UAE-based port operator Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a contract with offshore contractor Gulf Marine Services (GMS) for setting up a shipbuilding facility at Zayed Port where GMS will construct and maintain its offshore support vessels that serve the region’s oil and gas industry. Under the deal, Zaye
The Board of National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has approved the purchase of two second-hand very large crude carriers (VLCC) for a price tag of USD 155 million. In a stock exchange statement, Bahri said the vessels, Voss Spirit and Hemesdal Spirit, will be acquired from Alpha and Bet
Following an extensive redevelopment work, Al Mirfa Port, situated in the Western region of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates was officially inaugurated by Abu Dhabi Ports on Tuesday. Abu Dhabi Ports, the developer, operator and manager of ports and Khalifa Industrial Zone in the emirate, upgraded
The global containership fleet made idle this year is set to reach a new record, surpassing the 1.5m TEU mark set in December 2009, according to Maritime Strategies International. As of November, 1.4m TEU was idle, having increased 760,000 TEU in two weeks amid depressed freight rates. What is more,
The 4,363-passenger cruise ship MSC Fantasia, owned by cruise line company MSC Cruises, has called at the port of Haifa, Israel today. This is MSC Fantasia’s first in a series of visits it will be making to Israel this winter. At 137,936 tons, and a maximum speed of slightly over 22 knots, the vesse
Despite the fact that forty-seven countries have now ratified the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention with Morocco and Ghana bringing the convention ever closer to entry into force, the question still remains on whether the requirement for parties to hold 35% of the world’s tonnage has been me
Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry fell in the three months to November 2015, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from shipping adviser Moore Stephens. The average confidence level expressed by respondents in the markets in which they operate was 5.6 on a scale of 1 (l
As pivotal hubs within global trade, container ports and terminals face risks that have potentially serious consequences for international supply chains, according to TT Club, insurance provider to the ports, terminal, transport and logistics sector. “Port terminals are often seen as the weak link i
Containership reliability was broadly unchanged in November as the average on-time performance across all trades slipped by 0.8 percentage points against October to 77.2%, according to Drewry’s Carrier Performance Insight. Six of the 10 trades covered recorded month-on-month on-time improvements in
One of Israel’s main cargo ports, the port of Ashdod, is about to be sanctioned financially in the amount of NIS 2.7 million (USD 693.6 thousand) for polluting the Mediterranean Sea, according to the country’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP). The sanctioning has been imposed as it has be
Quiz Courtesy: iContainers
Middle Eastern container carrier United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), along with its partners in the Ocean Three alliance (O3), CMA CGM and CSCL, has loaded a record breaking cargo of 18,601 TEUs on board its green ship M/V Al Muraykh. The 199,744 dwt ultra-large container vessel departed Port Klang
As Capesize asset values hit their 16-year lows amid weak dry bulk fundamentals and partly driven by very weak sentiment over the near-term future for vessel earnings, the first quarter of 2016 is expected to be characterized by a seasonal lull keeping earnings down. However, freight rates are expec
The Port of Salalah, a major Arab Gulf gateway port operated by APM Terminals, has inaugurated a new deep-water General Cargo and Liquid Bulk Terminal, adding 20 million tons of dry cargo and six million tons of liquid bulk cargo annual handling capacity. The 1266 meter quay features two 320 meter-l
