Mexico News

Global Container Demand to Grow by 1-3% in 2020

For 2020, global container demand is projected to grow by 1-3%, as per forecast by A.P. Moller - Maersk.The continued weak global sentiment above all in the manufacturing sector reduces the likelihood of a material growth pick-up in 2020, although sentiment brightened a bit at the end of 2019, and some improvement can be expected on the back of stabilizing inventory dynamics, said the shipping giant.Aside from the cyclical slowing of the global economy, substantial risk to global container demand comes from the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policy in major economies…

Shipping Industry Faces $370 mln Hit From New Panama Canal Charge

A new "freshwater" charge that came in this month to help the Panama Canal cope with climate change will cost the shipping industry up to $370 million a year, marking another blow for maritime companies already hit by fallout from the coronavirus.The Panama Canal, one of world's busiest shipping routes, which handled nearly 14,000 transits last year, said last month it would introduce a charge from Feb. 15 of $10,000 for any vessel more than 125 feet long.The canal, which relies on water from nearby Gatun Lake, has been hit by drought which affects water levels in the chokepoint.

Anatomy of a Marine Casualty Investigation

Blank Rome’s maritime attorneys have represented clients in some of the largest maritime casualties in the last 20 years, including the Staten Island Ferry allision with a maintenance pier in New York, the blow out and eventual loss of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the sinking of the El Faro during Hurricane Joaquin, and the collision between the Navy Destroyer USS John S. McCain and the tanker ALNIC MC in the Singapore Strait. These casualties have resulted in the catastrophic loss of life…

Mammoet Completes Mexican Terminal Expansion

Mammoet, a Dutch company specialized in engineered heavy lifting and transport of over-sized and heavy objects, said that its  team has successfully completed the second phase of the relocation of several shipping container cranes for Hutchison Ports ICAVE as part of a planned port expansion in Veracruz, Mexico.Mammoet used 56 axle lines of SPMT to transport two ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and ten rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs). The completion of the crane relocations has increased the port’s capacity to more than 95 million tons.

Maersk Names Jany CFO

A.P. Moller - Maersk has appointed Patrick Jany as its new chief financial officer, effective May 1, 2020.Jany, a German citizen, joins the world's largest shipping company as CFO and a member of the executive board after more than two decades with Swiss chemicals company Clariant, where he's been CFO since 2006. Prior to his role as CFO, he held several leadership positions within finance, general management and corporate development in Clariant in Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Indonesia and Spain.“I am pleased to welcome Patrick Jany to A.

US Trade Deficit Narrows for First Time in Six Years

The U.S. trade deficit fell for the first time in six years in 2019 as the White House’s trade war with China curbed the import bill, keeping the economy on a moderate growth path despite a slowdown in consumer spending and weak business investment.The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday also showed the Trump administration’s “America First” agenda decreased the flow of goods last year, with exports posting their first decline since 2016. President Donald Trump, who has dubbed himself “the tariff man…

Anatomy of a Marine Casualty Investigation

Blank Rome’s maritime attorneys have represented clients in some of the largest maritime casualties in the last 20 years, including the Staten Island Ferry allision with a maintenance pier in New York, the blow out and eventual loss of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the sinking of the El Faro during Hurricane Joaquin, and the collision between the Navy Destroyer USS John S. McCain and the tanker ALNIC MC in the Singapore Strait. These casualties have resulted in the catastrophic loss of life…

CaribX Ups Stake in Cape Licence Off Honduras

The Central American and Caribbean specialist exploration company CaribX said that it is increasing its share of the Main Cape Operating contract in Honduras.Following government approval CaribX will hold a 55% interest in the highly prospective licence area.CEO Rory Scott Russell said: "We are pleased to have closed this latest round of funding and delighted to have such a highly qualified and experienced group of explorers and entrepreneurs joining the company. Attracting the team behind Sierra and the giant Zama discovery demonstrates the enormous potential offshore Honduras…

