DNB warns of further slowing of NCS investment Norwegian financial services giant DNB has warned that investment on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) would slow down further in the coming years after a dip in 2014 due to low oil prices. "Reduced oil prices are reflected in a lower level of activity on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, with
Dockworker lockout looms over US West Coast ports US West Coast box terminals have made a last-ditch effort to settle their labour dispute to avoid a dockworker lockout that could be five to 10 days away, the terminals' lead negotiator has warned. While Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) CEO Jim McKenna said he is not yet considering locking out
Greece's Attica group joins the bidding for SNCM Greece's Attica group, parent of Superfast Ferries and Blue Star Ferries, is understood to have joined the bidding for French Mediterranean ferry operator SNCM. There was no immediate confirmation from Attica but SNCM announced this afternoon that an unnamed Greek company had submitted a bid. The
Norman Atlantic death toll rises to 10 A charred body has been found on board the fire-ravaged ferry Norman Atlantic, taking the death toll aboard the vessel to 10. The latest body was found in the cabin of a lorry on one of the vessel's vehicle decks, according to Italian news agency ANSA. It was found in the course of an inspection
HHIC loss worsens to $275.46M South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction's (HHIC's) full-year loss worsened to almost KRW300Bn ($275.46M) for 2014, compared with a KRW190.19Bn loss for 2013. The South Korea's fourth-biggest shipbuilder said in a Korea Exchange filing today that it made heavy provisions for
Technics bags $5.34M GRE contract Singapore-listed oil exploration equipment supplier Technics Oil and Gas has secured a glass fibre reinforced epoxy (GRE) contract worth SGD7.2M ($5.34M) from a Singapore-based customer. The contract was signed by Wecom Engineering, a subsidiary of Norr Offshore Group, which is a 40.21% associate
China's AIS data open to public The AIS Information Service Platform by China Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) was officially launched yesterday, and real-time AIS data in China's coastal areas and rivers are now traceable. AIS data of around 35,000 ships are available for the public every day, according to China MSA, and
Bankers expect more M&A activities in 2015 The offshore market is expected to see more mergers and acquisition (M&A) activities in 2015 due to the plummeting oil prices. Bankers assembled in the recent Singapore Offshore Finance Forum highlighted the trend and advised investors to look for opportunities in the physical assets and capital
CIMB bearish on Precious Shipping's stock CIMB Securities is urging investors to be cautious with the stocks of Thai bulker owner Precious Shipping, expecting a tough year ahead. "[Precious] is likely to be faced this year with the combined impact of a very weak freight rate market, plus the much higher depreciation and interests expense
Cyclonic seas halt search for MH370 Cyclonic weather brought the search for missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet MH370 to a halt this week, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) announced yesterday. "Fugro Equator, Fugro Discovery and Fugro Supporter have suspended search operations owing to the effects of two tropical
Chinese freight exchange completes first capacity trade Shanghai Shipping Freight Exchange has completed the first trading of container shipping capacity in foreign trade included in a forward agreement contract. In January, Shanghai Weiqing Logistics, a Shanghai-based Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC), bought a capacity of 6feu from De Well
MAN Diesel & Turbo genset for offshore installations MAN Diesel & Turbo has announced its new PA6 B OG gen set, based on a four-stroke, medium-speed engine built at its St Nazaire, France facility. The base engine has been sold for many years, but this represents the first time the St Nazaire plant will assemble individual engines with an alternator
VLCC rates stall The bull run in VLCC freight rates has stalled. As of yesterday, the Baltic Exchange assessed the benchmark Arabian Gulf-Far East rate at Worldscale 53.11 or $54,187 a day. That compares against W60.36 a month ago. Tanker brokers attributed this to a combination of factors. "The oil prices
Oil shock slows urgency to retrofit ships Retrofitting of ships to enable slow steaming is still ongoing despite the collapse in bunker prices. However, the pace of retrofitting has slowed, said Rickmers Maritime Trust CEO Thomas Preben Hansen. Hansen told IHS Maritime that the Singapore-listed trust, an affiliate of the Rickmers Group,
