Singapore News

Stena Bulk Grows Sonangol Suezmax Pool

Over the last six months, Stena Bulk has expanded its fleet in the Sonangol Suezmax pool with the addition of six Suezmax tankers: SKS Skeena, Istanbul, Almi Galaxy, Almi Voyager and Almi Sky. The TC in fleet consists of modern tonnage of varying length and with different options.“In what has generally speaking been a stable low market, we have recently seen opportunities to utilize our business model in the current market,” said Erik Hånell, president and CEO, Stena Bulk. “With our successful commercial management…

US Soy Cargo Set to Head for Singapore after China Offload

A vessel carrying over 70,000 tonnes of U.S. The Aeolian Fortune was one of at least six ships anchored off the Chinese coast as escalating Sino-U.S. The Peak Pegasus, another vessel carrying 70,000 tonnes of U.S. Beijing says it will impose an extra 25 percent import duty on more than 500 U.S. goods, including soybeans, on July 6, in response to Washington's plan to slap duties on $50 billion of Chinese goods. It was unclear whether the new tariffs would now be applicable to the Peak Pegasus cargo.

Diana Shipping Signs TC Contract for m/v Maera with ST Shipping

Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with ST Shipping and Transport, Singapore, for one of its Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Maera. The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said that the gross charter rate is US$11,750 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about seven months to maximum nine  months. The charter commenced on July 4, 2018. The “Maera” is a 75,403 dwt Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2013.

Samsung Heavy Industries Delivers New Vessel to Nordic American Tankers

South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) delivered the first new building, named Nordic Aquarius, to Nordic American Tankers (NAT). The Bermuda-based NAT said in a press release: "We have previously advised you of the new buildings coming from Samsung shipbuilding in South Korea in 2018, the first one now in July. The second ship is scheduled for delivery at the end of August and the third one at the end of October. It said that over the years they have received several new buildings from Samsung. All transactions have been performed in a flawless way.

Singapore Tops World's Shipping Centre Rankings in 2018

Singapore has emerged as the world's top maritime center for the fourth consecutive time in the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Center Development Index. "Singapore remains unmoved at the top of the International Shipping Centre Development (ISCD) Index for the fifth successive year, following a benchmark report published today (10 July 2018) by the Baltic Exchange and Xinhua, China’s news agency," said a press release. The index covers 43 of the world’s largest ports and…

Thoresen Thai Agencies Sells Bulk Carrier

Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company reported the sale of M.V. Thor Enterprise, a general cargo vessel with a rated capacity of 42,529 deadweight ton (DWT) built in 1995. The Vessel was sold to a company which is not a connected person of the Company by Thoresen Shipping Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Sources, quoting data provided by VesselsValue said that although Thoresen has not identified the buyer of the vessel, Thor Enterprise, renamed Asian Enterprise, was sold to India’s Hermes Maritime last month.

Fednav Adds 60th Owned Dry Bulk Vessel

Canada's Fednav Limited takes ownership of a 60th bulk carrier, an important milestone in Fednav’s history. This vessel, the MV Federal Dee, is the latest in a series of 22 box-hold handysize bulk carriers of 34,500 deadweight tons ordered from Oshima Shipyard of Japan since 2013. As the world’s largest operator of ice-class dry-bulk carriers and Canada’s leading ocean-going, dry-bulk shipowning and chartering group, Fednav operates a modern and high-performing bulker fleet of over 100 ships, the majority of which are owned.

APM Terminals' New Gateway to Iraq

New pre-arrival clearance protocols and reduced terminal handling charges for containers in transit, mean that Jordan’s deep-water Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT), located on the Red Sea, is now a realistic alternative maritime gateway for Iraq-bound cargo. Containers imported into Iraq will no longer have to be trans-loaded onto new trucks as they cross the Jordanian/Iraqi border. “The Aqaba Container Terminal has been working hard over the years to develop a competitive gateway to Iraq," says ACT Managing Director Steven Yoogalingam.