Houston Ship Channel Shut on Tuesday Morning for Salvage

The Houston Ship Channel was shut on Tuesday morning to raise a fishing vessel that sank in mid-January near the waterway's entrance in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Houston ship pilots association.The ship channel, a 53-mile (85 km) waterway connecting the busiest U.S. petrochemical port with the Gulf of Mexico, is scheduled to reopen at 10 a.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, according to Houston Pilots, the ship pilots association.Two people aboard the 81-foot (25…

US Raises Tariffs on Derivative Steel, Aluminum from Some Countries

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation increasing tariffs on derivative steel products by an additional 25 percent and boosting duties on derivative aluminum products by an additional 10 percent.Trump said Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea are exempt from the additional tariffs on derivative steel products, and Argentina, Australia, Canada and Mexico are exempt from the added duties on derivative aluminum articles.Trump has imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to help boost U.S.

Trump to Discuss Traded Deal with EU's Von der Leyen

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was going to discuss a trade deal with the European Union (EU) in a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.Speaking ahead of a meeting with von der Leyen on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said: "Hopefully, we'll get something done."He earlier told delegates that trade deals struck this month with China and Mexico represented a model for the 21st Century.(Editing by Alexander Smith)

SAAM Acquires Intertug

Chilean logistics company SAAM has struck a deal to buy Intertug Investment Holding, a towage services company with operations in Colombia, Mexico and Honduras.SAAM will spend $54.5 million for 70% of Intertug, based on an enterprise value of $98 million, and carry out the acquisition through a capital increase and a share purchase, it said in a stock market exchange announcement.Intertug's 25-vessel fleet logs more than 18,000 maneuvers a year, generating around US$44 million in towage service revenue annually.The partnership with Intertug allows us to enter Colombia…

SAAM Towage to Enter El Salvador Market

Latest move to Enter El Salvador with Energía del Pacífico will Reinforce SAAM Towage's Presence in Central America.The Managing Director of SAAM Towage, Felipe Rioja, celebrated the company’s upcoming launch in the new market: El Salvador. “We will provide services for the Energía del Pacífico (EDP) project at the Port of Acajutla, which reinforces our presence in Central America and our commitment to the region,” he commented.The long-term agreement with EDP calls for allocating three tugs, two of which are new, to power plant operations.

Maersk India Trade Report Q3 2019

India’s import and export container trade in Q3 2019 (July-September) remained flat as compared to global growth of 1.5%. The slowdown is aligned closely with the weaker domestic demand, as well as a reflection of the broad-based cyclical weakening of the economic environment in all the main global economies. The negative effects from escalating trade restrictions also weighed on trade growth in the quarter. The trade restrictions have reduced bilateral trade between the United States of America and China…

Pelosi to Speak as U.S. Closes in on USMCA Deal

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold a news conference on Tuesday to discuss the U.S. Mexico Canada (USMCA) trade deal as U.S. and Canadian officials prepared to fly to Mexico City to work on final changes to the agreement."We're close. We're not quite finished yet, we're within range," Pelosi told a forum of chief executives on Monday evening.Her office did not elaborate on any announcement but she will be accompanied at the news conference by Representative Richard Neal…

BIMCO: No Change in US Imports of Steel Goods From Brazil

0.0%, no change in US imports of steel goods from Brazil despite quotaIn the first ten months of the year, the US imported 3.9 million tonnes of steel goods from Brazil, the same as was imported in the first ten months of 2017, despite the US putting in place quotas which was supposed to lower imports from the country.Brazil is the largest seaborne exporter of the tariffed steel goods to the USA, twice as large as South Korea, in second place.Brazil approaching its annual quotaIn May 2018…

Petronas in Game for a Third FLNG Unit

Malaysian oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) would build a third floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG)unit if there’s a demand.Petronas is the only company to own and operate two FLNGs, namely PFLNG Satu and PFLNG Dua.Bernama reported, quoting the gas and new energy business executive vice-president and chief executive officer Adnan Zainal Abidin, that if there is a reservoir with a sizeable amount of reserves and with the right gas composition that it is economically viable…

Bluefield Expands in Americas

UK-based subsea geotechnical specialist Bluefield Geoservices has said that it is expanded into the Americas to meet growing demand in the sector.The subsea geotechnical services provider will initially open two offices in the US, one in the northeast US to serve the immediate demands of the offshore renewable energy market, and one in the southeastern US, to support ongoing operations in the Gulf of Mexico energy markets as well as projects in Central and South America.“This is an exciting time of growth for Bluefield Geoservices,” according to Dr. Peter Allan, Bluefield Director.

