SRTS News

Paolo d’Amico, head of d’Amico Società di Navigazione group, has added a couple more titles to his impressive resume in recent weeks, taking the reins at Milan-listed d’Amico International Shipping and becoming chairman of the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) at a crucial time for the sector. D’Amico ... read more

This week China outlined its own sulphur cap plans which are set to kick in earlier than the global regulations from the IMO as well as being more demanding – 0.1% limits rather than 0.5% – in certain areas. The nation’s rivers and the coastline around the southern holiday island ... read more

Greece’s Thenamaris is said to have sold 2012-built Daewoo kamsarmax bulker for in excess of $20m to a buyer in Asia. If broking sources are correct, Thenamaris stands to pocket over $8m from the sale having bought the vessel (ex Liberty Destiny) from US-based Liberty Maritime for a bargain $12m ... read more

A captain of a chemical tanker has been fired by shipmanager Anglo-Eastern after being found more than three times over the legal drinking limit as his ship was due to leave New Zealand’s Port Taranaki laden with a cargo of methanol. Compounding the issue, the ship was meant to be ... read more

A worker’s strike at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has seen operations at a giant dock crane come to a halt for much of this week. Two workers from DSME’s Metal Union gained access to a 40 m high crane early on Tuesday and have not moved since, as ... read more

Singapore’s First Ship Lease Trust (FSL) has signed contracts with Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry for the construction of two scrubber-fitted LR2 product tankers for $97.6m, confirming an LOI signed earlier this month. In order to fund the acquisition, FSL says that it intends to sell ageing vessels from its fleet ... read more

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) this week completed the first co-loading of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and propylene onto the same vessel. Around 12,600 metric tons of propylene and 33,000 metric tons of LPG were loaded onto a single vessel docked in Ruwais in the UAE, creating a landmark ... read more

Having closed a deal with Murphy Oil to form a Gulf of Mexico joint venture earlier this month, Brazilian energy major Petrobras is set to cut more than 50 jobs in its Houston office according to the Houston Chronicle. Both Petrobras and Murphy Oil have contributed all of their current ... read more

McDermott International and GE’s Baker Hughes (BHGE) have signed an MOU with Australia’s Western Gas Corporation to be the exclusive development partners for the Equus Gas Project off Western Australia. McDermott and BHGE have also been awarded a contract to support the planning phases of the project, which will see ... read more

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has told Transocean, Maersk Drilling and Odfjell Drilling to improve the conditions of their enclosed lifeboats and evacuation procedures on 22 offshore oil rigs. “All the audits identified a non-conformity from the regulations. This was the same for Maersk, Transocean and Odfjell,” PSA said, adding ... read more

Hamburg District Court has appointed the experienced local restructuring expert, lawyer and tax consultant Dr Christoph Morgen as preliminary insolvency administrator to take care of Hansa Heavy Lift. Morgen is a specialist insolvency solicitor and partner in the law firm Brinkmann & Partner. He is well known in local shipping ... read more

A jubilant Emanuele Lauro yesterday completed the takeover of Nordic American Offshore (NAO) cementing Scorpio Group’s full-on entry into the offshore sector. Scorpio paid $5m in a private placement yesterday to take over the company with Lauro now installed as chairman and CEO at NAO taking over from veteran Herbjorn ... read more

Noble Group has outlined how it intends to pursue an insolvency process in Bermuda on Thursday as a way to getting its restructuring fixed after authorities in Singapore barred it from relisting on the local stock exchange. The troubled Hong Kong-based commodity trader will apply seek for a provisional liquidator ... read more

Christian Andersen is disappointed with some of his peers in the VLGC markets this month for accepting lower rates; the market could have held out for better, he reckons. The other frustration regarding the markets for the acquisitive founder of Avance Gas is the paucity of well-priced ship targets. “We ... read more

Why did the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom ban commission-based fee systems among investment advisories, and what does it tell us about the century-old commission systems of the shipping markets? Okan Duru, author of Shipping Business Unwrapped, calls for an overhaul in how people are paid in this ... read more

China’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) has detailed its emission control area plans with a 0.5% sulphur limit effective from January 1 next year, and more pertinently 0.1% sulphur limits on ship fuel kicking in along its rivers from January 1 2020 and around the southern island of Hainan from the ... read more

Busy British private equity concern Tufton Oceanic has made its first ship investments since the end of July including an eye catching entrance into the product tanker sector. Tufton Oceanic’s diverse fleet is led by smaller boxships with interests in bulk ships and LPG ships. Brokers report the company has ... read more

Navig8 Chemical Tankers has sold two 37,000 dwt product tankers to China’s AVIC International Leasing and will charter them back on 10-year charters. Navig8 will pocket $52.4m from the transaction and has repaid existing loans used to finance the vessels. The bareboat charters for the vessels include options to re-acquire ... read more

Offshore seismic specialist Shearwater GeoServices has been awarded two new projects in the Arabian Sea. Eni Oman in partnership with Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production has awarded the company a seismic survey in Block 52, offshore Oman. will commence the project later this year, and is expected to take ... read more

The fast changing scene on the North American eastern seaboard is welcoming another voyage debut with news of a first direct link to Asia for Florida’s Port of Tampa. Cosco is adding Tampa to its Gulf of Mexico Express (GME) service. The first vessel to load containers for Tampa in ... read more