Russia News

US Says No Requests Yet to Waive Jones Act to Help Oil Companies

The U.S. government said on Monday it has not yet received requests to waive a 100-year-old law on shipping goods between domestic ports, despite some interested parties who say temporarily lifting the regulation would help energy companies hurt by the oil price plunge.Kelly Cahalan, a spokesperson at the U.S Customs and Border Protection agency of the Department of Homeland Security, said no requests to waive the Merchant Marine Act, better known as the Jones Act, have been received.U.S.

While Oil Prices Plummets, Tanker Rates Fly High

If one ever needed proof that, no matter how dire the situation, there is always a silver lining, look no further than the crude tanker market, which has seen it day rates skyrocket in the face of a global pandemic that has effectively ground world commerce to a crawl.As is the case with other gravity defying business phenomena, geopolitics is a central factor, in this case a battle between Russia and Saudi Arabia to flood the world with oil in the face of declining demand and…

Oil Tanker Rates Double

Supertanker freight rates are on the rise for a second time this month as producers, refiners and traders scramble to secure ships to transport crude or store a fast-growing global glut of oil, industry sources said.Freight rates for very large crude-oil carriers (VLCC) along the Middle East Gulf to China route were assessed at about $180,000 a day on Monday, up from some $125,000 on Friday and a weekly low of about $90,000 a day on Wednesday, according to several ship broking sources.Its difficult to say whether or not the rates will be sustained…

Yamal LNG Resumes Loading Operations in Norway

Yamal LNG, controlled by Russia's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer Novatek, is resuming ship-to-ship transfers in Norway, Novatek said on Monday, after plans to shift the operations to Russia fell through due to coronavirus.Novatek suspended transfers in Norway in June last year due to what it termed "pressure from the West".According to Refinitiv Eikon data, the Arc7 tanker Vladimir Vize is due to arrive at the Norwegian Arctic port of Honningsvag on April 1, carrying a cargo from Yamal LNG.The data also showed that an empty Arc4 tanker…

HHLA Estonia Names Riia Sillave New CEO

The container and multipurpose terminal HHLA TK Estonia, the subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), said that Riia Sillave has taken over as the  new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from 15 March 2020.The 46-year-old Estonian, who studied business administration at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, has a wealth of experience in executive and management roles, including in the German automotive industry.Her most recent position was as CEO of Rail Baltic Estonia…

Booking Frenzy Sends Tanker Rates Soaring

The cost to transport oil on supertankers soared on Thursday as major producers scrambled to secure vessels to ship more crude in a bid to regain market share and buyers took advantage of plunging oil prices.Freight charges to ship oil in very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from the Middle East, which is home to the largest OPEC producers, to China, the world's top crude oil importer, nearly doubled overnight.VLCC tanker rates along the busy Middle East Gulf to China route jumped to about $160…

Russia to Disinfect Ships from Iran, Italy and South Korea

Russia has ordered the mandatorydisinfection of ships arriving at the Black Sea ports of Novorossiisk and Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka from Iran, Italy and South Korea because of the coronavirus, a  document seen by Reuters showed.A branch of Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's consumer safety watchdog, has ordered port agents "to arrange the disinfectionof ships arriving from these countries before the border is opened" in the city of Novorossiisk, the document showed.Novorossiisk port is one of the biggest on the Black Sea.

Port Bronka, NBG Sign Agency Pact

The owner and operator of Port Bronka Fenix LLC St.Petersburg and NBG Nouschirvan Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH Hamburg have signed an agency agreement for the promotion of the most modern sea port in Russia.Port Bronka is the only deep-water port in St.Petersburg.The port handles container, project, break bulk and ro-ro cargo. The current capacity of the port is 500.000 TEU and 130.000 units of ro-ro cargo per year.The further development plan includes an increase in the container…

Sovcomflot Names LNGC SCF La Perouse

Russian state-controlled shipowner Sovcomflot (SCF) has named the 174,000m³ SCF La Perouse - the first of three LNG tankers on order with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).The LNG carrier named after Jean-François de la Pérouse, a French explorer of the Pacific.The vessel will operate under a long-term time charter agreement with Total. The event was held at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries’ shipyard, Republic of Korea. Fleur-Eve Durin le Foll, the spouse of Total’s Country Chair Russia…

