The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index dropped on Monday, as weaker rates for the larger capesize segment offset gains in panamax and supramax vessel rates. The Baltic dry index, tracking rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell 14 points, or 0.8%, to an over one-week low of 1,740. The capesize index retreated 54 points, or about 1.9%, to 2,839. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $448 to $23,541. The panamax index gained ...

Container shipping: The year 2020 was full of highs and lows for liner operators marked by a significant swing in fortunes. While carriers struggled in the first half not knowing how to deal with COVID-19 led downturn, in the second half, carrier conditions were boosted by sustained capacity discipline. By the end of the year, the idle capacity as a percent of the total fleet was down to 3.2% – a significant fall from 9.8% in June, reflecting the intense demand for tonnage. A key takeaway for carriers from last ...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently released a blueprint for an internationally-coordinated minimum tax for multinational enterprises, and aims to reach a global agreement on this in 2021. It is not certain that any agreement would cover global shipping. If it does, however, the plan would affect longstanding preferential tax treatment that has become one of the financial foundations of maritime business and reach across the international freight sector. The proposal for a minimum tax is an attempt to address the issue of tax avoidance. The practice, in ...

Trading volumes in Asia for fuel oil, a key shipping fuel, nearly halved in 2020 to the lowest levels in at least five years as stricter emission rules for marine fuel altered trade patterns and as the COVID-19 pandemic hurt demand. The drop in trade volumes during S&P Global Platts’ price assessment process and on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) followed a major fuel specification change in the shipping industry last year as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reduced the sulphur content for marine fuels to 0.5% from 3.5% starting from ...

Alfa Laval, DTU Energy, Haldor Topsoe, Svitzer and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping are entering into a joint project to accelerate the development of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. Funded by a grant from Danish EUDP (Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program), the partners will pursue a high-efficiency solution with the scalability to support marine industry decarbonization. The project, SOFC4Maritime, will target optimal utilization of future green fuels via application of SOFCs for power production on marine vessels. When based on fuels such as ammonia, ...

Rovco, a leading provider of ROV and hydrographic services, combining innovative robotic platforms and cutting-edge technology, signs contract to perform subsea work on Scotland’s largest operational Offshore Wind Farm, Beatrice. Rovco, managed from their recently established base in Edinburgh, will carry out a campaign of inspection and survey work across nominated subsea jacket locations on the wind farm, including Export and Inter-Array cables to assist in informing the current condition and any potential maintenance planning at the site. The project will utilise the DPII vessel, Glomar Wave to deploy a ...

With a background of unprecedented challenges for the maritime sector, safety continues to be a priority for the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). To ensure that the very best guidance is available for the chemical tanker sector, ICS has launched a new edition of the standard reference work for those working on tankers carrying chemical cargoes, the ICS Tanker Safety Guide (Chemicals). The fifth edition of the Guide provides chemical tanker operators and crew with up-to-date best practice guidance for safe and pollution-free operations on ships regulated under MARPOL Annex ...

Chevron Marine Lubricants has helped ship owner customers identify and manage a distinctive engine condition challenge associated with the widespread switch to low-sulphur fuels. Some ship owners using very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) have reported build-up of red deposits on piston crowns and top edges, sometimes combined with red iron burrs in scavenge ports. The deposits are associated with abnormal liner wear (or scuffing) since the fuel switch, particularly on older two-stroke marine engines. Chevron used a four-step laboratory analysis to narrow down likely causes. The deposits were found to ...

Sea robbery and piracy related incidents across Asia increased 17% year on year to just under 100 in 2020, amid consistent threat of possible attacks by the Abu Sayyaf Group, or ASG, prompting warnings for enhanced vigilance, an international watchdog monitoring the trend said over the weekend Jan 16-17. Overall, such incidents in Asia, excluding the attempted ones, were up 32% from 2019 to a five-year high in 2020, ReCAAP said. ReCAAP is the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia. ReCAAP’s annual data ...

Brookes Bell – the global technical and scientific consultancy – has today (Monday 18 January 2021) announced the addition of US based marine consultancy firm 3D Marine USA Inc. 3D Marine is a full-service consulting group, specialising in all aspects of marine transportation, offering vessel and cargo surveys, casualty and marine engineering consultancy. The addition of 3D Marine is part of Brookes Bells’ long term strategy to service clients across the globe, giving the company an additional presence in Houston and Miami alongside its current offices in Liverpool, London, Glasgow, ...

China’s Chengxi Shipyard hands over the first of twin self-unloading transshipment newbuilds after both owner and builder highlight successful installation and commissioning for Azipod® propulsion The delivery saw two 1.9-MW Azipod® units installed on each of the 21,500-DWT transshipment bulkers for Germany’s largest bulk carrier owner, as part of a package of electric, digital and connected solutions from ABB. The scope of supply also included diesel-electric power plant, drive systems complete with two bow thruster motors, power management systems for propulsion and cargo handling, as well as a 50/60-Hz connectors ...

Shipping, the backbone of the world economy, is undergoing a digital transformation. In light of the ongoing pandemic and the challenges associated with it, the Singapore government has further accelerated its ongoing activities to take a leading role in the digital transformation of the maritime industry. The government strongly recommends shipping companies take action to digitalise their processes and will grant funding for companies that choose innovative solutions. A recent survey from Australian telco Telstra of more than 120 business leaders across four continents, found almost two thirds of respondents ...

Avance Gas Holding Ltd announces that it has entered into shipbuilding contracts for two 91,000 CBM, LPG Dual-Fuel VLGCs with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea, for delivery Q4 2022 and Q1 2023. The investment enhances the green profile of the Avance Gas fleet, allowing the company to take another important step towards de-carbonisation while contributing to a greener shipping industry and achieving the targeted 40% reduction in emissions by 2030. The new vessels are capable of burning LPG, have larger intake and lower daily consumption. They ...

Based on the previously announced Conditional Letter of Award, Maersk Drilling has been awarded contracts for the deepwater rigs Maersk Valiant and Mærsk Developer from Total E&P Suriname, Suriname Branch, for Total’s exploration and appraisal project in Suriname’s Block 58. Mærsk Developer and Maersk Valiant will be employed for an estimated combined total duration of 500 days. Mærsk Developer is expected to commence operations in January 2021, while Maersk Valiant is expected to commence operations in March 2021. The total value of the firm contracts is approximately USD 100m, including ...

IMO 2021 has arrived. The shipping community have been anticipating this for a while now. The fleet operators that wanted to get ahead of the deadline have been rushing to fulfil at least the minimum perceived requirements to comply. Some of them are getting it right – designing and properly implementing security controls that actually reduce the cyber risks of the shipboard systems. Others have taken a more confused approach, with the worst involving just superficial paperwork – compliance, not actual security. This should not be a surprise. There has ...