Marine surveys at Castle Peak Power Station, Tuen Mun Monday, January 20, 2020, Hong Kong

Forwarders and shippers and have called on the European Commission to overturn its decision to extend container shipping’s consortia block exemption regulation (BER). The BER, the de facto legislation covering liner alliances and vessel-sharing agreements on container trades to and from Europe, was set to expire April 25. However, as reported first in FreightWaves, in November the EC said it favored extending BER for a further four years. “EU rules normally prevent companies from working together in a way that might restrict competition, but companies shipping cargo by sea have ...

WISTA Cyprus held its 7th Annual General Meeting and elections, at Columbia Plaza Venue, Limassol. The Agenda of the AGM included an address by President of WISTA Cyprus, Anna Vourgos, coverage of other AGM matters and of course the elections for the positions of Treasurer and Young Board Affiliate. Mrs. Vourgos, delivered the President’s report, for 2019 which was a year that saw the Association meet its goals and grow from strength to strength. As Mrs. Vourgos noted “It was a year of progress, remarkable growth, stability and recognition of ...

EcoPorts this month certified Port of Newcastle under its Port Environmental Review System (PERS) following stringent independent tests by Lloyd’s Register to measure the port against best practice management around the world. Port of Newcastle is now one of 115 ports around the world to have been certified under the program. It comes as the Port pursues diversification projects underpinning a more resilient and sustainable future for the Hunter and NSW economies, in close partnership with the Berejiklian Government. The port’s Environment, Sustainability & Planning Manager, Jackie Spiteri, said the ...

Ningbo Zhoushan port, China’s busiest port, saw cargo throughput exceed 1.1 billion tonnes in 2019, official statistics showed. This makes the port in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province the only one in the world to exceed such volume, according to statistics released by Zhejiang port and shipping management center. The container throughput at the port surpassed 27.53 million standard containers last year, ranking third in the world. Ningbo Zhoushan Port has been expanding the varieties of goods, with steady business growth in sectors such as iron ore, coal and grain. The ...

After years of negotiations and failed attempts, the privatization of the Port of Haifa is underway. This Sunday, Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon and Minister of Transport Bezalel Smotrich will present the plan for privatization of Haifa Port Company Ltd. to the ministerial privatization committee for approval. Under the proposal, the state will sell all its shares in Haifa Port Ltd. to a strategic investor who will undertake to invest NIS 1 billion in the company. The investor will need to meet criteria designed to ensure his financial strength. Beyond ...

Russia’s Surgutneftegaz on Thursday sold 200,000 tonnes of ESPO Blend crude oil ESPO-DUB loading in early March to China’s Sinopec and trading firm Mercuria in a spot tender, traders said. Surgutneftegaz sold to Sinopec a 100,000-tonne cargo loading from Kozmino Feb. 29 – March 5 at premium of about $7 a barrel to March Dubai swaps and a cargo loading March 4-9 to Mercuria at premium of $6.90-$7.00 a barrel, traders said. Mercuria bought a cargo for Chinese refiner Chemchina, traders said. Surgutneftegaz also awarded a tender for the sale ...

Today, Monday, January 20 2020, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 25 points, reaching 729 points.

Handysize dirty tanker freight rates have maintained record highs since October due to limited tonnage availability and bad weather. Since October, Handysize tanker freight rates in the West of Suez market have continued to hover at record highs. The 30,000 mt route from Black-Sea to the Mediterranean was assessed Thursday at $37.12/mt, a record high for the route. The closest the market got to this assessment was on July 27, 2008, when the price reached $37.02/mt. The sharp increase in rates in October was caused by a number of unpredictable ...

The amount of fuel carried on a container ship varies based on the engine capacity and size of the ship, which themselves are a function of the particular trading route the ship operates in and the optimal speed of the ship’s engine. One of the largest container ships to call on the U.S., the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, carries approximately 4.5 million gallons of fuel oil. Ship fuel capacity is generally converted to volumetric measurement. The equivalent on the Ben Franklin would be close to 16,000 cubic meters. The CMA ...

MABUX World Bunker Index (consists of a range of prices for 380 HSFO, 180 HSFO and MGO (Gasoil) in the main world hubs) demonstrated downward changes on Jan.17: 380 HSFO – USD/MT – 379.183 (-1.65) VLSFO – USD/MT – 630.00(-5.00) MGO – USD/MT – 675.87 (-2.00) Meantime, world oil indexes demonstrated irregular changes on Jan.17 as sluggish economic growth in China, the world’s biggest crude importer, raised concerns over fuel demand and countered optimism from the signing of a China-U.S. trade deal. Brent for March settlement increased by $0.23 to ...

Two weeks ago, the vast majority of the world’s ships were forced to change the fuel they use. Some big winners — and potential losers — are starting to emerge from what was a historic switch for the world’s oil refining and maritime industries. Regulations began on January 1 forcing vessels to sharply reduce emissions of sulfur oxides from burning so-called bunker fuel. If successful, the rules could turn out to be the single-biggest, globally mandated improvement to air quality ever. The pollutant is blamed for worsening human health conditions ...

The China Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) reported gains in freight indices in the routes to the U.S. The NCFI, reflecting freight rate changes of 21 routes departing from the Ningbo-Zhoushan port, stood at 938.9 points Friday, down 2.6 percent compared with last week. The sub-reading for the east and west coast of the United States quoted 1,024.1 points and 938.4 points, up 0.7 percent and 1.1 percent from last week respectively. According to the Ningbo Shipping Exchange, in view of the good supply and demand relationship, some liner companies ...

Within the container market segment in maritime trade logistics, there is polarity in the way containers are procured — with shippers either opting for carrier-owned containers (COCs) or shipper-owned containers (SOCs). Choosing between an SOC and COC depends entirely on the shipper’s needs. COCs usually are opted for standard shipments on stretches with a high volume of cargo flow. In that context, there is little incentive for large shippers to use their own containers, especially since the container line in question typically charges a flat fee for moving their freight ...

Rederij Wanmar has taken the step to turn to scrubbers in order to comply with the IMO2020 regulations. They have signed a contract for a Value Maritime Scrubber 3.0 MW to be installed on their multipurpose cargo vessel, The mv Donau. The mv Donau is a worldwide class multipurpose seagoing cargo vessel for transporting all types of cargo. mv Donau is owned and operated by Rederij Wanmar, located in The Netherlands. The mv Donau sails for Longship BV at Groningen, Netherlands and mostly trades in Baltic, North Sea and sometimes ...