Kuwait News

Livestock Ship Held off Australia Due to Coronavirus Outbreak

A Kuwaiti livestock ship, without animals aboard, was being held off Australia’s west coast after six crew members tested positive for the new coronavirus, authorities said on Tuesday, heightening concerns over how arrivals by sea are handled.The Al Kuwait left the Middle East on May 7 and docked near the city of Perth on May 22 after telling the Australian immigration and agriculture authorities that some crew members had raised temperatures, Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan…

Arabian Gulf Port Operators Discuss COVID-19 Challenges

Abu Dhabi Ports held a virtual roundtable workshop with port operators from across the Arabian Gulf, to discuss shared experiences, challenges faced and best practices when dealing with COVID-19.Hosted by video conference, and held in cooperation with the Arab Sea Ports Federation (ASPF) Regional Office based in Abu Dhabi, the agenda included presentations from Ports and Maritime Affairs – Bahrain, Mawani – Saudi Ports Authority, Kuwait Port Authority, Port of Salalah , as well as the port operators of Fujairah…

Record Oil Output Cuts Fail to Make Waves in Coronavirus-hit Market

The minimal impact on oil prices from a global deal for record output cuts showed that oil producers have a mountain to climb if they are to restore market balance as the coronavirus shreds demand and sends stockpiles soaring, industry watchers said.After several days of discussions, oil producing and consuming countries aim to remove nearly 20 million barrels per day (bpd) or 20% of global supply from the market, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday.The oil market has barely shrugged, however: Brent crude gained 1.5% on Monday, while U.S.

Shell, Qatargas Sign LNG Deal for Kuwait

The world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer Qatargas has signed a new, long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Shell to deliver 1 million tons per annum of LNG to Kuwait, commencing this year.Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs said, “We are pleased to announce this new long term agreement between Qatargas and Shell for the supply of LNG to the State of Kuwait, following the recent agreement signed between Qatar Petroleum and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.

US: Qatar, Kuwait to Join Naval Coalition

Qatar and Kuwait have told the United States that they will join a U.S.-led naval coalition in the Gulf which was established in response to a series of attacks on oil tankers, a U.S. military official said on Monday."Qatar and Kuwait have already told us they are going to join, so it is just a matter of time," U.S. Army Colonel John Conklin, chief of staff of the coalition, said.The coalition, based out of Bahrain, is known as the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC)Reporting by Idrees Ali

McQuilling Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook

McQuilling Services Announces the Release of the 2019 Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook Update.The Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook Update provides an outlook on the global tanker market in the context of global economic growth and oil fundamentals influencing tanker demand and vessel supply. The outlook includes a view on future asset values, time charter rates, market freight rates and TCE revenues for 24 major tanker trades and four triangulated routes across eight vessel segments for the second half of 2019 through the remaining four years of the forecast period 2019-2023.

Marad: Send Gulf Transit Plans in Advance

The U.S. maritime agency has told U.S.-flagged commercial vessels they should send transit plans in advance to American and British naval authorities if they intend to sail in Gulf waters following several incidents over tankers involving Iran.The seizure of commercial vessels and attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz have unsettled shipping lanes that link Middle Eastern oil producers to global markets.The United States, which has increased its military forces in the region…

Khorramshahr Port Throughput Rises

Iran's Khorramshahr Port registered a growth of 59% in general cargo loading operation during the last four months."More than 738,483 tons of non-oil goods were loaded in the port of Khorramshahr, which shows an increase of 59% compared to the same period last year," said Nourollah Asadi, Managing Director of Khorramshahr Port and Maritime.Referring to the major export commodities from Khorramshahr Port, he said that Metals, Building Materials, Minerals, Animal Products, Household Appliances…

Hapag-Lloyd Adds VRS

German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has decided to implement a global vessel risk surcharge (VRS) following recent maritime incidents in the Gulf of Oman.The container line said that operating costs for its services have increased in the Middle East Gulf region as a result of tanker attacks that took place in the Strait of Hormuz.Other major carriers including CMA CGM, X-Press Feeders, and NYK have already impose a war risk surcharge on cargo destined for the Arabian Gulf or Middle East region due to heightened tensions in the region.As of July 15…