Kalmar Signs Pact with Baja Ferries

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has signed an agreement with Mexican ferry operator Baja Ferries to supply 20 terminal tractors for use in RoRo port operations.The order, which was agreed through Kalmar’s Mexican distributor Tracsa/Sitsa, was booked in Cargotec's 2019 Q3 order intake, with delivery scheduled to take place during Q1 2020.Baja Ferries is a leading provider of cargo and passenger ferry services in Mexico, offering integrated and multimodal logistics solutions. The company’s…

Cargo Biz Grows at Hamburg Port

Germany’s largest universal port, the Port of Hamburg, reported a container throughput of 7 million TEUs for the first three quarters of this year, representing a growth of 6.9 percent year-over-year.The climb in container handling is primarily attributable to the four new transatlantic services, plus four new Baltic feeder services. Since the beginning of the year, the new transatlantic services operated by Hapag-Lloyd and ONE have connected Hamburg with ports in the USA, Canada…

OOS Takes Over ODN Delba III

OOS Energy, an offshore service provider from the Netherlands and part of the OOS Group, said that its onshore and offshore management teams  took over the Ships Management of the Semi-Submersible Drillship ODN DELBA III.Upon completion of the handover, the office management and crew continued to prepare the vessel for her voyage to Mexico, which included the finalization of all required documentation and certification in accordance to the interim audits which were conducted and…

Oil Majors to Raise $27Bln in Selling Spree

Global giants of the oil and gas industry – the so-called supermajors – are looking to sell assets that could fetch a total of $27.5 billion, according to Rystad Energy’s latest assessment.These companies are actively shedding mature assets on a massive scale in a bid to finance higher-yielding investments elsewhere, with the added benefit of pleasing shareholders who are calling for stricter capital discipline.“The expected transactions mean some of the majors are poised to exit certain regions…

Hackers Demand $5M from Pemex

Hackers demanded about $5 million in bitcoin from Mexico's Pemex, they told Reuters on Tuesday, saying the state oil firm missed a special discount by not paying immediately after a cyberattack that fouled up the company's systems.The hack, which Pemex said it detected on Sunday, forced the company to shut down computers across Mexico, freezing systems such as payments, according to five employees and internal emails.Hackers have increasingly targeted companies with malicious programs that can cripple systems overseeing everything from supply chains to manufacturing…

GloFouling Crosses 12 Lead Partnerships

The GloFouling Partnerships project, is a joint initiative between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) ,  has 12 Lead Partnering Countries.Indonesia and Mexico have recently joined Fiji, Tonga, Brazil, Madagascar, Mauritius and Philippines as those which have already established their national task forces. Jordan, Sri Lanka, Peru and Ecuador will join in the coming months.The project…

Interview: Cory Wood, VP, Bristol Harbor Group

Born at the University of Michigan in the early 1990s, Bristol Harbor Group (BHG) has grown into a diverse and widely respected naval architecture and marine engineering firm. Cory Wood, Vice President and one of the four co-founders of BHG, discusses the companies past and design drivers to power its future.The University of Michigan runs one of the most prestigious naval architecture and marine engineering programs in the country, but when Cory Wood entered U of M, he did so with the intent of becoming an aerospace engineer.

Venezuelan State Imports Surge Despite Sanctions

Venezuela's public-sector imports, which include subsidized food for the poor, surged in the first quarter of this year despite U.S. sanctions that President Nicolas Maduro describes as a full blockade, a recent release of central bank data shows.Government-linked entities handle the bulk of international trade in the crisis-stricken socialist country, and both imports and exports have declined dramatically since 2014, when a drop in oil prices sent the OPEC nation's economy into a tailspin marked by hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.But in the first three months of 2019…