Brazil News

Fakes Make Up 3.3% of Global Trade

Trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, mostly originated in China, has risen steadily, posing a major challenge in an innovation-driven global economy, revealed a new study.Trade in counterfeit and pirated goods has risen steadily in the last few years – even as overall trade volumes stagnated – and now stands at 3.3% of global trade, according to a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the EU’s Intellectual Property Office.Trends…

Rotterdam Port Invests in Expansion

The Port of Rotterdam Authority said that its gross investments increased 91% to EUR408.1 million (USD461Mln) in 2018, the highest level since the construction of Maasvlakte 2.By far the largest part of this amount was used to further improve the logistical accessibility of the port of Rotterdam, for example by starting construction of the Container Exchange Route and building the Princess Amalia Viaduct, said a press release from the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam…

Brazilian Soya Bean Exports Soar

According to a research note from BIMCO, Brazilian soya bean exports are up 85.2% in the first two months of 2019, this following a record high exports in 2018 of 83.6 million tonnes, which was a 22.7% increase from 2017.According to BIMCO, 2019 has seen the highest ever export of soya bean during the month of February. Exports totaled 6.1 million tonnes, a 112.6% increase from the 2.9 million tonnes exported in February 2018. Strong demand, in particular from China, the world’s largest soya bean importer…

OSM CEO to Build Opportunities for Female Seafarers

In his first week in the new role of OSM Maritime CEO, Bjørn Tore Larsen has outlined his vision for greater female participation in the maritime industry, particularly with regards to vessel crews.Larsen, the founder and Chairman of the global ship management company, believes a healthier gender balance will help shipping in the quest for long-term success and commercial sustainability.OSM is a leader in the ship management segment, with over 500 vessels in the fleet, approximately 30 office locations and some 11,000 expert seafarers.

New Container Port Opens in Costa Rica

The inauguration of APM Terminals Moín, Costa Rica yesterday will enable products to be shipped on transatlantic routes to European and Asian markets without transshipment.The new terminal will also move Costa Rica to number one for connectivity, out of 139 countries ranked by the World Economic Forum, said a press release from the international container terminal operating company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands."At APM Terminals we partner with governments to become the best port operator in the world and Moín is a great example.

Uncertainty Mounts in Dry Bulk Shipping

Uncertainty mounts in dry bulk shipping  against a backdrop of weaker growth in Chinese imports, said BIMCO."The extent of the freight rate recovery in 2018 was limited – when compared with initial expectations – by a faster-growing fleet. Q4-2018 wasn’t as strong as it often is either, but we now know that was merely the beginning of a sharp downturn. On top of that, in the first month of 2019, leading the way even further down was a massive lack of cargoes. By early February…

Bunge Posts Q4 Loss as Trade War Hits Soy Prices

Global grains merchant Bunge Ltd reported a fourth-quarter loss on Thursday as fallout from the U.S.-China trade war dragged down soybean prices in Brazil.Shares of the White Plains, New York-based company slumped nearly 4 percent in premarket trading to $50.75 per share.Brazilian soy prices had swelled to a steep premium to U.S. beans after China slapped steep tariffs on shipments from the United States in July. But that premium narrowed after the countries declared a temporary truce in their trade war on Dec.

Dry Bulk Market Outlook Darkens After Vale Casualty

The prospects of dry bulk shippers carrying iron ore from mines to smelters have worsened due to the accident at Vale's Brumadinho dam in Brazil, Golden Ocean said on Tuesday as it presented forecast-beating quarterly earnings.The dam in the town of Brumadinho, which contained tailings, the mud-like byproducts of iron ore mining, burst on Jan. 25, killing at least 166 people and with almost 200 more still missing.Brazil's Vale, the world's largest iron ore mining company, has…

Sunken Stellar Daisy Located

The Stellar Daisy, a massive South Korean tanker that sank in March 2017, was spotted on the floor of the South Atlantic Ocean nearly two years later.Exploration company Ocean Infinity said that it has located the wreck of the lost South Korean tanker, Stellar Daisy, at a depth of 3,461 meters in the South Atlantic Ocean, approximately 1,800 nautical miles due west of Cape Town.Stellar Daisy sank on 31 March 2017, transporting iron ore from Brazil to China. Tragically, 22 of the 24 crew were lost.Working from Seabed Constructor…