Maersk, Major Shippers Hike Gulf-bound Box Rates

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UAE Shipping Association Looks to Branch Out

The UAE Shipping Association (UAESA) was founded 12 years ago. But Tahir Lakhani, UAESA Vice-Chairman, indicates that in that time the UAE has been much more conducive to foreign companies than domestic ones, owing to a lack of options for ship finance.“We are trying to promote the UAE as a shipping hub, but there are not many shipowners here,” says Lakhani. “There is a lack of funding, and people do not understand ship finance in this part of the world. This is one of the reasons we’re facing a problem attracting new shipowners…

Abadan Ports Records 47% Growth in Exports

Iran's Director of Ports and Maritime Affairs of Abada, Reza Safari,  announced a 47% increase in exports from Abadan, Arvandkenar and Chouebdeh Ports.During the last 10 months of this year, exports of goods and commodities from Abadan ports has increased by 47%, Reza said.The export volume of goods and commodities in the last 10 months of this year was 27 thousand 735 tons more than in the same period last year.Agricultural products, household appliances and light products, meat and meat products are among the most exported items from the three ports of Abadan, Arvandkenar and Chouebdeh.

How Refiners Plan to Grapple With Fuel Oil Output After 2020

High-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), essentially the leftovers of an oil refiner's output, will still flow from refineries around the world even after new rules start up in 2020 curtailing its use in the global shipping fleet, a Reuters survey showed.Sixty percent of the 33 refineries contacted by Reuters in a global survey will still produce HSFO in 2020 although the supply will tighten as 70 percent of these refiners plan to reduce their output.Starting that year, ships will have to use marine fuel…

Kuwait Ports Resume Traffic after Weather Closure

Maritime traffic has resumed in Kuwait's Sheweikh and AL-Doha ports after a temporary closure due to bad weather, but Shuaiba port remains closed, Kuwait's Port Authority said on Thursday, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.Poor weather and heavy rains closed all three ports on Wednesday, the ports authority announced.The Gulf state has been hit by extreme weather in recent days, forcing Kuwait's cabinet to suspended work on Wednesday.Reporting by Omar Fahmy

Saudi Arabia Halts Red Sea Oil Exports after Tanker Attacks

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was suspending oil shipments through a strategic Red Sea lane after Yemen's Iran-aligned rebels attacked two tankers in the waterway, underscoring the risk of an escalation in tensions in the region.Brent crude futures rose 59 cents to $74.52 a barrel by 1008 GMT, extending their rally into a third day but falling from a 10-day high in earlier trading.Saudi Arabia and arch-foe Iran have been locked in a three-year proxy war in Yemen, which lies on one side of the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern mouth of the sea…

Oman Shipping: Strong Domestic Performance

Oman Shipping Company (OSC) is reporting strong performance in domestic markets following long-term deals with local refineries and traders including ORPIC and OTI.OSC’s growth in the region is being driven by a 20-year contract to transport condensate for ORPIC (Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company) and a 15-year deal transporting methanol for OTI (Oman Trading International) from Salalah Methanol plant.The company is further supporting the export of LPG from Sohar Refinery to Yemen, Sudan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Kuwait Resumes Operations at Three Ports

Kuwait's port authority has resumed port operations at Shuwaikh, Doha and Shuaiba ports after temporarily halting them earlier for bad weather, the state news agency reported on Thursday.(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Mark Potter)

Milaha Rolls Out Qatar-Iraq Direct Container Feeder Service

Qatar-based maritime transport and logistics conglomerate Milaha has announced the launch of a direct container feeder service between Qatar and Iraq. The new service, which will be an expansion of the existing Qatar-Kuwait service that the company launched last year, will follow a Hamad Port-Umm Qasr (Iraq)-Shuwaikh (Kuwait)-Hamad Port rotation, and will be initially served by one vessel with a 1,015 TEU capacity and 110 reefer plugs. The service will have a transit time of 2 days…