China's Tariffs on US Oil Would Disrupt $1 Bln Monthly Business

China's threat to impose duties on U.S. oil imports will hit a business that has soared in the last two years, and which is now worth almost $1 billion per month.In an escalating spat over the United States' trade deficit with most of its major trading partners, including China, U.S. President Donald Trump said last week he was pushing ahead with hefty tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports, starting on July 6.China said Friday it would retaliate by slapping duties on several American commodities, including oil.Investors expect the spat to come at the expense of U.S.

Koch Shipping Signs Charter Deal for Diana's Bulker m/v Philadelphia

Diana Shipping  announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Koch Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore, for one of its Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Philadelphia. The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said that the  gross charter rate is US$20,000 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about 20 months to maximum 23 months. The charter commenced on June 18, 2018.

SEA\LNG Welcomes First Shipborkers in the Coalition

SEA\LNG, the multi-sector industry coalition aiming to accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, today announced that it has welcomed Exeno Yamamizu Corporation (Yamamizu) & Fearnleys AS as the first shipbroking companies to join its membership coalition. The coalition whose membership currently stands at 33 organisations, is committed to uniting knowledge and expertise from across the LNG value chain, including shipping companies, ports…

Marine Environment Protection for Southeast Asia Seas Project Launched

Seven ASEAN countries have formally launched an ambitious initiative aimed at improving the environmental health of the seas in the region, through the implementation of key International Maritime Organization (IMO) marine environment protection treaties. Senior decisions makers of maritime administrations of the beneficiary ASEAN countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) met for their first high-level regional meeting in Bali, Indonesia (25-27 June), to kick-start the “Marine Environment Protection for Southeast Asia Seas (MEPSEAS) Project”.

Evergreen Strengthens Asia – East Africa Service

In order to meet increasing and diverse market demands, Evergreen Line has announced enhancements to its current Asia – East Africa service (AEF) – adding to its direct calls in Central & Southern China. Five vessels are currently deployed on the AEF service – three operated by Evergreen Line, the remaining two by COSCO and X-Press Feeders. To accommodate the extended service to China, Evergreen Line and COSCO will each provide one more vessel. As such a total of seven ships with an average capacity of 4,200 TEU will be utilized with a service rotation of seven weeks.

ReCAAP ISC, WMU Strengthen in Fight Against Piracy

ReCAAP Information Sharing Center (ISC) and World Maritime University (WMU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen the cooperation between the two organizations in the shared interest in increasing the knowledge of the evolving situation of piracy and sea robbery in Asia. The cooperation will see ReCAAP ISC share its Asian experience in combating piracy and armed robbery against ships with the next generation of maritime leaders pursuing their postgraduate studies at WMU’s campus in Malmö…

REGULATORY WATCH: The Global 0.50% Sulfur Cap: 30 months and counting down …

Industry frets about the coming deadline. Shipping desperately wants to be ready, but will global shore-based infrastructure and refining capacity match the demand that is sure to come? And … are regulators listening to industry’s concerns? In early June, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a public workshop in Washington to help the agencies prepare for the January 1, 2020 deadline for worldwide implementation of very low sulfur marine fuel that meets the new 0.50% sulfur cap as set forth by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Chembulk Tankers Hires Two SVPs

Arthur “Art” Allen and Stuart Peerless have joined the Chembulk Southport and Singapore teams respectively in the positions of Senior Vice President of Trading – West and Senior Vice President of Trading - East. The two will be responsible for oversite of fleet allocation, chartering and client relationships in their respective hemispheres reporting directly to Chief Commercial Officer Steve Laino.Allen, a chemical tanker trader with nearly two decades of experience both at sea and ashore in commercial and operational roles…

Boreas Maritime Opens Singapore Branch Office

Crewing agency Boreas Maritime bv, headquartered in the Netherlands, said it has set up a new regional office in Singapore to provide services and support to clients based in the Asia Pacific region.Boreas Maritime Operations Director, Pascal Bounin, said, “Having a dedicated office in Singapore is crucial to fulfilling our mission of providing the best in class crewing services to our clients around the world.”The new branch office has been formed after Boreas acquired the shares of a Singapore-based company…

