Ebola disrupts rice supply chain The Ebola virus outbreak is causing some disruption of the rice supply chain, a leading industry figure has said. "We have a little bit of difficulty," acknowledged Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters association in an interview with IHS Maritime. Ophaswongse
Thailand aims to become world's largest rice exporter Thailand looks set to become the world's largest rice exporter, a leading industry figure has told IHS Maritime. "Sometime this year we could hit the record rice for rice exports. We are expecting to export 11 million tonnes," Chookiat Ophaswongse, Honorary President of the Thai Rice Exporters
Eagle Bulk completes restructuring NASDAQ-listed Eagle Bulk Shipping has reduced its debt obligations by roughly USD1Bn after successfully completing its court-approved financial restructuring, the company has revealed. The Sophocles Zoullas-led company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 6 August, announced, after
Charleston box volume rises 13.4% Container volume at the Port of Charleston increased 13.4% to 150,790teu year-on-year in September led by a surge in imports. Imports grew 14% to 62,655teu compared with the same period last year, with exports increasing 7.4% to 56,216teu, the port revealed in a 15 October report. Empty containers
Thai rice mountain shifts to Africa Government policy is driving cheap exports of rice to Africa, according to Thai rice industry sources. Thailand's rice exports to Africa have risen to 64% of the total in the first nine months of this year, a senior official with the Thai Rice Exporters Association told IHS Maritime. This is
Yet more doubt over MH370 search site A new report by the Inmarsat scientists who tracked the final journey of flight MH370 over the Indian Ocean concede they cannot be certain of the crash location. Analysis of the satellite data suggests the aircraft turned south above the northern tip of Sumatera and continued south until it ran out
Newcastle coal port open despite protest The world's largest coal port will be open for business as usual tomorrow, despite a flotilla protest by Pacific Islanders in canoes and local environmentalists. "Vessel scheduling will continue, based on safety parameters approved by the Port Authority of New South Wales [NSW] Harbour Master," a
Meyer Turku shipyard enters new era The floatout of Mein Schiff 4 (MS4) at Turku on 10 October represented more than just the second in class of four for the German premium cruise operator. It combined what Finns hope is a renaissance of the shipyard and the chance for both customer and yard to present important new faces. It was
Buy opportunity for long-term investors Recent sharp falls in listed dry bulk companies' shares offers a buy opportunity to long-term investors, shipping analysts at Arctic in Oslo said. "With dry bulk shipping stocks having fallen between 20% and 50% since the start of September we argue that the severity of a dry bulk downturn has been
Cost cuts, alliances key to success Container lines that can reduce costs and operate their ships more efficiently are the ones to emerge as winners in a continued challenging environment. However, even they have to team up with other lines if they wish to prosper in key trades, according to a senior shipping analyst. The market is
Maersk Supply orders six AHTS vessels at Kleven Maersk Supply Service (MSS) has ordered six anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels from Kleven in Norway a few weeks after announcing a strategy to renew and expand its fleet. The contract, which has an option for four additional units, covers six SALT 200 vessels that are designed by Salt Ship
HHI reduces 30% of executives Hyundai HI (HHI), the world's biggest shipbuilder, has reduced 30% of its executives to normalise its profitability after recording the worst business results - a net loss of KRW616.6Bn (USD595.5M) and an operating loss of KRW1.1Trn in 2Q14. The reduction has been done not only for HHI executives,
HMD wins two LPG carriers South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) has won two LPG carriers amounting to KRW108.5Bn (USD102.2M) from an undisclosed Oceania owner. HMD told IHS Fairplay that the owner's name and the details of the order could not be revealed, according to the contract. The vessels will be
Investigation into Sydney ship collision under way The Port Authority of New South Wales is leading the investigation into the ship collision at Sydney's Port Botany container terminal on Tuesday night. "We recommended ships put out the additional lines," Harbour Master Phillip Holliday told IHS Maritime. "Not everyone heeded that advice. "So
CSSC profit surges in first nine months Shanghai-listed China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) posted profits of CNY139M (USD22.6M) for the first nine months of 2014, an increase of 922.8% year-on-year (y/y). In a stock exchange filing the company recorded their revenue of CNY20.7Bn during the reporting period. This is an increase
Sinopacific to focus more on offshore engineering Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group (Sinopacific) will be focusing more on offshore engineering in the upcoming years, being spurred by the bidding for a 100,000-tonne module to be used for the Yamal LNG project. Simon Liang, chairman and co-CEO of Sinopacific, made the remark on the sidelines of the
Nicaragua confident on canal plan Nicaragua's canal will break ground in December and will be a multinational project, not an all-Chinese operation, according to a high-ranking official in Nicaragua's government. Dr. Paul Oquist, private secretary of national policy for Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega, provided new details on
China coal imports fall 6.7% China's coal imports declined 6.7% year on year to 222.9M tonnes in the first three quarters in 2014 due to competition from cheaper domestic coal. The month-on-month rise of 12.2% in coal imports in September failed to offset the plunge in the imports for August, according to China's latest
