Russia News

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…

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.

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.

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…

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…

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.

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.

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…

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…

USCG PSC Equals meaningful Polar Presence

The Coast Guard needs a ship that can do more than just break ice; it needs a multi-mission ship to provide for the nation’s security, asserting its sovereign rights, and protecting its long-term economic interests. That ship is the Polar Security Cutter.Since Russia cashed the check in 1867 for the purchase of Alaska the U.S. has been an Arctic nation. Today, it is one of eight countries that have territorial land or seas above the Arctic Circle or in the polar region (six of those countries have Arctic Ocean coastline or an exclusive economic zone above the Arctic Circle). The U.S.

China to invest billions in Brazilian Port

China will make a billion-dollar investment in the Brazilian port of Sao Luis via China Communications Construction Company, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said the announcement will be made at the summit of leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the so-called BRICS group of emerging nations, who are meeting in the Brazilian capital for a two-day summit.The deal will be part of the largest foreign direct investment into Brazil this year…

100th Liebherr Mobile Harbor Crane in Spain

Liebherr delivered the 100th Liebherr mobile harbor crane, a new LHM 600, to the Spanish customer Maritima del Principado in Gijón. Spain is now the third country in the world, alongside Russia and India, with a fleet of 100 or more Liebherr mobile harbor cranes.The new machine is an LHM 600 and belongs to Generation 5, the latest technical development stage in the Liebherr Mobile Harbor Crane program.The history of the Liebherr mobile harbor crane in Spain started more than 27 years ago. In the Year 1992 Liebherr delivered its first mobile harbor crane to Spain. It was an LHM 1300.

GasLog Sees Tighter LNG Shipping Market

GasLog, an international owner, operator and manager of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, is predicting a tighter LNG shipping market, as increasing United States LNG output combines with a seasonal uptick in demand for gas, resulting in rising demand for shipping and higher utilization of the global fleet.These underlying trends in the LNG commodity and shipping markets point towards a structurally tighter market through 2020 and into 2021.As of October 28, 2019, the LNG fleet and orderbook (excluding floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) and vessels with capacity below 100…

Oil surges as China Pushes Tariff Rollbacks

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Tuesday on hopes for a U.S.-China trade agreement and optimism that Washington could roll back some tariffs on Chinese imports.Brent crude futures rose 74 cents, or 1.2%, to $62.87 a barrel by 12:56 p.m. EST (1756 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 68 cents, or 1.2%, to $57.22 a barrel.China is pushing U.S. President Donald Trump to remove more tariffs imposed in September as part of a so-called Phase 1 deal, which would…

Russia Presses for Northern Sea Route

Russia is advocating expansion of ports and shipping along the Northern Sea Route (NSR).The  existing excellent contacts between Port of Hamburg Marketing and Russian ports as well as the Hamburg maritime industry’s second most important trading partner in seaborne freight traffic provided the occasion for an expert session on the use of the Northern Sea Route – NSR - and development of transit freight traffic between Europe and Asia.At a meeting in Hamburg, members of a delegation…

Poland's PGNiG to Charter LNG Tankers

Poland's state-run gas firm PGNiG has started the tender process to charter liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers for its new imports of the super-chilled fuel, a senior company official said on Wednesday.The company currently imports most of the gas it sells to its customers from Russia's Gazprom, but Warsaw has taken steps to reduce that reliance so that it does not have to extend a long-term deal on gas supplies after 2022, when it is scheduled to expire.It has bought more LNG from Qatar and the United States and has signed import deals with companies including U.S.

Duisburg to Open New Trimodal Terminal

The largest trimodal  container terminal in the European hinterland is being developed in the Port of Duisburg.Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport) is set to build a US$111.2mln  new 220,000 m² trimodal container terminal on the site of its current coal island in response to a sharp decline in coal handling as a result of the energy transformation.The trimodal terminal is to be developed with duisport’s intermodal partners COSCO Shipping Logistics, Hupac SA and HTS Group and aims to…

Liebherr Delivers New LHM 800 to Bronka Port

Swiss multinational equipment manufacturer Liebherr has delivered  mobile harbor crane LHM 800 to  Russian port Bronka. It was carried by mv Trina. This is the second crane of such model in the port.The LHM 800 is the most powerful mobile harbor crane in the world with a lifting capacity of over 300 tons.Owing to its huge dimensions the crane handles large vessels with a breadth of up to 22 rows of containers, said the company.The unique crane will be set in operation within a month after customs clearance…

Exxon, Trafigura Tap Lower Freight Rates

U.S. crude exports to Asia, which have slumped due to record freight costs, stirred on Thursday as rates slid and the premium in Asia for Russia's ESPO Blend oil sent buyers back to U.S. grades, according to market sources.Oil shipping costs for United States Gulf Coast to Asia cooled this week from record highs on the prospect of more vessels becoming available. Nearly 300 oil tankers globally were placed off limits due to U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.Seventeen supertankers returned to service in October after being sidelined for overhauls, as 11 entered drydocks.

Sovcomflot Elects New Chairman and New CEO

On September 24, 2019, the Board of Directors of PAO Sovcomflot elected Sergey Frank as its new Chairman. Igor Tonkovidov was appointed as the company's new Chief Executive Officer. Both appointments are with immediate effect.The meeting was attended by Maxim Akimov, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, who noted in his address: "Through consistent implementation of Sovcomflot's Strategies 2005-2011 and 2012-2018, the company has transformed itself into a global leader in energy shipping and offshore services. Over the past 15 years, Sovcomflot fleet has grown more than threefold.

US to Drive New-Build Gas Capacity

The US is expected to drive new-build gas processing capacity growth in the global gas processing industry from planned and announced (new-build) projects between 2019 and 2023, contributing around 24% of global gas processing capacity growth by 2023, according to GlobalData. The US is expected to have a new-build gas processing capacity of 16.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) by 2023, a report titles ‘Global Capacity and Capital Expenditure Outlook for Gas Processing Plants'…