Supply chain issues tied to liner shipping have been front page news throughout 2021; just about everyone agrees that there’s a problem. The underlying cause is right out of Economics 101: a surge in demand for moving containerized cargo, in the face of “inelastic” throughput capacity (which includes vessels and their landside interfaces to surface transportation, trucks and rail) that could not handle the swell, attributable to re-stocking of containerized cargo as economic activity recovered from the pandemic induced jolts.
U.S. Gulf Coast crude oil exports are flowing again after recent hurricanes took out 26 million barrels of offshore production, according to sources and Refinitiv Eikon data, with local prices easing as more shipments moved out of the region.Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas damaged platforms, pipelines and processing hubs, shutting in most offshore production for weeks. Restarts continued on Thursday with about 28% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude output offline. Some vessels remained at sea waiting to load U.S. crude.But of more than 50 tankers set to load U.S.
Barge freight costs for moving grains in the Midwestern United States spiked on Thursday due to ongoing logistical problems more than two weeks after Hurricane Ida, while CHS Inc said the timeline to reopen its terminal remains uncertain.CHS Inc, a farmer cooperative and grain trader, said it expected its Myrtle Grove, Louisiana, grain export terminal to be operational by the height of the U.S. corn and soy harvest but could not be more specific.
Hyundai Heavy Industries' shares closed 86% above their initial public offering (IPO) price on their trading debut in South Korea on Friday.The shipbuilder, one of the largest in the world, raised $935 million from its IPO, with much of the proceeds set to fund investments in new technology.A total of 1,633 domestic and foreign institutional investors placed bids to acquire shares earlier this month, valuing total bids at 1,130 trillion won ($962.3 billion), according to Hyundai Heavy.
Navigator Gas was awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) for an ammonia fueled gas carrier design from DNV. The new design draws together a consortium including MAN Energy Solutions, Babcock International and the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA), all of which have collaborated with Navigator Gas to earn the AiP.The design earned the AiP based on the special features notation (GF NH3) under DNV’s new rules for the use of ammonia as fuel in gas carriers. DNV, alongside the NMA, reviewed the design and relevant documentation and found no potential "showstoppers" to stop its progress.
Vitol’s Singaporean bunker operations company, V-Bunkers, placed an order to build two electric-hybrid bunker tankers, with the intention to deploy them for harbor ops in Singapore.The bunker tankers are being built at an undisclosed shipyard in China with Electric-Hybrid notation and will employ Energy Storage Systems (ESS) technology comprising Lithium ion batteries for energy storage and anautomated Power Management System (PMS) designed to efficiently manage power consumption to reduce GHG emissions.
Several south Louisiana ports are requesting federal assistance to bolster recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ida.On August 29, Ida made landfall in southeast Louisiana as a category 4 storm, heavily impacting local infrastructure, waterways and communities.The Lower Mississippi River opened three days later, and by September 2, the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) resumed limited operations and became fully operational September 7. Although operations resumed, there remains ongoing assessment of needs, and supply chain disruptions also continue.
Indonesia said on Friday it was worried about an arms race in the region after neighboring Australia announced plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of a new Indo-Pacific security alliance with the United States and Britain.Known as AUKUS, the alliance will see Australia get the technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines as part of agreement intended to respond to growing Chinese power.In a statement on Friday
Offshore wind developer Parkwind has selected the Port of Mukran as a service base that will serve its Arcadis Ost I wind farm, in the Baltic Sea, offshore Germany.Earlier this week, Parkwind, wind turbine maker Vestas, and construction firm Ems Maritime Offshore (EMO) signed the lease agreements for the O&M building in the Port of Mukran, the easternmost deep water port in Germany.The signing ceremony marked the start of the building development where up to 40 professionals will oversee and service the operations of the 257 MW wind farm Arcadis Ost 1.
A rapid startup of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany could help calm record-high gas prices in Europe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, as Moscow awaits for regulatory clearance for gas flows to begin.Russia announced last week that it had completed construction of the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 to Germany, doubling its gas exporting capacity via the Baltic Sea. However, the start of gas flows via the route needs the approval of Germany's regulator, which may take up to four months.
Finland-based marine equipment and technology firm Wärtsilä has sold Wärtsilä Tank Control Systems business to Svanehøj, a Danish gas pump specialist involved in the design and manufacture of specialized deep well pump solutions within the areas of gas pumps, fuel pumps, products and chemicals, and offshore products.Wärtsilä Tank Control Systems designs, builds, sells, and services measurement systems for gas tanks on LNG ships, offshore storage, and land-based LNG terminals.
Australian vessel designer Incat Crowther on Friday announced the launch of Tamoya, an Incat Crowther 17 to join Reef Ranger and Reef Resilience in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Joint Field Management Program fleet."Tamoya packs a lot of punch for her size, which is measured specifically to fit the home port berth. The main deck is dominated by an aft working deck with a quick launch and recovery system for a 3.4m RHIB, dive racks, deck winches, BBQ area, a sink and multiple deck lashing points," Incat Crowther says.