Singapore News

PSA, SUTD to Build NewGen Port Operators

Singapore's port operator PSA Corporation Limited (PSA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to develop a pipeline of talent for the future mega port in Tuas.The MoU is aimed at producing data science, info-communications and engineering professionals for the Tuas port, said a joint statement by PSA and SUTD.The new Tuas Port will harness big data, and leverage automation technologies and smart systems to raise terminal productivity and service quality…

Nitin Gadkari Flags Off First Container Vessel at Tuticorin

Indian Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari Wednesday flagged off the maiden container mainline vessel at VoC Port (Tuticorin Port), opening direct shipping route to eastern countries.Calling the step a "gamechanger in container traffic of South India", Gadkari said that Tuticorin has the potential to become a "major industrial hub".At present containers from Tuticorin to Far East countries viz Malaysia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong are transited by the feeder vessels to Colombo where they are further connected to the mother vessel .With Mainline call being done directly at Tuticorin…

NYK in Charter Agreement with Mitsubishi

Japanese shipping and logistics giant Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) has signed long-term contracts with Diamond Gas International Pte. Ltd. (DGI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) located in Singapore, for DGI to charter from NYK three newly built liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.Previously, NYK concluded long-term time-charter contracts for three new LNG vessels for MC’s Cameron LNG project, so these most recent contracts bring the total to six carriers for MC.The NYK Group will be responsible for ship management for the three ordered LNG carriers…

ChainPORT Renews Digital, Environmental Commitment

Delegates from the world’s leading ports have come together to examine their role in the rapidly evolving maritime logistics landscape and in particular to coordinate their contribution to the establishment of an interconnected maritime supply chain at the Port of Barcelona.The multilateral partnership of the world leading ports, ChainPORT, has just concluded its 4th Annual Meeting which was hosted last week by the Port of Barcelona.ChainPORT was initiated in 2016 by the Port…

Diana Shipping in TC Pact for m/v Ismene with Koch

Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Koch Shipping Singapore, for one of its Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Ismene.The a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said in a press note that the gross charter rate is US$12,125 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period until minimum January 1, 2020 up to maximum March 31, 2020.The charter is expected to commence on December 12, 2018, it said.

Diesel-Loaded Tankers Stranded off Asia as Demand Wanes

Several tankers carrying diesel fuel are floating off Taiwan and Southeast Asian waters as a steep fall in oil prices kept buyers at bay, trade and shipping sources said on Friday, helping push rates to their highest since January 2016.With tanker rates also boosted by strong Chinese oil exports, it was a big relief for an industry that has been in the doldrums for the past three years.About seven to nine long-range tankers carrying about 5 to 7 million barrels of diesel are currently floating off Taiwan waters largely due to a drop in bunker fuel demand from the South China Sea…

Scrubber Manufacturers Slams Singapore Open-Loop Scrubbers Ban

Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association (EGCSA) has attacked Singapore's restrictions on open-loop versions of the systems as "disappointing" and "politically motivated."The scrubber manufacturing industry body said in a press release: "The recent announcement by the outgoing CEO of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) banning the discharge of process water from open loop scrubbers for vessels visiting Singapore came without prior notice or discussion with the IMO…

Floating LNG in Asia Finds Buyers as Prices Plunge

Nine or more tankers on the way or discharged into Asia, while at least five still holding LNG off Singapore.Several liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes that had been stored on vessels in Asian waters are now heading towards buyers' terminals in China, Japan or South Korea as spot prices for the super-chilled fuel have plunged this week to multi-month lows.At least nine LNG tankers are now on their way or have already offloaded cargoes to buyers after floating off Singapore, Malaysian or South China waters for up to two months…

Rising Ship Supply Eases LNG Charter Rates

Limited availability drove LNG shipping rates to highs; but prices now falling as more ship supply becomes available.Inflated spot charter rates for liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are easing as more ships becoming available, which could help increase LNG trade if Asian demand rises in coming months.LNG charter rates are a key component of spot LNG trade, dictating the way the super-cooled gas is transported. Charter rates usually follow the price of LNG, which has fallen since September due to sluggish demand from Asian buyers.Rates have remained high for most of this year…

