The number of mariners stranded on ships at sea is steadily rising as the crew change crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic continues with no end in sight.Travel and transit restrictions in place due to COVID-19 have severely impacted seafarers, the number of crew members whose contracts have been extended by several months has continued to rise despite multiple pleas to governments to
Sri Lanka began towing a fully loaded supertanker on fire off its east coast after it began drifting towards land, a spokesman for the navy of the Indian Ocean nation said on Friday.The fire was still raging on the New Diamond tanker carrying about 2 million barrels of oil, said the spokesman, Captain Indika de Silva.
Global port operator DP World recorded a fall of 8.8% in second quarter container volumes, warning on Monday the outlook remained uncertain.The coronavirus pandemic shut cities and factories worldwide for months, disrupting shipments and global supply chains, while some cities are now reintroducing curbs after a recent rise in infections.
Taiwan is complying with international sanctions against North Korea, a senior Taiwanese security official told the United States’ deputy representative for North Korea on Tuesday, having previously been called out for breaking them.Taiwan, claimed by China as its own, is not a member of the United Nations
In the past few weeks, Manila Bay in the Philippines has been transformed into the world’s biggest parking lot for cruise ships, none of which have any guests.More than 20 vessels collectively weighing about 2 million tonnes are clustered off the coast of the capital, awaiting coronavirus clearance for more than 5,300 Philippine staff to return home from abandoned cruises
Uruguay started on Friday to repatriate 112 Australians and New Zealanders from a cruise ship hit by coronavirus and stranded in the La Plata River near the capital of Montevideo since March 27, the government said.The operation began in the evening when the Greg Mortimer, an Antarctic cruise ship operated by Aurora Expeditions, docked in the port of Montevideo.
Australia ordered two cruise ships to leave its waters on Thursday, after a liner that docked in Sydney Harbor last week became the primary source of infection in the country's coronavirus outbreak.Although well below levels elsewhere in the world, the pace of Australia's infections is starting to pick up speed, reaching nearly 2,800 cases and 13 deaths.
South Korea's military said on Tuesday it plans to expand the deployment of an anti-piracy unit now operating off the coast of Africa to the area around the Strait of Hormuz, after the United States pressed for help in guarding oil tankers.Attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran last year prompted U.S.
Swiss-based global mining and commodities trader Glencore is set to send its first spot liquefied natural gas cargo to Zhoushan in eastern China in a trading joint venture with Zhejiang Energy Group, a top company trader said on Friday.Glencore's joint venture with Zhejiang, which is backed by the provincial government, dates from 2018
The Sri Lankan navy has towed a fire-stricken supertanker further out to sea to keep it off the coast of the Indian Ocean island after the wind picked up strength and changed direction, a spokesman said on Thursday.The tanker, loaded with 2 million barrels oil, was 50 nautical miles (95 km) from the east coast and moving in a northerly direction, the navy spokesman, Indika de Silva, said.
A fully loaded oil tanker has caught fire off the east coast of Sri Lanka, which has dispatched an aircraft and two navy ships to help in the rescue, a Sri Lankan navy spokesman said on Thursday.The New Diamond, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) chartered by Indian Oil Corp (IOC), was heading to the port of Paradip in India, where the state-run firm operates a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery.
China has approved a long-awaited tax waiver on exports of cleaner ship fuel, paving the way for refiners to boost output, though Beijing may initially limit shipments to focus on growing its coastal marine fuel market, state refiner officials say.Ships globally have switched to lower sulphur fuels, or use emissions-removing devices