China Shipping, Bank of China ink $14.4Bn deal China Shipping Group and Bank of China on Monday have inked a CNY90Bn ($14.4Bn) global strategic co-operation agreement. According to the agreement, both parties will enhance co-operation in loans and cash management, direct financing, financial consulting, investment and insurance. This
Shipowners pledge help for Greece if industry's legal status preserved Veniamis says Greeks are 'daily' target of other EU and non-EU countries
Suez Canal Authority freezes most tolls for 2015 Sole exception is reduction in LNG carrier discount
Further box line consolidation as Hamburg Süd and CMA CGM team up Update: Two lines extend co-operation agreements and will look for more joint opportunities
One dead and three abducted from Greek-owned VLCC Kalamos was waiting off Nigerian terminal when boarded by gunmen
Dorian LPG sees profit climb on higher rates Oil price decline has had no noticeable effect on LPG shipping, says Dorian
Seacurus develops niche cover for Southeast Asia piracy risks Cargo, bunkers and money on board insured as K&R bolt-on
Tanker demand is rising, says McQuilling As demand rises, rates strengthen across tanker classes, which bodes well for tankers in 2015
Consolidation in US domestic trades as Jones Act comes under renewed pressure Matson and Pasha prepare to take over Pacific trades of troubled Horizon
Aronnax: the benefits of blowing bubbles Air lubrication under the hull is getting some supporters, but still has a long way to go to be seen as an accepted fuel-saving technology
Data Hub: Trade Routes The Asia-Mediterranean trade lane is in a state of flux, as the newly arranged alliances shake up established routes and sharing arrangements
Great Eastern books third-quarter profit jump Revenue and ebitda also up at Indian tanker and bulker operator
Australian bauxite could offer fresh opportunities As shipping goes into a sluggish period ahead of the lunar new year, the discussion turns to new markets and cargoes
TSA says robust business necessitates $600 per feu rise next week Update: Box lines serving the Asia-US trades prepare for annual contract negotiations, with at least two spot rate increases over coming month
Scorpio Bulkers to convert three more capesizes Changes will be made to orders in a Korean yard. The converted LR2s will not be sold to Scorpio Tankers
MHI to consolidate five R&D facilities into one Move follows announcement of Nagasaki shipyard restructuring
Costamare proposes dividend increase from first quarter Future growth planned for 2015, says boxship owner
US west coast employers make all-in offer to ILWU After nine months of negotiations, PMA seeks to break deadlock with deal that meets union's two biggest demands, on pay and jurisdiction
Republicans rally for TPA but face stiff resistance from key Democrats WASHINGTON - A top Republican on Wednesday said he expects the new conservative Congress to pass trade promotion authority sometime this spring, potentially allowing President Obama to take a major trans-Pacific trade pact past the finish line this year. Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee,...
Idle fleet drops to lowest level since August 2011, Alphaliner says The idle container ship fleet has fallen to its lowest levels in more than three years, in large part because of the "worst-ever" congestion on the U.S. West Coast, according to industry analyst Alphaliner. Traffic at nearly 30 West Coast ports is on the verge of "complete gridlock" as labor negotiations...
Virginia Tech to conduct critical truck driver work hours study The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute is preparing to begin a congressionally mandated study of truck driver hours of service rules, focusing on recently suspended restart provisions. The study will eventually be used to determine whether those restart rules should be scrapped or reinstated, or new U.S. regulations developed to better...
First higher road section installed on Bayonne Bridge Workers on Thursday installed the first of more than 1,000 concrete roadway segments that will provide the Bayonne Bridge with a roadway high enough to accommodate larger ships at container terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The $1.3 billion Bayonne Bridge project has implications far beyond New...
UP taps Fritz as CEO Union Pacific Railroad's has promoted its president and chief operating officer to CEO. Lance Fritz, who will continue to service as president, was elected on Thursday by the U.S. western railroad's board of directors to succeed John Koraleski. Before joining UP, Fritz worked for Fiskars, a tool retailer; an electrical product...
