Japan sold 2.32 million barrels of bonded bunker fuel in December 2018, down 18.6% from November and 8.9% from December 2017, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry data showed. Bonded bunker fuel sales were up 8.18% from 2017 at 29.7 million barrels for the whole of 2018. METI’s data also showed that Japan’s December 2018 sales of bonded marine diesel oil fell 19.7% month on month and 23.8% year on year, to 59,975 barrels. Marine diesel oil sales were down 21.9% from 2017 at 857,252 barrels in 2018. Japan ...

Alaskan Tanker Company (ATC) will retrofit the Ecochlor® ballast water management system (BWMS) on board their fleet including three VLCC crude oil tankers and an option for one additional vessel. Each of these vessels are U.S. flag tankers with Zone 1 and Zone 0 hazardous areas. The Ecochlor® BWMS is approved for installation in both US Flag and International vessels in hazardous areas rated Zone 1 or Zone 0 through their U.S. Coast Guard Type Approval certification. The installations will start in the fall of 2019 and run through 2021 ...

Ocean Infinity, the next generation seabed survey and ocean exploration company, has successfully located the wreck of the lost South Korean tanker, Stellar Daisy, at a depth of 3461 meter in the South Atlantic Ocean, approximately 1800 nautical miles due west of Cape Town. Stellar Daisy sank on 31 March 2017, transporting iron ore from Brazil to China. Tragically, 22 of the 24 crew were lost. Working from Seabed Constructor, the search operation involved the deployment of four Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), which, over 72 search hours, explored approximately 1,300 ...

Markets have begun to stabilize in the sub-continent this week, with India gaining some ground off the back of steel plate prices that improved

Shipwaves, a start up has developed a digital freight and logistics management platform with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies to provide real-time solutions to shippers and consignees. Launched in 2015, Shipwaves leverages proprietary algorithms based on machine learning, Artificial Intelligence technologies on its platform to manage shipping operations to minimise complexities of global trade. “Some of our differentiated solutions include, price discovery of logistics costs through its price engine enabled rates calculators, a global tracking solution of the containers, ERP and logistics partner integration that will enable ...

Supported by strong performance towards the end of the year, Jotun achieved an operating revenue of NOK 17,660 million in 2018, an increase of eight per cent compared to 2017. Good growth in the sales of protective coatings suggest improvement in global markets. All segments and regions reported growth and adjusted for currency effects, the underlying sales growth was a solid ten per cent. The Decorative Paints segment was the largest contributor, followed by Jotun’s strong finish in the Protective Coatings segment. Together, these two segments represented the biggest growth ...

The vast acoustic potential of the deep ocean has created wildlife that has evolved to use (and rely on) sound as a medium to exist. However, these organisms’ ability to communicate with one another, perceive prey or find potential mates can be disturbed by noise pollution, also known as anthropogenic sound. The shipping industry is the primary cause of anthropogenic sound but at present international laws and guidelines do little to negate this. This begs the question whether anything more stringent will be introduced and, if so, what effect this ...

A no-deal Brexit could lead to serious problems in Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port, which handles around 40 million tonnes of goods to and from Britain every year, port authorities said. Britain’s departure from the European Union without an agreement on the terms of its separation remains a possibility. That would create major traffic jams at Rotterdam as it scrambles to create parking for trucks lacking the right paperwork and for inspections of goods arriving from the UK, “The first days after Brexit will for sure bring unrest and insecurity”, Port ...

APM Terminals holds the concession to operate the Free Port of Monrovia for 25 years. Vessels coming to Liberia can now berth at the Freeport of Monrovia any time of the day and this has eliminated vessel waiting time and has improved efficiency and reduced logistics cost, APM Terminals Liberia announced on Wednesday, February 13, 2019. According to an official release, the company has commenced the berthing of vessels 24-hour a day at the Freeport of Monrovia. “Until now, the berthing, mooring, pilotage, and towage of vessels at the Freeport ...

As part of the UK’s preparations for a chaotic no-deal Brexit, the government ran an exercise last month to assess the level of chaos if trade snarls at the UK’s main gateway for trucks from the European Union. Operation Brock – which turned a disused airfield into a lorry park for a morning – was preparation for a scenario that could see 100,000 lorries routinely held on roads in southeast England as imports are met with new and more rigorous customs checks at the southern port of Dover. Dismissing the ...

The government has estimated the country will save US$200 million a year by cutting marine fuel oil (MFO) imports after four private companies agreed to purchase the commodity from state-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina, instead of importing it. The four companies are publicly listed nickel miner PT Vale Indonesia, local fuel trader PT AKR Corporindo, fuel producer PT Cosmic Petroleum Nusantara and Batam, Riau Islands,-based fuel trader PT Yavindo Sumber Persada. “Vale will start [to buy MFO from Pertamina] from April as their previous contract [for MFO imports] ...

India is feasting on Venezuelan oil, after the US imposed a de facto ban on crude imports from the Latin American nation. While flows to the US came to a halt, India became the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan crude in the first half of February, with imports jumping 66 per cent to 620,000 barrels a day. Indian refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, which is backed by Rosneft Oil Co PJSC, are driving the boost. Still, Venezuelan crude exports have plunged since US President Donald Trump ratcheted up sanctions ...

Russia will be able to sell more wheat to Iran if the Middle East nation’s millers get Russian loans to fund the purchases, the Tehran Chamber of Commerce said. Iran, which recently has bought only small amounts from Russia, on Tuesday agreed to import more from the world’s top shipper. The pact, which follows a similar agreement last year, calls for credit lines from Russia to facilitate trade. It comes as Russia eyes new markets and Iran encourages flour exports. Under the new memorandum of understanding, the wheat purchases can ...

Metals markets, alongside financials, have been whipsawing around on the ebbs and flows of the outcome, be it positive or negative, of the ongoing US-China trade war; leading to volatility and uncertainty. The market continues to get excited when President Trump tweets that the talks are going well, and then get hammered when no actual resolution to the dispute is pinned down. “According to insider sources, the trade talks between the US and China have resulted in no rapprochement on the structural reforms of the Chinese economy that the US ...

The trade war between the United States and China is having “no effect” on the Chinese steel sector, which is being propped up by “surging domestic demand”, according to a new study. New research by US analysts shows that Chinese steel producers are enjoying more exemptions from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel than those from US allies Canada, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom. This is despite the fact that when the tariffs were invoked under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, ostensibly on ...