SRTS News

The Danish division of Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has unveiled a Christmas competition, promising a unique gift for the winner.  MSC, where Dane Soren Toft took the reins this week as CEO, also revealed a natty festive knitwear (pictured) in unveiling the competition on social media.  Entrants are asked to ... read more

The total insurance bill from the box spill this week is set to top $50m. More than 1,900 containers – including around 40 boxes containing dangerous goods – tumbled into the Pacific Ocean on Monday as the Japanese boxship encountered a violent storm cell en route to America. The Ocean ... read more

Fridays, 4pm China time, are ringing in records for container shipping week in, week out. The weekly publishing of the spot rates from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index has seen prices for moving boxes across the seven seas leap in recent months.  Today’s latest figures show further price escalations on ... read more

Covid-19’s seismic effect on the fortunes of tanker owners is beginning to become clearer. Yesterday American energy major Chevron announced it will cut capital spending by 26% next year and make deep cuts through the middle of the decade, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic’s industry-wide reappraisal of fossil ... read more

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has won a KRW282bn ($257m) order to build three VLCCs for Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC). The vessels will be delivered by the first quarter of 2023 with the contract also coming with options for three more VLCCs. The latest contract win brings ... read more

Maersk Tankers has taken over the running of four product tankers owned by Singapore’s Xihe Holdings, which is currently under judicial management. Xihe Holdings and four of its subsidiaries, owned by Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin and his son, were placed under interim judicial management at the request of ... read more

Listed dry bulk company Pacific Basin has followed another Hong Kong line in pursuing a local carbon credit scheme. Pacific Basin is to offset all carbon emissions from its global shore-side operations, including all office activities, commuting and business and crew travel. The carbon credit scheme will also be offered ... read more

Nasdaq-listed dry bulk and product tanker owner Grindrod Shipping is extending the firm charter-in period of the 2015-built supramax . The vessel, which is owned by Japan’s Nisshin Shipping, has been extended for 11 to 13 months from November 15, 2020. Grindrod has a further option to extend the charter ... read more

Norway’s Odfjell has reached an agreement with American private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg (LG) to acquire its indirect 24.5% shareholding in Odfjell Terminals Korea (OTK). Odfjell is paying $19m for the sake, and following the transaction will control 50% of OTK alongside local JV partner KPIC. Kristian Mørch, CEO of ... read more

Dutch subsea and dredging firm Boskalis is adding the 2019-built multipurpose offshore construction vessel to its fleet. The vessel will join Boskalis in January, renamed Boka Tiamat, and will be deployed on offshore wind projects in Taiwan. Topaz Tiamat is own by DP World’s P&O Maritime Logistics. The vessel had ... read more

Danish owner Ziton is raising €35m ($42.5m) via a bond issue so that it can acquire Vroon’s 2011-built wind turbine installation vessel . Ziton took the vessel on bareboat charter in May 2019 in a deal that runs through to March 2021, and includes an option to purchase the vessel ... read more

A few Australian coal shipments are finally making it onto Chinese soil after months of political impasse between the two nations. Citing data from Kpler, Bloomberg has reported four bulk carriers offloading Australian coal at two different ports in China this week. More than 50 ships remain stuck at Chinese ... read more

Singaporean authorities have green lighted hotel conditions in Manila as seafarer safe corridor preparations between the Philippines and the key Southeast Asian shipping hub develop. To establish safe and scalable corridors for crew rotation, the Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund Taskforce has developed a CrewSafe audit programme based ... read more

Danish Ship Finance has released its latest shipping market review. The 69-slide presentation, led by Christopher Rex, has a strong focus on the industry’s pathway to zero carbon vessels. On the markets, the Danish analysts are especially bearish on next year’s prospects for tankers and LPG carriers, and remain concerned ... read more

Cargo insurers of the 14,000 teu are bracing for a big bill with Ocean Network Express (ONE) confirming that this week’s container spill in stormy weather on the Pacific saw more than 1,900 containers tumble into the ocean, including around 40 boxes containing dangerous goods. “The vessel was on passage ... read more

Growth in the reefer shipping trade this year has been largely driven by soaring demand for proteins into swine flu-ravaged Asia, but this trend is expected to recede as domestic pig stocks recover, a new report from consultants Drewry suggests. Future growth is expected to come from accelerating trade in ... read more

Panagiotis Galanis reports on the the first transportation of rapid Covid tests for seafarers using drones. The ancient Greek poet Menandros stated “το δις εξαμαρτείν ουκ ανδρός σοφού”, namely you are not wise if you repeat the same mistake. This is a saying that is even more important nowadays that ... read more

Greek dry bulk owner Atlantic Bulk Carriers has sold its last panamax bulker according to brokers. Both Allied and Intermodal are reporting that Atlantic has sold the 2001-built geared panamax bulker to Vietnam’s Hoanh Son Group for $7.1m. The price is significantly higher than the market value of $5.76m placed ... read more

Livestock exports of animals bound for slaughter from England and Wales will be banned under new government plans released yesterday. The ban is scheduled to come into effect by the end of next year. Many nations around the world have reexamined their laws regarding livestock shipments over the past couple ... read more

Orange Marine, a subsidiary of telecoms giant Orange, is contracting Colombo Dockyard and Vard to build a new cable ship. The new vessel will be the first cable ship of its generation specially designed for the maintenance of submarine cables, both fibre optic telecoms cables and inter-array power cables used ... read more