Hub Group: US intermodal rail service to begin hitting mid-2013 levels this summer The Hub Group said U.S. intermodal rail service deteriorated further in the fourth quarter from the prior quarter, but it's now seeing improvement and service could start approaching levels last seen in mid-2013, before last year's harsh winter, as soon as this summer. The second-largest U.S. intermodal marketing company warned, however,...
Rite Aid to build South Carolina distribution center Drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp. plans to build a 900,000-square-foot distribution center in Spartanburg, South Carolina., that will consolidate three existing DCs and serve 1,000 stores in the Southeast U.S. The $90 million distribution center will employ nearly 600 people when it opens next year. It will be Rite Aid's first...
Shanghai exchange trades first non-domestic container capacity contract The Shanghai Shipping Freight Exchange has completed the first trading of container shipping capacity in foreign trade included in a forward agreement contract, but futures contracts in container shipping internationally have been very slow to take off. In January, Shanghai Weiqing Logistics, a Shanghai-based Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier, or NVOCC, bought...
Virginia limits NIT access for trucks with export containers Trucks entering Virginia's Norfolk International Terminals will face new restrictions next month on when they can pull in with export-bound containers, a spokesman for the Virginia Port Authority has confirmed. Effective March 2, export containers arriving at NIT via truck will not be allowed to enter unless it is within 10...
Container lines face looming threat as 2020 low-sulfur fuel cap is affirmed The shipping industry - container carriers included - should prepare for a low-sulfur fuel requirement to be imposed on schedule in 2020, a development industry leaders have said will result in carriers incurring tens of billions of dollars annually in higher fuel costs, with no clear mechanism for recovering those costs...
CMA CGM, Hamburg Sud expand cooperation on multiple routes CMA CGM and Hamburg Sud are expanding their current cooperation agreement to several additional liner trade routes in the latest consolidation of global container networks. "In addition to the existing joint services between North Europe and both east and west coasts of South America, various new initiatives are in the final...
Costamare eyes expansion after profit jumps nearly 15 percent Costamare, the Greece-based container ship owner, is eying further expansion of its 59-vessel fleet this year after reporting a 15 percent year-over-year increase in fourth quarter profit. The NYSE-listed company's net income rose to $30.8 million in the three months through December from $26.85 million in the same period in 2013,...
As ocean business grows, C.H. Robinson charts new trade lanes C.H. Robinson Worldwide, the largest U.S. truck broker, is finding its sea legs. The logistics operator says it wants to expand its ocean forwarding business to new markets. "We do feel like there is great opportunity for us to continue to expand globally and to really focus on some significant trade...
US imports drive trans-Atlantic growth U.S. trade moving on container ships directly via European ports, including transshipments, increased 2.1 percent year-over-year to 4.6 million 20-foot-equivalent units in the 12 months ending September 2014, according to PIERS, the data division of JOC Group. U.S. exports declined 3.4 percent to nearly 2 million TEUs, while U.S. imports,...
In search of a game changer At the beginning of any new year it seems the standard theme for most business articles is one of predictions, and this year has been no different. I enjoy reading these articles as an opportunity to catch a glimpse of that next thing that has the ability to be a...
ICTSI's Iraqi gateway starts bringing in the boxes HONG KONG - Operations are fully underway at Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT), a wholly owned subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), that opened in the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr in November.Phillip Marsham, BGT chief executive officer, said ship-to-shore container crane performance at the terminal was currently...
10 points from the worst The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) fell today to a level that was within 10 points of a record low for the benchmark bulker market indicator.
CMRE 'in growth mode' in 2015 Costamare is looking to expand its fleet further in 2015 but still has an eye toward increasing its payout to shareholders, an executive said today.
BlueMountain takes more Scorpio Bulkers shares but stake drops BlueMountain Capital Management has continued to buy up Scorpio Bulkers stock, although its stake has still decreased as a result of a rising overall share count.
Dimensional builds Matson holding Dimensional Fund Advisors has added to its sizeable stake in containership and conro owner Matson.
