, had been contracted in 2012 to haul Iron Ore from Tonkilili Mine to Pepel Port in Sierra Leone. At the end of 2017 mining operations came to a halt and the counter party defaulted on their lease hire and maintenance payment obligations. The recovery of the locomotives will allow for the realisation of their value ...

India is in discussion with Iran to free at least 30 of its nationals who were on board two foreign-flagged ships detained by Iranian authorities. Indian embassy in Tehran on Sunday sent an official note urging Iran to release the nationals who were seized from a British-owned oil tanker on Saturday. Diplomats also confirmed that Iran held several Indians from a ship captured previously. “We are currently expecting response to our note verbale that we sent on Sunday. They have our citizens from both Stena Impero which was detained on ...

Vesconite Bearings has opened an office in New Zealand to assist customers and resellers with their Vesconite low-friction no-grease-required polymer bearing and wear-material requirements. Vesconite Bearings has also appointed Eddie Swanepoel as Vesconite Bearings New Zealand’s COO. Swanepoel brings a wealth of experience to the position. He is knowledgeable about a variety of industrial polymers and their applications, and has been employed in the industry, including for Vesconite Bearings’ South African branch, for 10 years. The new New Zealand company builds on Vesconite Bearings’ plans to expand the brand’s share ...

With reference to Company Announcement 8/2019 dated 30 May 2019, Nordic Ruth Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nordic Shipholding A/S, has successfully delivered the M/T Nordic Ruth to her new Owners. Source: Nordic Shipholding