With 25% tariff on LNG still in play, the Phase-1 deal between the US and China is not expected to bring any significant change in the LNG trade between the two countries. However, with China requiring additional LNG supplies in the coming years, the US still has the opportunity to become an important supplier for the soon-to-be world’s largest LNG market. The US and China recently announced a Phase-1 deal to reduce the trade tensions between the two countries, wherein the latter pledged to purchase $200 billion worth of US ...

The world is interconnected through global trade on the basis of a transportation industry. And, it will continue to grow, with a predicted rise of nearly a third in seaborne-trade towards 2030, and with increases in tonne-mileage up to 74,000 billion over the forecast period. In other words, the ocean will experience substantial increases in traffic, pressure will get much higher and risk of marine accidents and incidents at sea will persist. It is estimated that roughly 90% of marine casualties and incidents caused by human mistakes, costing over EUR1.4 ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index fell to its lowest level since April 2016, dragged down by lower vessels rates across categories. The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, dropped 11 points, or 2.0%, to 546 — its lowest in over 3 years. The capesize index fell 30 points, or 18.2%, to 135. The index registered its 32nd consecutive session of losses, touching its lowest level since April 3 last year. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 ...

Responding to the discovery that some of the new blended low sulphur shipping fuels developed and marketed by oil companies to comply with IMO 2020 air pollution standards will actually lead to a surge in the emissions of a Super Pollutant known as Black Carbon, the Clean Arctic Alliance is calling for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to support an immediate switch to distillate fuels for ships in the Arctic and develop a global rule prohibiting fuels with high Black Carbon emissions. “If immediate action isn’t taken by the International ...

Scorpio Bulkers Inc., yesterday reported its results for the three months ended December 31, 2019. The Company also announced that on January 27, 2020, its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.02 per share on the Company’s common shares. Results for the Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 For the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company’s GAAP net income was $15.1 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, including: a non-cash gain of approximately $46.1 million and cash dividend income of $0.5 million, or ...

On January 24, 2020, Gasum’s Coralius performed her 200[th] LNG bunkering operation. The vessel receiving the LNG fuel was Fjord Line’s MS Stavangerfjord. The bunkering took place while Stavangerfjord underwent periodical maintenance at the Fayard yard in Odense, Denmark. “We normally supply LNG to Stavangerfjord by a loading arm on a regular basis directly from our LNG plant in Risavika,” explains Gunnar Helmen, Sales Manager at Gasum. “It’s great to get this opportunity to supply the cruise ferry with LNG in dock in Denmark. Having been fueled with fresh LNG, ...

We must respect our customers and provide an avenue where we can trust the information they are submitting, which could be through technology, keeping in mind that some could still falsify documents or data, so transparency and diligence is still required. Business models for risk mitigation through third party and second party inspection are evolving, moving towards partnership-based relationships with our customers, also known as ‘remote presence’. Risk mitigation and inspection has always involved physical proof (a visit from a surveyor) to ensure compliance and verify any issues that occur ...

WISTA (WISTA) International and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Technical Cooperation on 27 January 2020. IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and WISTA International President Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, CEO, Tototheo Maritime, were joined by Fred Kenney, IMO, Director, Legal Affairs and External Relations Division; Chris Trelawny, IMO, Acting Director, Technical Cooperation Division; Helen Buni, IMO, Principal Programme Assistant, Resource Mobilization and Partnerships; Gyorgyi Gurban, IMO, Senior Maritime Policy Adviser, Executive Office of the Secretary-General; as well as WISTA International Secretary, Alexandra Anagnostis-Iron, President, Total Marine ...

The recent mining of two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, attributed to Iran by the United States, offers an important window into the strategic thinking of Iran and similarly situated regional powers. The incident is notable because the act of mining a limited number of vessels makes relatively little sense when viewed through the lens of traditional patterns of coercive behavior. Limited coercive acts typically have little value with regards to gaining concessions from a determined opponent. Generally, these acts may serve as a visible demonstration of a ...

The newly-released WMS ChartServer, 5 version, provides SevenCs’ customers with enhanced functionality across several fronts. Much greater interoperability is the key to WMS ChartServer’s support of spatial queries; this support takes the depth and relevance of information on offer to a whole new level, using GeoJSON-formatted coordinates. Interoperability and valuable context were also the benefits fueling the development of bounding boxes that cover more than 360° of latitude. These give customers compatibility of our visual images with third-party geographic data sources such as those provided by Open Street Map. This ...

Where a Member does not already have a CGL cover in place, it is not necessary for them to buy one to engage in offshore contracts. The key is establishing their liabilities under the specific contract(s) and obtaining cover which in substance, rather than title, is suitable for such risks. To assist Members grappling with these issues, this article provides a concise overview of the concept of a CGL cover, and how such policies can be compared with the covers provided by P&I Clubs. Terminology GL stands for General Liability, ...

As more and more oceanographic buoys are being deployed around the world, incidents of ships striking these buoys are also increasing. Often times the impact of the strike can be severe enough to damage a buoy or even knock it off its mooring and set it adrift. Without a clear time frame of when the strike occurred, there has historically been no way to determine the cause of costly (and oftentimes hazardous) buoy damage. Until now. SeaView Systems’ SVS-603 wave sensor has now been enhanced with ship strike detection capabilities ...

A new IMO video which showcases IMO’s new long-term strategy on mobilising resources for technical cooperation activities has been launched. The video which aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlights the value and benefits of working with IMO and encourages active communication with potential donors and recipients. The video premiered at the first regional Knowledge Partnership Workshop for the Caribbean, held in Kingston, Jamaica (20-24 January). The workshop aimed to demonstrate how the successful implementation of international regulations can be enhanced through effective sharing of knowledge, skills and ...

The newbuilt chemical tanker Bow Persistent was officially named in a ceremony held January 9 at the Fukuoka shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan. Together with her sister ship Bow Prosper, Bow Persistent will add high-quality tonnage to Odfjell’s specialized fleet of supersegregators. Odfjell is in the midst of a comprehensive fleet renewal. From 2017 to 2020, we welcome 30 brand new ships, making our fleet of chemical tankers one of the world’s most eco-friendly and energy-efficient. “Odfjell has a more than 100-year history of ship owning and operations, and we are ...

The China Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) reported slight increases 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 936.3 points Friday, down 0.3 percent compared with last week. The sub-reading for the east and west coast of the United States quoted 1,025.3 points and 942.3 points, up 0.1 percent and 0.4 percent from last week respectively. According to the Ningbo Shipping Exchange, in light of the good supply and demand relationship, most liner ...