In a break from tradition, Beijing has for the first time allowed companies registered in the free trade zone in eastern China’s Zhejiang province to blend tax-free fuel oil for export to the seaborne market. Zhoushan, where the Zhejiang FTZ is located, is the fuel oil trading hub in China. The relaxation of the export restriction will encourage more fuel oil trade flows from China for bunkering, industry sources told S&P Global Platts this week. It will also position the country advantageously as a key supplier of blended fuels ahead ...

Reports suggest that possibly up to 100 vessels may have been affected by contaminated marine fuel oil stemmed at ports in the Houston and US Gulf region, giving rise to significant concerns in the industry, as well as a range of both practical and legal issues. Contaminated fuel supplies of blended fuel oils, such as IFO 380, were first reported in the US Gulf region earlier in February and appear to have persisted, with newly reported incidents still arising. Whilst the root source of the issue remains inconclusive, initial reports ...

Cepsa and Global Energy Private Limited (GPGEPL), part of UAE-based global conglomerate GP Global, have announced an exclusive partnership to manufacture and market Cepsa branded marine and power generation lubricants in India. As per the agreement, GP Global will manufacture, package and even import Cepsa branded lubricant products in India. “India is a huge market for port modernization and coastal shipping development. Major initiatives have been taken in this direction by our government. This partnership is our contribution to the governments Make in India vision and the vibrancy of the ...

The technology group Wärtsilä announces that its Aquarius UV Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) has successfully completed all testing procedures required for United States Coastguard (USCG) type approval compliance. The documentation for full USCG type approval is being finalised for submission and awaits only final input from DNV-GL, the USCG approved independent laboratory. This follows type approval for the Aquarius UV from the International Maritime Organization in 2011, as well as Alternate Management System (AMS) acceptance from the USCG. AMS acceptance provides regulatory compliance for all ships operating in US ...

Most of marine engineering failures are related with allowable and in service stresses. Allowable stresses are determined by recognizing which of the various possible failure modes apply to the problem being analysed. The strength of the material generally is then utilized from tabulated test data. Ultimate Strength Su – when the part will crack and fracture. Corresponding on a tensile test machine, to the load when the part breaks. As a rule of thumb for steel, a rough approximation is about 500 times the Brinell hardness number (BHN). Yield Strength ...

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. Friday announced that the Ice-Breaking LNG Carrier “Vladimir Rusanov”, which is jointly owned by MOL and China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited for the Yamal LNG project, made its first call at PetroChina LNG Jiangsu Terminal in China on 17 July. A ceremony celebrating this milestone was held on 19 July. At the end of March 2018, the vessel started transportation services for LNG produced by the Yamal LNG plant at Sabetta port in Russia . For its latest voyage, the vessel departed from Sabetta port on ...

Water levels on the Rhine and Danube in Germany remain low after dry weather and freight vessels cannot sail fully loaded on the rivers, traders said on Friday. The Rhine is too shallow for normal sailings from Cologne to south Germany, traders said. All of the German section of the Danube is too shallow for full loads, they said. Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates, increasing costs for cargo owners. The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities including grains, minerals, coal and oil products ...

Crowley Maritime Corp. announced today that it has taken delivery of El Coquí, one of the world’s first combination container/roll on-roll off (ConRo) ships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), from shipbuilder VT Halter Marine Inc. El Coquí is the first of two Commitment Class, LNG-powered ConRo ships being built for Crowley’s shipping and logistics services between Jacksonville, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Operated by Crowley’s global ship management group, El Coquí will make its maiden voyage to San Juan later this month from Jacksonville (JAXPORT), its dedicated U.S. ...

The front-month spreads for Singapore high sulfur fuel oil swaps remained on an uptrend amid tightening supply to hit fresh year-to-date highs on Thursday. The Singapore August/September 180 CST spread stood at $7.25/mt at 4:30 pm Singapore time (0830 GMT) Thursday. It was also last higher on May 29, 2015, at $14.50/mt, data from S&P Global Platts showed. The Singapore August/September 380 CST spread stood at $8.10/mt at 4:30 pm Singapore time Thursday. The spread was last higher on May 29, 2015 at $12.25/mt, Platts data showed Supply tightness in ...

ITF statement on the decision by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to ban the Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier MV Shandong Hai Wang for one year from Australian waters. ITF seafarers’ section chair and joint chair of the ITF fair practices committee, Dave Heindel, said: “We wholeheartedly welcome this action by the AMSA. This is the kind of enforcement that seafarers deserve from all authorities in all countries at all times. Only when unscrupulous ship owners know that there is nowhere to hide will we start to see an end ...

OOCL is pleased to introduce a direct call to the port of Umm Qasr in our Middle East Service 4 (ME4) product, effective from August 6 with the fist sailing in Shanghai. With the market reach and connections that the Umm Qasr port can provide, the ME4 service will improve our overall suite of Asia-Middle East products with competitive connections and a more comprehensive service network to the Middle East for customers. The new ME4 port rotation will be as follows: Shanghai – Ningbo – Taipei – Shekou – Tanjung ...

70 years of helping international shipping become safer, more secure and develop a greener environmental footprint – that’s what IMO is celebrating in 2018, with a series of events and commemorative productions being released throughout the year. The latest is a short animated film which shows how IMO has developed mandatory international regulations covering almost every aspect of shipping. As a result, modern shipping conforms to the highest practicable standards and is the safest, cleanest and most efficient way to move goods around the world. The animation traces IMO’s voyage ...

CargoSmart Limited, a global shipment management software solutions provider, today announced its initiative to develop a blockchain solution for shipment documentation to improve complex supply chain processes. The solution establishes a digital baseline for trusted shipment documentation management across the shipping and logistics industry. Shippers, forwarders, carriers, truckers, and customs agencies will be able to collaborate more efficiently through the platform for a single version of truth and an immutable audit trail with low latency. Shipping document handling processes are complex and include dated paper processes that involve many stakeholders ...

Capesize Commentary Negativity on cape paper didn’t last long as we saw buyers return in significant force yesterday. Despite the fall on the indices, the prompt paper rates kept pushing until the close of business, leading many to believe the downturn will be short lived. Panamax Commentary Another busy day on pmx with prompt once again the main focus as the range bound activity of the last few days appears to show we have found a floor here. August traded $11900 early on and September at $12100 but with a ...

Heidmar Bunkering Services (HBS) has chosen ClearLynx’s Bunker Procurement Platform to manage its bunker buying process, end to end. HBS plan to go live with ClearLynx during August 2018 and anticipate a quick return through greater efficiencies within their procurement processes. “As a comprehensive bunker procurement, pricing and analytics solution, ClearLynx provides us with all the tools we need and more. We were particularly impressed with its’ ease of use, speed of implementation, third party integrations and the company’s attention to the security of our data” said James Pippard, CEO, ...