Yingkou Port to issue $163M bonds Shanghai-listed Yingkou Port announced today that it will issue CNY$1Bn ($163M) worth of company bonds on 20 October. The funds raised will be used for supplementing the company's cash flow, as well as paying back its debts. This bond has a seven-year duration with 5.6-6.6% interest rate, but no
MOF, Coast Guard criticised over Sewol tragedy Several government agencies have been criticised by a South Korean parliamentary audit for their poor response to the Sewol disaster. The Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee directed the criticism on 15 October to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) and the Korea
China building new coast guard ships China is building two large coast guard ships, various Chinese military news websites reported on 13 October. Displacement is estimated to be 10,000 tonnes. The ships are under construction at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, one of the oldest shipyards in China that has a long experience of
Fixed-price maintenance for Wagenborg Wärtsilä announced recently that it has signed an agreement to provide all maintenance planning and services for the installed engines and propulsion systems for 15 of Wagenborg's dry bulker fleet. The agreement, which was signed in June but only announced on 16 October, will provide increased
China vessel exports down 9.9% China's vessel exports continued to cut its year-on-year (y/y) falls in the first eight months in 2014 due to the newbuilding market pickup. In the first eight months, the exports decreased 9.9% y/y to $17Bn, according to customs statistics. The drop shrank by 0.8 percentage points compared to that
Ezion insulates itself from oil price fluctuations Singapore-listed offshore services provider Ezion remains well insulated from oil price fluctuations, thanks to long-term contracts and oil majors' operating expenditure. This view was expressed by DMG & Partners Securities' analyst, Lee Yue Jer, who set a target price for Ezion at SGD2.45 ($1.92)
Bumi Armada delays FPSO deal with HCML Malaysia-listed offshore services provider, Bumi Armada and Indonesia-based Husky-CNOOC Madura Limited (HCML), have mutually agreed to extend the execution date of their $1.18Bn floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel deal to 31 October. Previously, Bumi Armada's wholly owned
Oceanbulk secures $310m from South Korea state lenders Seoul backs Greek owner's booking for eight Hyundai-built 9,200 teu boxships
Shipping Corp of India puts VLCC on a 12-month time charter Koch fixture sidesteps low spot market earnings but removes hopes for rate spikes
European Central Bank may reject Hamburg ship-valuation formula Stress test findings may put lenders under growing pressure to lose nonperforming loans
Share-price plunge belies a strengthening tanker market, says Tsakos TEN ponders raising its dividend as lower oil prices bring better news
Vancouver rethinks its licensing to tackle surplus trucks Canada's largest container port will launch the new system in February
Eagle Bulk completes restructuring Supramax owner emerges in 'far stronger' shape after $1bn debt cull
Tory peer urges the UK to tackle Gulf of Guinea attacks Lord Naseby puts the question of piracy to the House of Lords
Kleven wins order from Maersk Supply Services Norwegian shipbuilder wins contract for six vessels
CSAV moves closer to Hapag-Lloyd's G6 partners Chile-based carrier will book slots on the alliance's Middle East-Europe services
Hyundai Mipo wins LPG tanker order Two 22,000 cu m vessels done at $51m apiece
Euronav delays IPO Tanker operator postpones US listing as volatile market bleeds shipping stocks
Trade imbalance tightens truck capacity at Mexican border Whether you call cargo space "capacity" or "capacidad," in Laredo, Texas, it's often in short supply. Capacity has been tight at the biggest U.S.-Mexico border crossing since an earlier-than-expected surge in produce shipping this spring, according to third-party logistics provider Transplace. In part, that's because of the growing imbalance of...
Clean Energy Fuels buys stake in truck-based CNG delivery company Clean Energy Fuels plans to pump up its natural gas business by acquiring a controlling interest in NG Advantage, a company that uses high-capacity tank trailers to deliver compressed natural gas to large industrial and institutional energy users. This natural gas "virtual pipeline" delivery system supports customers such as hospitals, food...
BTP assumes lead in Santos port container handling After years of one container terminal - Santos Brasil's Tecon Santos - dominating the market at the Port of Santos, Brazil's leading port has a new leader in containers. Brasil Terminal Portuaria, or BTP, which opened for business just over a year ago, handled around 69,000 containers in the month of...
Drayage problems fail to stunt Virginia traffic growth The Port of Virginia's container traffic exceeded the 200,000-TEU mark for the fifth month in a row in September, despite ongoing drayage congestion. The Virginia Port Authority today reported that Norfolk handled 201,113 TEUs in September, rising 8.6 percent year-over-year, mostly driven by exports, which were up 12.4 percent to 109,867...
No consensus on how to fix LA-Long Beach ports Representatives of the port, shipper and labor communities agree that Los Angeles and Long Beach must reduce congestion and improve productivity at marine terminals, but they differ on how to reach those goals. "We are three to five days behind our normal flow of goods. This is having a ripple effect...
Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL, Safmarine ships collide during storm A nine-hour operation to reign in a rogue container ship in Australia's Port Botany apparently only resulted in superficial damage to ships from Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL and Safmarine. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the Kiel Express, a Hapag-Lloyd ship, broke free from its mooring at the DP World terminal as winds of...