Boskalis Sells Stake in SAAM SMIT Towage

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has signed an agreement with SAAM S.A. (SAAM) relating to the sale and purchase of the equity stake held by Boskalis in SAAM SMIT Towage. Under the terms of the agreement, the total (100%) enterprise value of SAAM SMIT Towage is valued at $560 million. Boskalis expects to receive $201 million in cash for its equity stake in the joint venture.The towage joint venture between Boskalis and SAAM was formed in 2014 which at the time covered the respective towage activities in Brazil, Panama, Mexico and Canada.

BIMCO: Trade War Cease-Fire for Dry Bulk Sector

Following an almost total halt in exports of soya beans to China in the last quarter of 2018, the new year has brought new hopes for American farmers and the dry bulk shipping sector. The USDA reported that in the first four weeks of 2019 754,609 tonnes of soya beans were ready to be shipped in China, up from only 25,347 tonnes in December.In addition to the ready shipments, on February 5 and 6, the USDA reported sales totaling 3.2 million tonnes of soya beans to China, the majority of which is to be delivered between now and September 1…

QP, Exxon to Build $10B LNG Plant in Texas

Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum announced a final decision to finance a $10 billion-plus project to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Texas Gulf Coast.Construction of the Golden Pass LNG export project located in Sabine Pass will begin in the first quarter of 2019 and the facility is expected to start up in 2024, said a press release.“Golden Pass will provide an increased, reliable, long-term supply of liquefied natural gas to global gas markets, stimulate local growth and create thousands of jobs…

Product Tanker Market Looks Up

The product tanker market registered a robust recovery in the fourth quarter of 2018, partially reversing the downward trend observed in the first nine months of the year, said Capital Product Partners.The Marshall Islands' tanker company said in a stock exchange annoucement that the beginning of the quarter was weak in line with the previous quarters, as rates hovered close to historically low levels, but the market gained momentum from early November onwards.In the West, the…

Svitzer Appoints Jeeninga, McKeating as Cluster Managers

Svitzer, aprovider of harbor and terminal towage to the global shipping industry, has recently appointed Fred Jeeninga as Cluster Managing Director, Continental Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, Georgia) and Maurice McKeating as Cluster Managing Director, UK South.Fred Jeeninga holds nearly 20 years of experience from the marine service industry. His work has taken him to Russia, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, and the Caribbean. He has been with Svitzer since 2009, most recently as Operations…

GAC Expands in South America

Growing demand for professional shipping services from the offshore oil & gas industry has prompted GAC to open an office in Uruguay. The new office continues 2018’s expansion of the Group’s Americas region with the opening of GAC Brazil’s office in Fortaleza, and the establishment of GAC Panama.Based in the key port of Montevideo, GAC Uruguay is well positioned to offer a full range of ship agency services nationwide, with particular focus on the growing offshore oil & gas and product tanker sectors.

First U.S. Crude Cargoes Head to China Since Trade Breakthrough

Three cargoes of U.S. crude are heading to China from the U.S. Gulf Coast, trade sources said on Monday, the first departures since late September and a 90-day pause in the two countries' trade war that began last month.The vessels left Galveston, Texas, last month and are scheduled to arrive at Chinese ports between late January and early March, according to shipbrokers and vessel tracking data. The shipments mark a change since Chinese buyers largely began avoiding U.S. oil during the trade dispute that flared last summer."It looks like China has resumed purchasing U.S.

Seacor Marine Acquires Three Fast Support Vessels

U.S. offshore vessel owner Seacor Marine  has acquired of three fast support vessels (FSVs) in exchange for the private placement of 603,872 shares of its common stock to domestic U.S. holders affiliated with the McCall family of Louisiana.The provider of global marine and support transportation services to offshore oil and natural gas and windfarm facilities worldwide has operated the acquired vessels for the past ten years under a revenue sharing pooling agreement along with four of its owned FSVs of similar specification.As part of the transaction, this pooling agreement was terminated.