Seoul Connects Maritime Capacity-building Activities with IMO

The first regional donor/recipient workshop on maritime Technical Cooperation activities held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (26-30 November). The workshop built on the long-term resource mobilization strategy for International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Technical Cooperation activities, approved at the sixty-eighth session of the IMO Technical Cooperation Committee (TCC).According to a release from IMO, this strategy identified a more proactive and methodical approach with regard to generating new resources by encouraging the development of partnerships with Member States…

CMA CGM Wins Award for Most Accomplished Asia Pacific Ship Owner

The CMA CGM Group has been awarded the Most Accomplished Asia Pacific Ship Owner Award 2018 at the Maritime2020 Summit, which was held in Singapore on November 27, 2018.The French container transportation and shipping company said that this award recognizes the shipowner who demonstrates the greatest efforts to make its fleet more sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly.Mathieu Girardin, Vice President CMA CGM Asia regional Office, received the award on behalf of the…

Singapore Hosts ASEAN Ports Association Meeting

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has hosted the 44th ASEAN Ports Association (APA) Meeting on 27 and 28 November 2018. The annual meeting was officially opened by the Chairman of MPA, Niam Chiang Meng, at the Conrad Centennial Hotel.About 100 key port executives and decision-makers from the nine member nations of the APA  attended the event, which serves as a platform for ASEAN ports to cooperate in areas such as port development, operations and management.The nine member nations of the APA are Brunei Darussalam…

ONE Expands Asia-South America Service

Ocean Network Express (ONE) announced the further expansion of its Asia - east coast South America service as a follow-up to the earlier announcement detailing the expanded cooperation with Hapag Lloyd.A week ago, ONE announced the expansion of its Asia-South America service. ONE had said it is cooperating with Hapag-Lloyd and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) in the Asia-South America trade lane.Commencing in the 2nd week of December 2018, the additional weekly offering will enhance ONE’s service frequency and broaden its coverage between Asia and the east coast of South America…

Philippine's Batangas Port Hits Record Cargo Volume in November

The Batangas International Port or locally known as the Batangas Pier in Philippines said that  Batangas Container Terminal (BCT), managed by listed Asian Terminals Inc.(ATI), has continuously stepped up its role as international trade facilitator in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and has effectively helped decongest Metro Manila roads.Early in November, BCT achieved a new operations milestone as it broke through the 200,000-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent…

Cosco-PSA Terminal JV Adds Two New Berths in Singapore

China's Cosco Shipping Ports and PSA Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the addition of two new berths at the Cosco-PSA Terminal in Singapore.With the launch of the two new berths, CPT will be equipped with five mega-vessel berths, increasing its annual handling capacity from 3 million TEUs of the current three berths to about 5 million TEUs.The new berths will strengthen CSP’s presence in Singapore and support the needs of Cosco Shipping group with the advent of mega-vessels and megaalliances in the shipping industry.

India to Probe Alleged Antitrust Behavior by Maersk, DP World at Mumbai Port

India's antitrust regulator has ordered a probe into alleged anti-competitive practices by Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk and Dubai's DP World at the terminals they operate at the country's largest container port in Mumbai, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.The decision by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to investigate follows a complaint by Singapore's PSA International Pte Ltd, which alleged that Maersk and DP World created entry barriers to hinder the…

Jurong Port Wins Green Port Certificate

Singapore-headquartered Jurong Port (JP) has been awarded the Green Port Certificate, a program under the Green Port Award System (GPAS) developed by the APEC Port Services Network (APSN)A press note from the international multipurpose port providing integrated solutions for the most complex of logistics operations said that the GPAS program is a green evaluation system for ports in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region which assesses initiatives that improve environmental…