Port Bronka, NBG Sign Agency Pact

Fenix LLC St.Petersburg, owner and operator of Port Bronka, inked an agency agreement with NBG Nouschirvan Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH Hamburg, to promote the most modern sea port in Russia.Port Bronka is the only deep-water port in St.Petersburg.The port handles container, project, break bulk and ro-ro cargo. The current capacity of the port is 500.000 TEU and 130.000 units of ro-ro cargo per year.The further development plan includes an increase in the container cargo capacity…

Australia Becomes World's Largest LNG Exporter

Australia has become the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in the world. The record figure knocked Qatar out of the top spot."Australia is set to become the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter this year, overtaking Qatar, with its supplies expected to reach 81 million tonnes (MT) as Ichthys LNG and Prelude FLNG increase production," Rystad Energy said.Meanwhile, Qatari exports will remain at current levels, around 77 MT. The US will increase LNG exports from about 36 MT in 2019 to 56 MT in 2020, dominating new LNG supply contributions.

FESCO Transports RTG Cranes Via NSR

FESCO Transportation Group, the largest intermodal transport operator in Russia,  has performed relocation of four Liebherr rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes from Petrolesport (part of Global Ports Group) in St. Petersburg to Vostochnaya Stevedoring Company (part of Global Ports Group) in Vrangel (Primorsky Krai)."To ensure minimum transit time, the transportation of RTG cranes was carried out along the Northern Sea Route. The sea passage took 28 days, while transit time on the route through the Suez Canal would take about 52 days…

World Seaborne Coal Trade Rose 0.7% in 2019

Seaborne coal trade around the world grew 0.7% last year, helped by higher output in China and Indonesia and more export activity by Indonesia, Australia, Russia and Canada, Germany's VDKI coal importers lobby said on Friday.Imports and exports, counted together, rose to 1.218 billion tonnes from 1.210 billion tonnes in 2018, VDKI Managing Director Franz-Josef Wodopia said in an speech made available to Reuters, citing VDKI estimates.Within the 2019 total, trade in coking coal used for steelmaking dropped by 1% to 287 million tonnes as steel production declined, the Verein der Kohlenimporteure

SHI Eyes Russia's $3Bn LNG Carrier Order

South Korea shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) may receive an order from Russia’s largest independent gas producer Novatek for 10 additional ice-breaking LNG carriers worth US$3Bn.A report by Business Korea said Novatek has asked the Russian Government to approve its plan to place an order at an “overseas shipyard”.If the Russian government approves the scheme, the number of LNG carriers to be used for Russia’s Arctic LNG project will increase to 25, including the 15 units that will be built by Zvezda…

Can the New Silk Road Compete with the Maritime Silk Road?

China’s president Xi Jinping refers the Belt and Road Initiative, aka the New Silk Road, as the “Project of the Century” and according to a recent Bloomberg article, Morgan Stanley anticipates Chinese investments will total $1.3 trillion by 2027. In addition, more than 150 countries and international organizations have committed to invest in the project as well with infrastructure enhancements, such as roadways and power plants. But will this New Silk Road ever really compete with the firmly established Maritime Silk Road?Bernhard Simon…

P&O Ferrymasters Expands in Turkey

European providers of transportation and logistics services P&O Ferrymasters has announced plans to open five new offices across Turkey over the next two years as it continues the expansion of its pan-European logistics services into Asia.In addition to its existing base in Istanbul, P&O Ferrymasters will develop a comprehensive network across the strategically vital country by opening offices in Izmir on the Aegean coast, the capital city Ankara, Mersin on the south coast, Bursa in the Marmara region and Gaziantep near the border with Syria.Murat Bog…

Containership Grounds in the Bosphorus Strait

A foreign cargo ship ran aground in Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Friday, requiring a rescue operation and prompting authorities to temporarily close the picturesque and crowded waterway running through Turkey's largest city.There were no injuries or casualties, the governor's office said, adding that the ship had reported engine failure shortly before its grounding near the shore.There was no damage to the concrete walkway running along the shore, Reuters witnesses said.The Bosphorus…