Truckers, shippers protest demurrage at clogged US ports Congestion at large U.S. ports is generating increased complaints by truckers and shippers about demurrage penalties for late pickup of containers that can't be removed from gridlocked marine terminals. The problem is most acute at the two largest U.S. container gateways, Los Angeles-Long Beach and New York-New Jersey, both of which...
Air cargo industry bracing for continued loss of freight to ocean, analyst says SHENZHEN, China - The shift of freight from air to ocean is just a blip for container lines but has hit the air cargo industry hard, with few signs of relenting, a maritime consultant said Thursday. The air cargo industry lost 5.4 million metric tons of cargo to container lines between...
Goodman signs up IKEA in China deal HONG KONG - Home furnishing giant IKEA has expanded its business with logistics property developer Goodman Group into China, signing a lease for 118,000 square feet of warehousing space in the inland Chinese city of Chengdu. IKEA operates 16 stores in 13 cities across China, and to meet customers demand in...
Thailand-Myanmar cross-border trade will grow 10 percent this year, Thai chamber says Cross-border trade between Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand and Myanmar in 2014 is expected to hit $6 billion, a growth of 10 percent year-over-year. According to Isara Vongkusolkit, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, trade between the two countries is slated to continue expanding in the coming years, thanks partly to...
Cathay Pacific extends double-digit growth run HONG KONG - Strong growth out of Hong Kong and China in September saw Cathay Pacific and Dragonair continuing to post double-digit growth as cargo and mail throughput rose 14.5 percent compared to the same month last year. The high growth was helped by the launch of what the airline called...
Get up to speed on the regulatory environment, forwarders advise SHENZHEN, China - Staying on top of the evolving regulatory and customs environment is a key areas forwarders and NVOCCs need to focus on as they expand their business across Asia, delegates at a TPM Asia panel heard today. Paul Man, director of APL Logistics China, said trade compliance is a...
Frustration at LA-LB delays spills over at TPM Asia panel SHENZHEN, China - Frustration at delays at Los Angeles-Long Beach boiled over at the TPM Asia Conference in Shenzhen on Thursday, with shippers showing exasperation at the weeks it can now take to liberate containers from the largest port complex in the Americas. "I don't care about how long it takes...
Euronav in 'strong start' Euronav said it is seeing a strong start to the fourth quarter as it revealed shrinking losses in the third.
Dry stocks 'oversold' Bulker stocks in New York are "oversold" and headed for improvement after taking a beating in recent weeks over macro-economic concerns, near-term uncertainty over rates and the exit of major investors, a trio of investment bank analysts said.
Underwriters indulge Scorpio Bulkers has emerged victorious in its latest campaign to raise cash to fund its newbuilding programme.
Vyborg close to order Russia's Vyborg Shipyard is in the final stages of winning a new order from state nuclear agency Atomflot.
Tsakos in dividend pledge Tsakos Energy Navigation promised investors a dividend hike is on the horizon as it made a bullish case for the crude tanker market in the face of wider turbulence in the capital markets.
More cash for Nova Star Canada's Nova Scotia government is to hand over another CAD 5m ($4.4m) to keep a new US ferry service up and running.
Coscol earnings up Cosco Shipping Co (Coscol) has posted a bigger net profit for the first nine months despite a fall in revenue.
"No drama" for Euronav Euronav's decision to postpone a New York initial public offering (IPO) is having only a tiny impact on the company's European traded stock today.
Chowgule slips back Indian owner Chowgule Steamship has revealed a bigger loss from lower second-quarter revenue as it seeks to renew its fleet.
ICG reaches pensions deal Ferry operator Irish Continental Group (ICG) has pledged to erase its pensions deficit in a deal with the country's regulator.
Global faces de-listing Malaysian tanker owner Global Carriers may lose its Kuala Lumpur listing for failing to submit a restructuring plan in time.
Havila extends charter Norwegian shipowner Havila has secured a contract extension for one of its ships fixed to Petrobras.
Two more for Mipo Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo has confirmed a deal for two LPG ships worth a combined KRW 108.5bn ($102m).
Wartsila adds more Dutch owner Wagenborg has picked Finnish firm Wartsila for the maintenance of 15 dry cargo carriers.
Baosteel orders again State-owned Chinese group Baosteel has reportedly ordered two more capesizes at Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding.
Maersk adds six Maersk Supply Service has signed a contract for six anchor-handlers with Norway's Kleven Maritime.
Saga Tankers listing at risk Norway's Saga Tankers has three months to preserve its Oslo listing.
French fancy A trade delegation from France has travelled to Indonesia to examine a potential shipyard investment.
FMG sets new record Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) shipped a record 41.5mt of iron ore in the third quarter, figures released Thursday show.
Madura FPSO delayed Bumi Armada says a final decision on a $1.2bn FPSO for deployment off Indonesia has been delayed until the end of October.
New Eagle emerges Eagle Bulk Shipping has successfully completed its court-approved financial restructuring, the shipowner disclosed late Wednesday.
LNG bunkers by 2020 Singapore, one of the world's largest bunkering ports, says it hopes to supply LNG as a bunker fuel by 2020.
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