The shipping rates to transport Liquefied Natural Gas have fallen to around USD 50,000 a day, the lowest in over four years, Bloomberg reports. The rates of shipping LNG are heading towards further decline, and are almost three times lower than in 2012, when daily rates surged to USD 140,000. Lower
The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) has released its first edition of the LNG Bunkering – Safety Guidelines. The objective of the guidelines is to provide the bunkering industry with the best practices in order to ensure that gas- fuelled ships are re-fuelled with high levels of safety, inte
Global TEU volumes increased by 4% in 2014 to 135.4 million TEUs, the Port of Rotterdam Authority reports. Inter‐continental trade rose by 3.4%, while intra‐regional volumes increased by 5.4% to 30.4 million TEUs. 2014 TEU volumes carried to and from Europe (including all countries bordering the Med
A mutual shipping insurance association The Shipowners’ Club has warned its members to exercise caution and undertake enhanced due diligence when entering into new fixtures with unknown charterers, especially those that involve trade to countries where sanctions may apply or where there is limited j
Iran has inaugurated a 2.2-million-barrel floating oil storage unit (FSU) Khalij-e-Fars, in Soroush oil region on February 8th, writes IRNA news agency. The inauguration was marked by the first oil shipment from the FSU to a crude carrier KAI-EI, owned by Kyoei Tanker company. The FSU, built by Sout
Israel will sell stakes in eight of the most profitable state-owned companies and the Mediterranean seaports of Haifa and Ashdod in November or December, Reuters reports. According to Ori Yogev, the official at Israel’s Ministry of Finance, the ten companies to be sold generate close to 90% of total
Liner service reliability fell to a record low in January as the effects of US West Coast congestion and the phasing-in of new alliance services took their toll, according to Drewry’s Carrier Performance Insight. The overall on-time performance for the three key East-West trades slumped to a disappo
The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) dropped by another eight points reaching its new record low at 522 points on Monday. The Baltic Dry Index has fallen close to 50% over the past 12 months. The Baltic Capesize Index fell to 614 points, 16 points lower than last reported, whereas Baltic Supramax Index stood
The increased collaboration between the French container ship operator CMA CGM and Germany’s Hamburg Süd will bring the container liner market one step closer to total convergence, the European Shippers’ Council warns. This will reinforce the risk of reducing service quality and sailing frequency as
United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), the French liner CMA CGM and Germany’s Hamburg Süd have agreed to form a new service on the Transatlantic North trade routes, linking Northern Europe with the United States East Coast. The new service, starting in the third week of May, will call at the ports of
The time is right for the private equity sector to finance products and services designed to keep the shipping industry competitive and achieve regulatory compliance, the international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens says. Alison Jarabo of maritime efficiency specialist Fathom Shippin
The implementation of the new marine pollution regulation in North Europe and the US since January has so far resulted in zero extra costs for shipping lines and shippers, according to Drewry Maritime Research. Resistance from shippers and the opportune collapse of oil prices have neutralised the co
The shipping industry is at a high risk of unauthorised and/or erroneous payments due to the nature of the movement of cash throughout the industry, according to UK-based consulting firm Moore Stephens. Shipping, being a cash-driven business, and the combination of large, frequent and often short-no
The CKYHE alliance between the Asian liners COSCON, ”K”Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin and Evergreen Line is reorganizing their service network for Asia-North Europe and Asia-Mediterranean trades in 2015. CKYHE Alliance will provide six Asia-North Europe services (NE2/NE3/NE5-CEM/NE6/NE7/NE8-CES) and three
