During a yesterday’s meeting in Brussels, European Union members reportedly decided to again blacklist Iran’s largest tanker operator National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), after the company failed to convince a London Court to prevent the EU from reimposing sanctions, Reuters reports. The earlier
The Baltic Dry Index has fallen to 540 points February 12, marking a further 13 point (-2.35%) slide compared to the previous record low of 553 points reached just a day earlier. Dry bulk owners have seen their earnings slashed as a result of the index fall, some of them even forced to resort to ban
2015 will be good for the shipping industry with sector specific risks projected to decline and new investment slated to flow in, the investment analyst Zacks predicts. Cheaper fuel will be a major positive for shipping companies this year, according to Zacks. The slump in crude is expected to signi
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published its annual Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table, warning that there are a number of smaller flag states that still have considerable work to do, and shipowners may wish to think very carefully about using such flags. The largest of
Maersk Line has launched a new Middle East 5 (ME5) service to enhance direct connections between South India, Middle East and Western Mediterranean markets. This service will also improve the company’s coverage of the Eastern Mediterranean market with faster transit times into Turkey, Egypt and Russ
Today’s term of the day is a container manifest, which is a document showing contents and loading sequence, point of origin, and point of destination for a container. All vessels are required by law to carry such a document for each container carried. The following image is an example of how the doc
The Baltic Dry Index has fallen to 553 points today, down 1 point from the record low set in 1986.
The early results for 2015 show that there has been a marked improvement in bunker fuel quality, the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) said. According to the data gathered by Intertek ShipCare, 8% of samples tested in 2015 reported off-spec, compared with 10% in 2014. ”Test figures fo
Bocimar International NV, CTM (C Transport Holding Ltd), Golden Union Shipping, Golden Ocean Group and STAR BULK CARRIERS have announced the formation of a new joint venture company, Capesize Chartering Ltd. The joining of forces comes as neither of the parties owns, controls or manages sufficient C
The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) is facing blacklisting again by the European Union as it has failed in its legal attempt to convince a London Court to prevent the EU from reimposing sanctions. The sanctions had been imposed in 2012 over Iran’s nuclear programme, and banned any trade betwe
International Labour Organization (ILO) held a tripartite meeting of employers, seafarers’ unions and governments in Geneva last week, to consider possible adjustments to the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (ILO 185), the International Chamber of Shipping, shipowners’ repres
23 million passengers are expected to sail on cruise ships in 2015, a four-percent increase over 2014 estimates of 22.1 million, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) predicts in its annual State of the Cruise Industry Report. 61 percent of North American CLIA-certified travel agents have re
A Kuwaiti oil tanker sailing through the Gulf of Aden managed to fend off a pirate attack on Sunday, February 8th. The tanker was en route to Djibouti’s Horizon Terminal port when four pirate boats approached the vessel in an attempt to board it, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported citing Sheikh
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) last week agreed on training requirements for seafarers navigating Arctic and Antarctic waters, the Danish Maritime Authority reports. More specifically, this means that masters and navigating officers must complete special training in order to navigate