Bourgas Shipyard bust Bulgarian court declares former state-owned shipbuilder insolvent over debts.
Marubeni's Motohashi dies Well-known LNG shipping name Kuniaki Motohashi died on Wednesday aged 61 after a tough battle against cancer.
Sinking ship saved Divers have plugged two leaks that put a Maldivian cargoship in danger off India on Thursday.
"Respect the law" The Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) warned the country's incoming leftist government to refrain from altering the shipping tax regime.
Bond shortfall shrinks A red-hot tanker market has taken John Fredriksen's Frontline to within touching distance of meeting a bond repayment, RS Platou Markets believes.
Meriaura goes eco-friendly Finland's Meriaura has revealed plans to use a hull form and machinery optimisation that will allow its two newbuildings to halve fuel consumption.
France relents on flag France has brought a European Commission tax probe to an end by pledging that shipowners flag at least 25% of all vessels benefiting from the tonnage tax in European states.
Platou Markets shaves dry view Dry bulk is on a razor's edge RS Platou Markets said as it dialled down its freight rate expectations for the sector.
Seven vie for SNCM Seven bids have been lodged for bankrupt French ro-pax group SNCM.
Tamai builds up profit Japan's Tamai Steamship has improved its earnings for the nine-month period ended December as revenue rose.
Laden LNG ship under repair A laden LNG vessel is being repaired afloat after suffering turbine bearing problems shortly after loading a cargo.
Quantum sells another Quantum Pacific Shipping, the holding company of Idan Ofer, has sold yet another capesize bulker for scrap.
Newbuildings boost Dorian John Hadjipateras' Dorian LPG has posted a rise in third quarter profit as it measured up to Wall Street expectations for the period.
GE in the money India's Great Eastern Shipping has been boosted in the third quarter by an upturn in crude and products carrier rates.
Havyard in profit warning Havyard braced investors for fourth quarter red ink today as it suffered cost overruns on several projects.
Rand strong in Q3 Bulker owner Rand Logistics has posted a strong third quarter result as it saw net income rise thanks to lower vessel operating costs.
Scandlines sells five Baltic ferry operator Scandlines has announced a deal to sell one of its routes and five ro-paxes to a global asset manager.
Wartsila in CNG coup Finland's Wartsila has won a contract to equip the world's first ever compressed natural gas (CNG) carrier with a propulsion system.
Western "well-positioned" Reports linking bulker owner Western Bulk to the bankruptcy of Denmark's Copenship are completely unfounded, according to Western's CEO Jens Ismar.
DNB's shipping book better Norway's DNB saw shipping loan impairments fall in 2014, but overall profit fell in the fourth quarter.
Sanoyas wins bulker duo Japan's Sanoyas Shipbuilding Corporation has clinched deals to build two of its newly designed 89,000-dwt eco-bulkers.
Stena Line axes run Stena Line has ditched its fast ferry service from Wales to Ireland.
MCC boosts Myanmar links MCC Transport, Maersk Line's intra-Asia arm, has introduced a new direct liner service between China and Myanmar.
Reefer debut Chinese greenfield yard Zhoushan Hetai has won its first order for two reefers from a compatriot owner.
Exmar buys back shares Exmar has acquired 300,000 of its own shares in deals worth around EUR 2.35m ($2.7m), the company has disclosed.
Changes at the top Petrobras is on the hunt for a new boss after Maria das Graças Foster stood down as chief executive of the Brazilian oil major.
Lack of domestic talent The Prime Gold incident is exactly the sort of practice the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) legislation was intended to deal with, says a top maritime recruiter.
Lawyer warns over FCF Companies in Singapore have been warned of the dangers of falling foul of new anti-discriminatory practices introduced in late 2014.
VLCC rates retreat Day rates for VLCCs trading in the spot market continued to fall Wednesday but many forecasters are confident that the segment will remain strong in the foreseeable future.
The Suez Canal Authority has announced that it will introduce surcharges on transit tariffs through the Egyptian canal for most major cargo vessels, effective July 15.
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