A key stretch of the lower Mississippi River dropped this week to within inches of its lowest-ever level and is expected to remain near historic lows just as the busiest U.S. grain export season gets underway, according to the National Weather Service. Low water has slowed hauling of export-bound corn and soybean barges over recent weeks as shippers lightened loads to prevent vessels from running aground and reduced the number of barges they haul at one time to navigate a narrower shipping channel. The water woes come at the worst ...

Shoreline, a leading provider of maritime risk solutions, is proud to introduce its innovative new marine insurance product, MARPOL Detention Costs Insurance (MDCI). This essential new insurance policy is specifically designed to address the gaps left in a shipowner’s P&I insurance when faced with a U.S. MARPOL investigation and/or detention. Captain Thomas Brown, Chief Executive Officer at Shoreline, expressed the motivation behind this groundbreaking product, stating, “In an era of heightened ESG awareness, we are reevaluating how we can enhance the well-being and protect the rights of those who work ...

Russia may introduce quotas on overseas fuel exports if a complete export ban imposed last week does not succeed in bringing down persistently high gasoline and diesel prices, its Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. The government said in a statement late on Thursday that Novak told a meeting of senior managers at Russian oil companies that the ban on the export of gasoline and diesel had initially led to a fall in prices on the commodity exchange. The Kremlin and Russia’s energy ministry have said the current fuel export ...

Japan secured ample sour crude supply from the UAE in August as it picked up almost 10% more light and medium sour Abu Dhabi grades from a year earlier, though refiners and traders raised some concerns over rising feedstock procurement costs amid an expensive Middle Eastern price structure. Asia’s fourth biggest crude importer received 1.15 million b/d of crude oil from its top supplier UAE in August, up 9.5% from a year earlier and up 18.6% from July, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed Sept. 29. ...

As the Russia-Ukraine war rages into its second European winter, demand for Australian thermal coal prices is once again on the rise following 12 months of unprecedented levels of volatility for the commodity. Newcastle coal prices have risen above $US160 per tonne after bottoming out at a 52-week low of $US131 per tonne in July. The low marked a distinct collapse in the price of the Newcastle thermal coal futures, which shot up to a record high above $US400 per tonne in September last year. Last year’s rally was spurred ...

OPEC+ is unlikely to tweak its current oil output policy when a panel meets next Wednesday, four OPEC+ sources told Reuters, as tighter supplies and rising demand drive an oil price rally. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, meet on Oct. 4. The panel, called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, can call for a full OPEC+ meeting if warranted. Oil has jumped towards $100 a barrel for Brent crude LCOc1, the highest since 2022, as tighter supply, due ...

European gas prices are set to fall 20% by mid-2024, compared to the current forward price curve, despite the market recent tightening due to the extensions of gas field maintenance schedules in Norway and strikes at key Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) fields according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie. The report ‘Short-Term Outlook – Europe Gas’ states that despite the current market pressures, the European gas sector looks set to see a fall in gas demand that will have a knock-on effect for prices next year. Factors including ...

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices rose for a third week, gaining $1 to a seven-month high, amid increased demand in Asia and supply concerns in Europe. The average LNG price for November delivery into north-east Asia LNG-AS rose to $15 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up from $14 the previous week, industry sources estimated. “As the risk of continued Australian disruption dissipates, concerns have shifted back toward Russian political risk. As gasoline and diesel exports have been curbed, there is some concern that similar measures could spread ...

Piped exports of natural gas from Norway to Europe are down 6.4% year-on-year due to a higher level of maintenance, but the country is ready to supply the gas needed for winter, the head of pipeline system operator Gassco told Reuters. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reduced shipments of Russian gas, Norway has become Europe’s largest gas supplier. Its pipeline operator Gassco delivers gas to receiving terminals in Belgium, Britain, France and Germany and, as of late 2022, also to Poland, via Denmark. “When we enter the new gas ...

It is “vital” for International Monetary Fund shareholders to increase quota-based lending resources this year to deal with growing global economic shocks, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said on Thursday. Member countries fund the IMF based on quotas, or shareholding, that correspond with voting power. The IMF has not increased its main quota lending resources since 2010, a move that gave a bigger voice to fast growing emerging markets such as China and Brazil at the expense of wealthier European countries. Kozack told a regular press briefing that the Fund’s quota ...

China’s services activity expanded at the slowest pace this year in September, a private-sector survey showed on Sunday, as demand remained weak despite a string of support measures. The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 50.2 in September from 51.8 in August, the lowest reading since December. The 50-point mark separates expansion from contraction in activity. The world’s second-biggest economy risks of missing a growth target of about 5% this year as officials wrestle with a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending, high debt and geopolitical tensions, ...

The U.S. Congress passed a stopgap funding bill late on Saturday with overwhelming Democratic support after Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy backed down from an earlier demand by his party’s hardliners for a partisan bill. The Democratic-majority Senate voted 88-9 to pass the measure to avoid the federal government’s fourth partial shutdown in a decade, sending the bill to President Joe Biden, who signed it into law before the 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) deadline. McCarthy abandoned party hardliners’ insistence that any bill pass the House with only Republican votes, ...

The Finance Ministry has notified changes to the IGST Act exempting payment of 5% integrated GST under reverse charge mechanism on ‘ocean freight’ on imports by CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) contract, with effect from 1st October 2023. Vijayendra Parvataneni, President MANSA the leading Association of the shipping Agencies that operate at Mumbai Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port primarily and Pan India, hailed the government’s exemption of 5% integrated GST on ‘ocean freight’ on imports from October 1, aligning with the Supreme Court Bench Justices D. Y. Chandrachud, Surya Kant and ...

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has been chosen to deliver RoRo equipment for two of the world’s first methanol-fueled Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTC) for China Merchant Energy Shipping to be built at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. in China. The order was booked into Cargotec’s 2023 third quarter orders. The vessels are to be delivered to the owner between the third and fourth quarter of 2025. MacGregor´s scope of supply is to design and deliver the key components consisting of external and internal ramps, covers, electrically operated ...

Indonesia’s Pertamina has put out a tender running for December arrival cargoes, a trader said on Friday. Pertamina issued a buy tender for December, due to close on next week, but it was unclear how many cargoes and what grade the refiner is in the market for. A total of 32 cargoes of Angolan crude were scheduled for November loading, down from 37 in October. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Natalie Grover in London; Editing by Alison Williams)