Life & Love

28 JAN 2021  Analysts are expecting China’s economic output in the first three months of 2021 to be 15 percent to 18 percent higher than in the same period in 2020 when the coronavirus struck, highlighting the enormous power and resilience of the country’s vast manufacturing sector. Perhaps the biggest …

27 JAN 2021 The World Bank joined with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) calling for efforts to accelerate the digitalization of the global maritime industry. Hosting a webinar to launch their new report on digitalization, the organizations expressed their belief that digitalizing the sector would bring wide-ranging …

26 JAN 2021  ReCAAP ISC, the regional cooperation to combat incidents against shipping in Asia, issued its annual report highlighting concern over a significant increase in incidents in 2020. The organization said at its twelfth annual forum that more needs to be done to enhance the safety of maritime transport …

24 JAN 2021  Heavy weather in the North Pacific is being blamed for the loss of containers aboard one of Maersk’s containerships. This is the third container loss incident recently reported in the Pacific. Maersk is saying that approximately 750 containers were lost overboard from the Maersk Essen, a 148,723 dwt …

23 JAN 2021  The crew of a bulk carrier abandoned by its owner and flag state is staging a hunger strike to call attention to their plight according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation. Desperate to get their back wages and return home the crew turned to this drastic action. …

22 JAN 2021  The largest single shipment of ethane to date departed the terminal in Texas bound for China. The gas, which is a derivative stripped from natural gas, is in strong demand, especially in Asia, where it is used as an alternative to butane and propane by the petrochemical …

21 JAN 2021  Commercial space flight operator SpaceX has purchased two oil rigs from Valaris for conversion into seagoing rocket launch pads, according to multiple reports and court records. Orbital launch trajectories are heavily affected by location, and a sea-based launch site allows the operator to optimize the rocket’s payload …

20 JAN 2021  At this point in the COVID-19 pandemic, seafarers have become all too used to bureaucratic obstacles to crew change. But a different form of inertia has stranded more than 60 bulkers and their crews off the coast of China, where they await resolution to a diplomatic standoff …

19 JAN 2021 Shipowners have limited options to access financing for ship repair, given the capital-intensive nature of vessel repairs also represents a financial risk for shipyards. Typically, a shipowner must fund the entire capital cost of vessel repairs from its own cash resources, although it may in exceptional cases …

18 JAN 2021 A U.S. State Department decision to blacklist Yemen’s Houthi rebel group may interfere with efforts to prevent a massive spill in the Red Sea – and lead to starvation on shore.  On January 10, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group (also …