Diana Shipping Signs TC for m/v Sideris GS

Diana Shipping  announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Berge Bulk Shipping Singapore, for one of its Capesize dry bulk vessels, the m/v Sideris GS, for a period until minimum December 15, 2019 up to maximum March 30, 2020.The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said that the gross charter rate is US$8,500 per day for the first 30 days of the charter period and US$15,350 per day for the balance period of the time charter…

Floating LNG Storage in Asian Waters Soars as Demand Falters

As many as 20 LNG tankers floating in Asian waters; most off Singapore. The last time tankers used for storage was in 2014.Tankers storing liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asian waters have more than doubled in number since late October as traders have been caught off guard by warmer-than-expected temperatures that have capped demand and pulled down prices.Spot market demand ahead of winter has been slowed by the forecasts for warmer temperatures this year in North Asia, with onshore storage tanks filling up."People were expecting China to buy as much as last year in the spot market…

China Strengthens Maritime Cooperation with Lativa

The the third largest container port in the world Port of Shenzhen Lativa's Freeport of Riga have a common goal - to become internationally important and strong ports through cooperation.Recently, Port of Riga welcomed a delegation from the Port of Shenzhen, including representatives of the city municipality and management of the port authority, as well as port entrepreneurs — representatives of all four container terminals of the Port of Shenzhen.Since the Port of Shenzhen is a cooperation port for Riga…

Former U.S. Navy Captain Pleads Guilty in Corruption, Fraud Probe

A retired U.S. Navy captain pleaded guilty to criminal conflict of interest charges and a former U.S. Navy master chief was sentenced to 17 months in prison today on corruption charges. The defendants are among the latest U.S. Navy officials to plead guilty and be sentenced in the expansive corruption and fraud investigation involving foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis and his Singapore-based ship husbanding company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA).Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Adam L.

Argus Adds New Marine Fuel Price Assessments

Oil price reporting agency Argus has launched five new price assessments for low-sulphur marine fuels, ahead of new global rules capping the amount of sulphur in marine fuels, also known as bunkers.International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations will cut the limit for sulphur in bunker fuels globally from 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent from the start of 2020."Argus is pleased to be taking the lead in bringing price transparency that enables this large and emerging oil market to advance trading in preparation for the IMO 2020 required fuels…

Singapore Marine Fuel Sales at 5-month High

Singapore marine fuel sales in October climbed 3 percent on year to a five-month high of 4.125 million tonnes, according to data released by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Tuesday.The latest sales volumes were 0.3 percent higher compared to September, it showed. The higher October sales volumes reflect a slight increase in the number of ships coming to Singapore for refuelling, or bunkering, amid buoyant freight trade and easing concerns of contaminated fuels…

Low EU River Stir Fuel Markets in Singapore

Rhine water levels hit record lows in October; river is a key fuel transport hub for Europe.Low water levels on the Rhine river have caused a fuel supply deficit in parts of Europe's industrial heartlands that is sucking up cargoes from more than 10,000 km away in Singapore.Following a long, scorching summer, water levels on the Rhine - a key commodity shipping lane connecting industrial centres in Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands to major seaports - fell to record lows…

Three Asian groups vie for Brazilian Wilson Sons Ports

Three Asian groups are interested in acquiring two container terminals up for sale by Brazilian private port operator Wilson Sons, Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported on Thursday.Singapore's PSA, China's Hutchison Port Holding and China Merchant Port Holdings have delivered non-binding proposals for terminals in Salvador, in the northeastern state of Bahia, and Rio Grande, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the paper said, without disclosing its source.Binding proposals for the terminals should be delivered as soon as year-end…

Steelhead Asia Appoints Marina Surzhenko as New Director LNG

Steelhead Asia, a unit of the Canadian LNG export project developer Steelhead LNG, said that Marina Surzhenko has taken the role of Director LNG.Based in Singapore, Marina is responsible for developing Steelhead’s business in Asia as well as leading the negotiations of LNG offtake contracts.Marina is an energy and investment management executive with 20 years of global experience in gas and LNG contracts negotiations and contract management. During her time at Shell and Gazprom…