South Korea has been reviewing diverse options on how to contribute to U.S.-led efforts to safeguard the strategic waters off Iran after receiving such requests from Washington, the defense ministry said Friday. The United States has been asking its allies to join a military coalition in the Strait of Hormuz to ensure freedom of navigation amid simmering tensions between Washington and Tehran. “The U.S. has stressed the importance (of its allies’ role) and made requests for our participation both directly and indirectly during several meetings,” ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo told ...

Commenting on the results of yesterday’s general election in the UK, Robert Keen, Director General of the British International Freight Association (BIFA) says that members of his trade association will be looking for the newly-elected government to deliver on its promises in regards to Brexit, the withdrawal agreement with the EU, and any future trade deal. “For the last three years, freight forwarding and logistics companies have done all they can to prepare for Brexit in the face of huge uncertainties. “The mantra of the new government has been ‘Get ...

The two polar icebreakers, Xue Long (Snow Dragon) and Xue Long 2, are working together for the first time during China’s 36th Antarctic expedition, with Xue Long 2 also being the first domestically built icebreaker. Xue Long 2 was jointly designed by Aker Arctic Technology in Helsinki, Finland and the Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC) in Shanghai, China. Construction began in 2016 at the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, with the vessel delivered to the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) in July 2019. ...

Belships ASA (BEL.OL) has entered into two letters of intent for the acquisition of two Ultramax bulk carriers. One 10 year bareboat charter for a 64,000 dwt Ultramax bulk carrier newbuilding. The vessel will be delivered by a Japanese shipyard during the second half of 2020. The estimated cash breakeven for the vessel upon delivery is about USD 10,750 per day including operational expenses. Belships will pay a sum of USD 3 mill upon signing contract, expected to occur during the first quarter of 2020. The agreement comes with purchase ...

Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTC), a leading supplier of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, Wilhelmsen and The Things Industries (TTI) announced its partnership to leverage Semtech’s LoRa® devices to help deliver cost-effective, robust and proven IoT solutions to the maritime shipping industry. Wilhelmsen, a global maritime industry group founded in 1861 and a maritime market leader, has partnered with TTI and selected Semtech’s LoRa devices as the foundation for its new global 2.4GHz maritime IoT network to deliver an ecosystem of cost-effective, robust and proven IoT solutions ...

Blockchain and DNA-based fuels tracking system BunkerTrace won the Excellence in Supply Chain Management and Innovation award at the Lloyd’s List Europe Awards on Tuesday night. The annual award is given to a company that demonstrates how its technology best serves its customers within the land and sea supply chain. The judges recognised BunkerTrace’s potential to vastly increase transparency in the marine fuels supply chain innovation by providing end-to-end traceability, and proving evidence of compliance with International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) 2020 regulation. BunkerTrace CEO Marc Johnson commented: “We’re extremely proud ...

The composite index increased 5.1% this week and, however 6.6% down as compared with same period of 2018. The average composite index of the WCI, assessed by Drewry for year-to-date, is US $1,417 per 40ft container, which is $21 higher than the five-year average of $1,396 per 40ft container. Drewry’s composite World Container Index has further spiked 5.1% or $73 marking the index at $1514.89 per 40ft container. Major surges have been seen in Asia – Europe WB trade routes. Freight rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam soared up by 17% ...

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, a global leader in shipping and logistics, is strongly committed to further reducing CO2 emissions and supporting longer term goals to fully decarbonise shipping and ensure it is a truly sustainable industry. Young, green fleet While continuously increasing its TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit, the size of a regular container) capacity to meet the growing demand, MSC operates a modern, green fleet and is investing heavily in low-carbon technologies and extensive new-build and retrofit programmes to boost performance and minimise our environmental impact. For example, MSC’s fleet ...

MABUX World Bunker Index (consists of a range of prices for 380 HSFO, 180 HSFO and MGO (Gasoil) in the main world hubs) declined on Dec.12: 380 HSFO – USD/MT – 352.71(-3.75) 180 HSFO – USD/MT – 394.23(-3.10) MGO – USD/MT – 666.75(-2.49) Meantime, world oil indexes increased on Dec.12 after U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States was very close to some sort of a deal with China and as the U.S. has reportedly offered China to roll back some existing tariffs and cancel a new round ...

On December 11th, 2019, the official opening ceremony for the new logistics centre took place in Bac Ninh, Vietnam in the presence of Danish Ambassador to Vietnam Mr. Kim Højlund Christensen, Vietbeko Head of Supply Chain Mr. Quang Le and Maersk senior executives. Constructed by Mapletree Logistics Park Bac Ninh Phase 3 (Viet Nam), the 11,000 square-meter warehouse is strategically located inside the VSIP Industrial Park in Bac Ninh, within 25km to Hanoi centre and 120km to Hai Phong port. The fully Maersk-operated footprint is equipped with the latest technology ...

SEA\LNG has released the results of its third investment study, which underlines liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a compelling investment solution for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) on the Arabian Gulf to China trade route. Conducted by independent simulation and analytics expert Opsiana, the study demonstrates clear benefits of LNG as a marine fuel for a newbuild 300K DWT VLCC on the Arabian Gulf to China trade route, in comparison with other alternatives currently available and scalable to the shipping industry across three fuel pricing scenarios. The business case compares ...

Faced with imminent new global marine pollution rules, shipping companies and insurers are puzzling over the risks. To reduce emissions of toxic sulphur that cause premature deaths, shipowners who have long relied on the dirtiest residues of oil extraction will have to either switch to low-sulphur fuel or install exhaust gas cleaning systems from Jan. 1. Neither option has been fully tested for long, and some problems have already been reported, both with the more expensive new fuels and with devices known as scrubbers which extract the sulphur on board. ...

The world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier made its official debut at a shipyard in Japan, a small step toward tapping the carbon-free energy potential of the lightest element. Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. christened the tanker Suiso Frontier during a ceremony at the Kobe Works yard on Wednesday. The ship will be used for technology demonstration to establish an international hydrogen energy supply chain, Kawasaki said in a press release, by shipping the fuel from Australia to Japan. Construction is expected to be complete by late 2020. Hydrogen can be produced ...

A second roundtable industry meeting hosted by IMO at its London Headquarters in November saw more optimism about the general readiness to meet the sulphur 2020 requirement than the first such meeting, which was held in June this year. IBIA had a delegation attending both the June 21 and November 18 roundtable meetings, which were initiated by the IMO Secretariat to share information and exchange views. Availability improving During the first roundtable meeting in June, representatives for shipping organisations expressed doubts about the necessary supply being made available, disappointment about ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index fell for a seventh-straight session and hit an over two-week low on Thursday, weighed down by sluggish demand for capesize vessels. The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels that ferry dry bulk commodities, dropped 72 points, or 4.9%, to 1,388, its lowest in over two weeks. The capesize index slid 285 points, or 9.9%, to 2,598. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell $1,871 to $18,774. The ...