Milaha Rolls Out New Container Feeder Service

Qatar-based maritime transport and logistics conglomerate Milaha has launched a direct container feeder service between Qatar and Iraq.The new service, which will be an expansion of the existing Qatar-Kuwait service that the company launched last year, will follow a Hamad Port-Umm Qasr (Iraq)-Shuwaikh (Kuwait)-Hamad Port rotation, and will be initially served by one vessel with a 1,015 TEU capacity and 110 reefer plugs.The service will have a transit time of two days. The first vessel will depart from Hamad Port on May 7 and reach at Umm Qasr Port on May 9…

Gunvor Halts Refinery Upgrade for New Shipping Fuels

Global energy trader Gunvor Group has put on hold plans to upgrade its Rotterdam refinery that intended to make the plant more competitive ahead of new global rules on shipping fuel quality, it said on Tuesday, citing market conditions.Global oil and shipping companies are looking at options to cope with the new standards that come into effect in 2020.The U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships using fuel with a sulphur content higher than 0.5 percent, compared to 3.5 percent now…

Middle East Oil & Gas Shipping Routes are at Risk

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was suspending oil shipments through the Red Sea after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two crude tankers, underscoring risks caused by the conflict in the world's top oil exporting region.Iran, in its row with the United States over sanctions, has also threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, the other major strategic shipping route for oil from the region and the main route for Iranian crude exports.Below are facts about region's shipping routes:Bab al-MandebAny move to block the Bab al-Mandeb…

Finance Conference Speakers Take Optimistic View of Shipping Market Trends

The fourth Maritime Standard Ship Finance and Trade Conference, held at Abu Dhabi’s Sheraton Hotel and Resort, was in many ways very different from the preceding three events in this increasingly popular series. While in other years the sense of challenge and adversity was dominant, this year speakers at the one-day conference were generally much more optimistic and upbeat about market prospects, although a number of potential hazards on the road to full recovery were also much in evidence.Conference chairman…

Kuwait Signs LNG Import Deal With Shell

Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) has signed a 15-year liquefied natural gas import deal with Royal Dutch Shell Plc to help the oil exporting nation meet growing domestic energy demand. A report in Bloomberg said that the sales purchasing agreement with Shell International Trading Middle East Ltd. will start in 2020. The contract will cover 2 million to 3 million metric tons of LNG a year. The volumes delivered under the contract will be used to fire up KPC’s power stations. A press…

Hyundai Heavy Bags Canadian Facility Order

South Korean shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has won a design contract worth about $500 million for a liquefaction unit to be used for Steelhead LNG’s Kwispaa LNG export project in Canada’s British Columbia, reported Yonhap. Hyundai Heavy will conduct a front-end engineering design (FEED) for the hull of the At-Shore LNG (ASLNG) and build the LNG liquefaction facility for Steelhead LNG Corp., the company said in a statement. The ASLNG facility, scheduled to begin operations in 2024 on the coast of Vancouver…

Hyundai Heavy Industries, KOTC Ink Gas Carriers Deal

Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) has signed a contract with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for three very large gas carries (VLGC). The three 84,000 cbm LPG carriers are expected to start delivery in 2019. The contract worth USD 213.36 million to build three immense gas tankers is part of a major KOTC fleet overhaul. The deal entails the construction of three liquefied gas tankers at a cost of USD 71.12 million per tanker, the marine transport company said in a statement to KUNA.

Kuwait Oil Tanker Signs Financing Deal for 8 Tankers

Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) said on Thursday it had signed a 140 million dinar ($467 million) financing deal with three local banks for eight oil tankers, state news agency KUNA reported. The 10-year financing was obtained from Warba, Ahli United and Kuwait International banks, KUNA said. Earlier, KOTC and South Korean construction firm Hyundai Heavy Industries have co-signed a contract worth USD 213.36 million to build three immense gas tankers, as part of a major KOTC fleet overhaul.