13 AUG 2020 This year, SCF’s LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie completed an early eastbound voyage along the North Sea Route. What is your assessment of this voyage? What difficulties arose during the voyage? Do you plan similar early voyages in the future? In the eastern sector of the NSR, …
Read More »IRANIAN FORCES BOARD LIBERIAN-FLAGGED TANKER IN THE PERSIAN GULF
12 AUG 2020 In the latest salvo of the ongoing disputes regarding the shipment of Iranian oil, there are reports that Iranian Naval forces approached several vessels and boarded a Liberian-flagged tanker Wila as it was approaching the Khor Fakkan anchorage in the UAE. The marine security firm Dryad Global reported the …
Read More »SINGAPORE BANK SEEKS COURT INTERVENTION FOR DISTRESSED SHIPPING GROUP
10 AUG 2020 Singapore’s OCBC Bank has sought a court-appointed supervisor to manage shipping firm Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd and four of its subsidiaries. Xihe Holdings is part of the troubled Singapore-based Lim family business empire, which also includes oil trader Hin Leong Trading and fleet manager Ocean Tankers (Pte) …
Read More »DRAMATIC DECLINE IN 2020 SHIPBUILDING ORDERBOOK, INCREASED DEMOLITIONS
09 AUG 2020 The economic impact of the coronavirus is taking a strong toll on the shipbuilding industry according to a new analysis from BIMCO. While the orderbook is at its lowest point in 17 years, BIMCO however reports that even with increasing demolitions fleet volumes are continuing to rise …
Read More »WHAT IS AMMONIUM NITRATE, THE CHEMICAL BEHIND THE MASSIVE BEIRUT EXPLOSION?
8 AUGUST 2020 The Lebanese capital Beirut was rocked on Tuesday evening local time by an explosion that has killed at least 78 people and injured thousands more. The country’s prime minister Hassan Diab said the blast was caused by around 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored near the city’s cargo port. …
Read More »SPIDERWEB IS SLATHERED IN NEUROTOXINS THAT MAY SUBDUE OR KILL PREY, SCIENTISTS SAY
7 AUGUST 2020 As if spiderwebs weren’t already icky enough, some spiders have gone and made them poisonous as well, a new study reveals. The unique properties of spiderwebs have long fascinated materials scientists. They’re constructed from one of the toughest known natural materials: lighter, yet five times stronger than steel, and bacteria resistant to …
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