16 AUG 2019 South Korea has announced plans to strengthen its inspection regime for battery, tire and plastic waste imported from Japan, a move seen as part of its on-going trade war with Japan. The Ministry of Environment said it will focus on radioactive and heavy metals tests on waste …
Read More »DIRTY FUEL MARGINS PLUNGE AS IMO 2020 LOOMS
15 AUG 2019 Margins for European high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), used to power ships, sank this week as preparations for a global shift to cleaner maritime fuel next year start to weigh on prices. High sulphur fuel oil is one of the dirtiest and cheapest products to come out …
Read More »BLACK MARLIN ARRIVES IN ROTTERDAM CARRYING EIGHTEEN HULLS FOR DAMEN
10 AUG 2019 The semi-submersible heavy lift vessel Black Marlin has arrived at the Port of Rotterdam with a monster load of prefabricated hulls for Damen. The load in total comprised of seventeen inland shipping vessels hulls and Damen crane barge. The hulls and crane barge were constructed in China …
Read More »2020 BUNKER PRICING PAINS
07 AUG 2019 With the IMO 2020 regulations approaching, it is important that commercial operators are aware of the potential impact that volatile fuel prices may have on their operations. The effect the new MARPOL provisions will have on bunker prices is not yet clear though it is expected to …
Read More »SANCTIONS AND TARIFFS: THE NEW ECONOMIC BATTLEFIELD
06 AUG 2019 Economic warfare is being fought with an intensity not seen since the period leading up to World War II as countries deploy tariffs, embargoes and economic sanctions to force policy changes or punish their adversaries. Free trade is coming off second best, and global trade has stalled. …
Read More »STENA BULK PRESSES FOR RELEASE OF TANKER’S CREW
05 AUG 2019 The Swedish tanker operator Stena Bulk protested the continued detention of the UK-flagged Stena Impero by Iranian authorities, describing the action as “unacceptable and unjustifiable.” The vessel has been in Iranian custody for 19 days. “We are maintaining limited communication with the crew onboard and although they remain in …
Read More »TROUBLE AHEAD FOR CARRIERS AS TRADE WAR INTENSIFIES
04 AUG 2019 The sharp escalation in the US/China trade war could see some short-term front-loading gains for transpacific carriers on the headhaul route, but it spells trouble longer-term, particularly on the backhaul. Hitting back at President Trump’s Twitter announcement last week of a 10% tariff on a further $300bn …
Read More »SPANISH NGO SEEKS SAFE PORT FOR 124 PEOPLE RESCUED IN MEDITERRANEAN
02 AUG 2019 A Spanish charity rescue boat sought safe port on Friday after Italy rejected its request to disembark 124 people saved from two migrant rafts in the Mediterranean, the organization said. Non-governmental organization (NGO) rescue boats have largely disappeared from the Mediterranean over the last year as governments …
Read More »SHELL NOT TAKING BRITISH-FLAGGED TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ
01 AUG 2019 Royal Dutch Shell is not taking any British-flagged tankers through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with Iran in the vital chokepoint for oil shipments. “There are Shell-managed vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and that will probably continue to be the case. Currently, though, there …
Read More »GERMANY RULES OUT JOINING U.S.-LED HORMUZ MISSION
31 JULY 2019 Germany will not participate in a U.S.-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz as it wants to ease tensions with Iran, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday. The United States had asked Germany to join France and Britain in a mission to secure shipping through …
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