Brent oil futures may be trading at $27 per barrel but oil producers are selling their crude in the physical market at lower prices not seen since the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Most are offloading their oil for below $20 a barrel as the coronavirus pandemic savages demand and global supply rises amid a battle between Saudi Arabia and Russia for market share, according to traders, state oil firms, major refiners and prices quoted in physical markets. While some crude grades typically sell at ...

Heerema’s Sleipnir, the world’s most powerful semi-submersible crane vessel yesterday, received the largest LNG bunkering ever completed. Titan LNG organized the bunkering, using Coral Fraseri, Anthony Veder’s LNG carrier in the Port of Rotterdam. A collaboration of four Dutch companies who have united to make history for sustainability in The Netherlands. Sleipnir arrived at the Port of Rotterdam on Sunday, March 22. The vessel came home for the first time following a successful global campaign. The vessel has a wide range of sustainable measures, including being fully outfitted with LED-lighting ...

Container ship operators that canceled more than half their sailings to China, as coronavirus-driven restrictions froze work at its ports last month, are bracing for a second wave of disruption. Now that China has resumed exporting, shipping companies expect thousands of shipments to be stranded at seaports as the pandemic engulfs the U.S. and Europe. “In China we had a supply shock, a production shortage from closed factories and reduced truck numbers,” Jeremy Nixon, chief executive of Japan’s Ocean Network Express, the world’s sixth biggest container carrier by capacity, said ...

India’s bunker prices have declined sharply by as much as 15% due to a slump in demand as the country grapples with the deadly coronavirus pandemic by imposing a nationwide lockdown including ports. Bunker suppliers in India have seen marine fuel enquiries drop sharply in recent weeks, and the trend is likely to continue, with some pointing to a minimum 10%-15% year on year fall for 2020 in bunker fuel demand as trade slows during this lockdown. Mumbai Marine Fuel 0.5% bunker fuel price was assessed at $322.50/mt Thursday, down ...

The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) acknowledges the crisis which the international shipping industry is facing. The Paris MoU is working to help Member Authorities protect the health and safety of our Port State Control Officers and also the seafarers on the ships. The Paris MoU acknowledges further that at this time it is essential to keep supply chains open and also that it is proving very difficult for shipowners to arrange vessel surveys. It is also very difficult for seafarers to attend the required ...

In February, world steel production was maintained at a healthy 143.3m tonnes – an increase of 2.8% year-on-year. But with the world’s top steelmakers shuttering mills in response to Covid-19, the next batch of production figures could look decidedly less robust. Data from the World Steel Association released this week painted a rosy picture of global steel supply. China’s crude steel production for February 2020 was 74.8m tonnes, an increase of 5.0% compared with February 2019; India produced 9.6m tonnes of crude steel in February 2020, up 1.5% on February ...

During the coming weeks Stena Bulk will perform a test running an MR tanker on 100% biofuel. The fuel is the MR1-100 bio-fuel oil, produced from used cooking oil and supplied by GoodFuels in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It has been bunkered onto the Stena Immortal and will be used to power the main engine in normal operations to test and prove the technical and operational feasibility. “By doing this test we want to contribute to push the industry and pave way towards more sustainable shipping”, says Erik Hånell, President and ...

Clarkson PLC the world’s leading provider of integrated shipping services, today announces that in light of the current increased uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Board has decided to withdraw the resolution regarding the final dividend from the Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) and defer the decision on the amount and timing of the dividend until later in the year once the impact of COVID-19 on maritime markets and Clarksons’ business becomes clearer. The Board deems this decision as conservative and prudent, enabling Clarksons to conserve current cash reserves, address ...

Members with ships fitted with scrubbers and transiting through the Turkish Straits are advised that based on the information received by the club’s local correspondent, and even though there is no formal limitation or ban on the discharge of scrubber wash-water, there are concerns that the environmental authorities in Turkey may fine the ship if the samples collected from the overboard discharge line is suspected to be a pollutant. Based on the attached circular from Omur Marine, article 8 of the environment code describes the pollution prohibition as follows: ‘It ...

Despite considerable losses last week, rates have remained fairly steady, dipping slightly midweek, before recovering and ending up back where we were last Friday.

Gazpromneft Ocean engine oils are available in 16 ports of South Korea, including Busan, Ulsan, Incheon, Pohang and Pyeongtek. Packaged or bulk products can be delivered on board in 3 or 4 days’ notice depending on port category. The production is arranged on a partner facility that has passed a technical audit for compliance with international standards. The quality is controlled at all stages from the raw materials delivery till the lubricants transportation to vessel. High quality base oils allow Gazpromneft Ocean lubricants to maintain optimal viscosity under high mechanical ...

Sunken freight rates for clean tankers due to a global demand decline amid the coronavirus pandemic has left thearbitrage from the US Gulf Coast to Asia wide open for naphtha,but the route to Europe for ultra low sulfur diesel remains shut despite a drop in USGC demand. Freight for clean tankers loading on the US Gulf Coast has dropped dramatically since mid-March as global demand for petroleum products has dropped, thus opening an arbitrage opportunity for naphtha from the USGC to travel to Asia. However, this opportunity has not opened ...

Dear friends and business partners; the Covid-19 scenario has now started to have a stranglehold over Europe as well and is having a huge impact on all our daily lives.

NAPA, the leading maritime software, services, and data analysis provider, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), the multimodal transport group, today announced that NAPA has joined MOL’s FOCUS project for enhancing the collection and application of ship operation data. FOCUS is a multi-year project developed by MOL with the aim of applying its operational data to develop digital applications that enhance the safe operation of its fleet and reduce its environmental impact. Additional partners include Mitsui E & S Shipbuilding and Weathernews. As part of FOCUS, NAPA will develop various safety ...

SQLearn’s e-learning system and courses allow shipping companies to continue their training schedule without interruptions by providing ABS certified e-learning system and courses for onboard and ashore safety training on STCW topics. Thanks to SQLearn’s e-learning services, ashore and onboard personnel can be trained quickly and efficiently, without any location restrictions. SQLearn’s Dolphin System, a web-based e-learning system specifically designed for the shipping industry, is offered via a hardware solution for onboard training, while the ashore installation allows the training manager to manage and monitor the training process across the ...