W&O Opens New Office in Singapore

W&O opened a new office in Singapore, signaling its expansion in the Asia Pacific region. The company said the move into Singapore is an important milestone in expanding the global support network for its customers, as it now has 18 branches and additional 5 distribution points, strategically located to support customers operating globally. “W&O has been exploring options to broaden our footprint into the Asia Pacific maritime industry, and as it is the world’s busiest transshipment port and the third largest by tonnage…

Pegasus Maritime Loses Operator Licence in Singapore

Marine fuel services provider Pegasus Maritime (Singapore) Pte Ltd has lost its licence to operate bunker crafts in the port of Singapore effective July 16, the Maritime And Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore said on Monday.The MPA has revoked Pegasus Maritime's craft operator licence after investigations earlier this year revealed the company had allowed an unlicenced craft operator to use its bunker craft to make bunker deliveries, it said in a statement.Pegasus Maritime did…

APL Adds Port Calls to West Asia Express Service

Ocean carrier APL announced that the West Asia Express (WAX) service will be calling the additional ports of Xingang, Busan and Sohar as part of its service rotation, expanding coverage between the Far East and Middle East.According to APL, the WAX service will offer unparalleled transit time from Asia to the key Gulf ports of Sohar, Jebel Ali and Dammam. Shippers will also gain direct access to Sohar from Qingdao; as well as to Dammam and Doha from Xingang.The updated WAX service…

Former OW Bunker Manager Appeals 18-month Jail Term

The former manager of marine fuel supplier OW Bunker's Singapore subsidiary said on Tuesday he would appeal the 18-month jail term he was sentenced to last month, his lawyer told Reuters.On May 30, a Danish city court found Lars Moller, former head of Dynamic Oil Trading in Singapore, guilty of granting credit outside his mandate, contributing to OW Bunker's bankruptcy.Moller's defense lawyer said on Tuesday, that they would appeal the verdict and aimed for him to be "fully acquitted".The 2014 bankruptcy of the firm, then the world's leading supplier of bunker fuel with a 7 percent market shar

Singapore Reports Higher May Bunker Fuel Sales

Singapore marine fuel sales climbed to a four-month high of 4.283 million tonnes in May, up 1.2 percent from the previous month and 2.5 percent higher compared with a year ago, data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) showed on Wednesday.The strong volumes sold in May were largely in line with industry expectations and come despite sharply higher bunker fuel prices due to rising crude oil prices and shortages of finished grade bunker fuel oil during the month.The cost of 380-centistoke (cst) fuel oil cargoes, the mainstay bunker fuel for large vessels, in May averaged $433

Tiny Japan Shipping Shares Jump on North Korea Detente Hopes

Shares of small Japanese shippers jumped this week after the historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sparked hopes of news business ties with the reclusive country.Japanese retail investors are snatching up shares of the firms that may benefit from a potential thaw between Tokyo and Pyongyang, even though the Japanese government has been a staunch supporter of "maximum pressure" on North Korea.Shares of Rinko Corp, a marine transportation company…

Diana Shipping Signs TC Contract for m/v Baltimore with Koch

Diana Shipping through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Koch Shipping, Singapore, for one of its Capesize dry bulk vessels, the m/v Baltimore. The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said that the gross charter rate is US$18,050 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about 12 months to about 14 months. The charter commenced earlier today. The m/v Baltimore was chartered…

ST Engineering Appoints New Director

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) announced MG Ong Su Kiat Melvyn has been appointed as a non-independent non-executive director of the company with effect from June 8, 2018.MG Ong is currently Chief of Defense Force. He joined the SAF in 1994 and has held a broad range of staff and command appointments in the course of his military career. MG Ong holds a Master of Science, (Science) from the London School of Economics & Political Science, University of London.ST…

ONE’s First Magenta Newbuild Delivered

A naming ceremony was held Monday at Japan Marine United Corporation’s (JMU) Kure shipyard for the first newly built containership painted in Ocean Network Express' (ONE) corporate color.The new magenta box ship, named ONE Stork, is the 10th of 15 new 14,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels ordered by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK). It will be chartered by Singapore-based ONE, which began operations on April 1 by integrating the container businesses of Japanese ocean carriers Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), Mitsui O.S.K.