NLE, Liebherr-Russland Pact on Port Equipment

NCSP Group, Europe's third largest port operator in terms of cargo turnover,  its subsidiary Novorosleseksport (NLE AO) will receive port equipment from Liebherr-Russland OOO.Dmitry Korchnev, General Director at NLE AO, and German Ignatov, Director of the Port Equipment Department at Liebherr-Russland OOO, signed a contract on purchase of two ship-to-shore cranes (STS) with a capacity of 65 tons for loading and offloading of 20, 30, 40 and 45 feet ISO containers from a vessel to shore and back.The SPS cranes delivery is scheduled for 2021…

DHL Intros Fastest China-Germany Intermodal

DHL Global Forwarding, the ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group, is introducing the fastest rail freight connection between China and Germany in response to growing demand for rail freight services between Europe and Asia.The new rail service, operating between Xi’an in China and Hamburg and Neuss in Germany, has been set up in cooperation with Xi’an International Inland Port Investment & Development Group Co. Ltd. and is cutting transit time from 17 days to between…

Russia to Invest $500 mln in Syrian Port

Russia plans to invest $500 million in the Syrian port of Tartus and build a grain hub there to boost its presence on Middle East markets, Interfax news agency cited Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov as saying on Tuesday.Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, has stepped up grain supplies to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in recent years since Moscow's 2015 military intervention on his behalf in Syria's civil war.Construction of the necessary infrastructure at the port…

Sovcomflot Profits Up on Stronger Tanker Market

Russia's state-owned tanker carrier Sovcomflot (SCF Group) reported improvements on both the top and bottom line in the third quarter benefiting from a stronger tanker market.The energy shipping company posted a net profit of  $26m as revenue increased in the third quarter.Sergey Frank, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PAO Sovcomflot, said: “We are satisfied with the Group’s performance over the third quarter. Sovcomflot steadily follows through on its strategy of increasing the share of large-scale industrial shipping projects in its portfolio."He added: "During the reporting period…

Russia Returns Ukraine Naval Ships before Summit

Russia on Monday handed back three naval ships it captured last year to Ukraine, something Kiev wanted to happen before a four-way peace summit on eastern Ukraine next month in Paris.The handover, confirmed by the two countries' foreign ministries, occurred in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.Russia seized the ships in the same area in November last year after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors. Moscow said the ships - two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat - had illegally entered its territorial waters.

Kalmar Supplies 9 Straddle Carriers to Eurogate

The  manufacturer of terminal tractors Kalmar has concluded an agreement with long-term customer Eurogate to heighten nine Kalmar straddle carriers operating at the Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg.The order was booked in Cargotec's 2019 Q4 order intake, with the work scheduled to commence in Q1 of 2020 and be completed by the beginning of Q3, the unit of Cargotec said.Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg is one of Northern Europe’s main transport hubs, offering excellent road, rail and feeder connections to the economic centers of Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Russia.

Liebherr MHC 100 Up in Spain

Swiss multinational equipment manufacturer Liebherr has delivered its 100th mobile harbour crane to be sold in Spain, an LHM 600 for shipping company Maritima del Principado.The ceremony took place in Gijón, Spain. The new machine is an LHM 600 and belongs to Generation 5, the latest technical development stage in the Liebherr Mobile Harbour Crane program.Spain is now the third country in the world, alongside Russia and India, with a fleet of 100 or more Liebherr mobile harbour cranes.The history of the Liebherr mobile harbour crane in Spain started more than 27 years ago.

Bahri Looks to Make LNG Foray

Saudi Aramco's shipping arm Bahri has issued an expression of interest (EOI) to charter up to 12 liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers from 2025, its first foray into the superchilled fuel, industry sources said on Monday.No further details were immediately available and Saudi Aramco declined to comment. EOIs are preliminary enquiries that may or may not turn into full-fledged orders.According to Bahri's website, the national shipping carrier of Saudi Arabia has six business units dealing in oil…

Cargo Ship Aground in Bosphorus Straight

A cargo ship collided with the shore in Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Friday, according to the governor's office and a witness, prompting authorities to close the picturesque and crowded waterway running through Turkey's largest city.There were no injuries or casualties, the governor's office said, adding that the ship reported engine failure shortly before the collision.