US Oil Export Boom Sparks Battle to Build Texas Ports

Booming U.S. oil exports have set off a scramble to build Gulf Coast ports to handle more than 3 million barrels per day in new supplies expected over the next five years.Of seven proposed oil-export projects, nowhere is the opportunity greater or the competition more fierce than in Corpus Christi, Texas, where three firms are vying to open the state's first deepwater port.Commodities trader Trafigura has taken an early lead with a planned offshore facility that has an easier…

Chabahar Port Begins Commercial Operations

Commercial operations began at ndia Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), at Chabahar with the arrival of a vessel after Government of India took over the operations.A Cyprus registered bulk carrier had arrived at Chabahar with 72458 MT of corn cargo. The vessel MV MACHERAS berthed at the terminal at 0130 hrs on 30th December 2018. Thus IPGCFZ carried out its first cargo operation by discharging the imported cargo(ex Brazil) using pneumatic un-loaders.India has written a history with its engagement in Chabahar, claimed a governement release.

PSA, ONE Launch Container Terminal in Singapore

The global transport company Ocean Network Express (ONE) and PSA Singapore (PSA),the flagship terminal of the global port group PSA International, will join hands to form a joint venture  company  based at Pasir  Panjang Terminal in Singapore.Subject to regulatory approvals, the joint venture terminal is scheduled to commence operations in the first half of 2019 and operate four mega container berths with a combined annual handling  capacity of 4 million TEUs, said a press release from the global container shipping company headquartered in Singapore.Pasir Panjang Terminal…

U.S. Ports, Seaway Shipping Reporting Strong Finish to 2018 Season

The St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes ports are reporting strong growth in November cargo volumes that is expected to carry through in the final weeks of the 2018 season. Overall cargo volumes through the St. Lawrence Seaway from March 29 to November 30 topped 36 million metric tons, up 5.3 per cent over the same period in 2017. Grain exports and road salt were highlights of activity in November. Seaway salt shipments are ahead of last year’s volumes, totaling 2.2 million metric tons up to the end of November.Year-to-date U.S.

Brazil’s Itaqui Port and Panama Canal Sign MOU

The Panama Canal has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Port of Itaqui to promote the shipment of grains and other cargoes in the commercial route from Brazil through the Panama Canal to destinations located in the Pacific Ocean.Itaqui, located in São Luís, Maranhão, is the Brazilian port closest to the Panama Canal. It  has the infrastructure and connectivity necessary to move these exports to markets in Asia."With this agreement, the Panama Canal looks to promote…

Kalmar Books Order for 30 Ottawa Terminal Tractors

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has secured an order to supply a total of 30 Kalmar Ottawa T2 Terminal Tractors to the Tecon Santos container terminal in Brazil, operated by Santos Brasil Participações S.A. The order was booked in Cargotec's third quarter 2018 order intake, with delivery of the machines scheduled to take place through the first quarter of 2019.Tecon Santos is located in the largest port in Latin America and is one of Brazil's leading logistic company and biggest container terminal.

Panama Canal Signs Deal with Port of Itaqui

The Panama Canal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Port of Itaqui, located in the northeastern region of Brazil, to promote the shipment of grains and other cargoes in the commercial route between the north of Brazil through the Panama Canal to destinations located in the Pacific Ocean.The Port of Itaqui, located in São Luís, Maranhão, is the Brazilian port closest to the Panama Canal and has the infrastructure and connectivity necessary to move these exports to markets in Asia.

Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard Delivers World's First iVLOC

The world’s first intelligent very large ore carrier (iVLOC), the DNV GL-classed Pacific Vision, was delivered by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard to China Merchants Energy Shipping Company.Norway-headquartered international accredited registrar and classification society said in a statement that the vessel is the world’s first VLOC to implement DNV GL’s SmartShip descriptive notation.To qualify for the notation, Pacific Vision has been outfitted with an integration platform, a smart navigation decision support system…

Port of Hamburg: Railborne transport up 4.3%

In the first nine months of the year, the Port of Hamburg transferred substantially more freight on to rail - Seaborne cargo handling was below the previous year’s level, owing to less bulk cargo and a slight downturn in container handling, while there was an increase for conventional general cargo.In the Port of Hamburg, railborne container transport achieved a distinct advance of 4.3 percent in the first nine months of the year. A total of 1.8 million TEU – 20-ft standard containers – were transported by rail between the port and inland inter-modal terminals.