WORLDWIDE SHIPPING INDUSTRY
First LNG cargo leaves $15 bn site as US exports grow
The first cargo of liquefied natural gas has set sail from a $15 billion Texas export terminal, amplifying America’s growing influence on the global market for the fuel. LNG Jurojin departed Freeport LNG Development LP’s facility on Tuesday, according to a statement from the company, making the terminal the fifth to ship super-chilled gas from US shale fields. Royal Dutch Shell Plc will take the first two deliveries from Freeport, according to a person familiar with the matter. The cargo is headed for the Jebel Ali terminal in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, ship-tracking data on Bloomberg show.
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COSCO Shipping Ports profit off 12.5pc to us$147 million
COSCO Shipping Ports (CSP) first half net profit fell 12.5 percent year on year to US$147.8 million, drawn on revenues of $517.9 million, up 4.5 percent. The Cosco Group’s port operator’s first half total throughput increased 5.4 percent to was 59.76 million TEU.
Profit from terminal companies in which the group has controlling stakes was mainly attributable to Piraeus Container Terminal, the CSP Spain Group, Guangzhou South China Oceangate Container Terminal and Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal, said the company statement. First half Piraeus profit increased 23.1 percent year on year to $23.1 million. Throughput of Piraeus increased 23.8 percent to 2.57 million TEU.
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Baltic index up for tenth consecutive session
The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose for a tenth-straight session on Wednesday, holding on to a near nine-year peak touched last week, helped by higher capesize demand. The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, gained 17 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,518 points, a level last seen in November 2010. The capesize index rose 181 points, or 3.7 percent, to 5,043 points, its highest since June 2010. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $495 to $38,014. Chinese iron ore futures rose to a 3-1/2-week high on Wednesday, on hopes of stable demand as anti-pollution curbs were more lenient than expected. The panamax index fell 11 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,250.
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New fuel to get sea freight environmentally shipshape
Tens of thousands of cargo ships will have to start using less polluting fuels in January, a boon for the environment that could however lead to higher bills for consumers. The International Maritime Organisation decided in 2016 that the sulphur levels in fuels for ships would have to fall to 0.5 percent in 2020, compared to 3.5 percent currently.
The idea is to reduce the emission of highly toxic sulphur dioxide – a health hazard also responsible for causing acid rain – by the nearly 80,000 cargo ships which ply the seas delivering raw materials and merchandise. The shipping industry is critical to the global economy but the pollution it generates is estimated to cause 400,000 premature deaths and 14 million cases of asthma among children per year, according to a 2018 article in the magazine Nature. Shipowners have several options to meet the new regulations.
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US blacklists oil shipping network allegedly run by Iran
The United States on Wednesday sanctioned an “oil for terror” network of firms, ships and individuals allegedly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that supplied Syria with oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars in breach of US sanctions.
The US action intensified a “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at driving to zero Iran’s oil exports, the country’s main source of income, and almost certainly will increase tensions that erupted when President Donald Trump withdrew last year from an international accord designed to stop Tehran from producing nuclear weapons.
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Black sea container market up 8.52pc
Black Sea container terminals of Ukraine, Romania, Russia, and Bulgaria handled 1 582 932 TEU in H1 2019, including empty containers, excluding transshipment. Black Sea region turnover, H1 2019 and H1 2018, TEU, full. This review observes only full containers of the region – 1 176 621 TEU. Total growth achieved by these five countries in H1 2019 was 8,52 percent, compared to the same period last year.
The laden turnover increase was in all countries of the Black Sea region, except Russia. In H1 2019 the highest growth was achieved by Georgia and Ukraine – 30,62 percent and 17,89 percent respectively. During this period, 57,54 percent of full containers handled were imported, while 42,46 percent of the volume was exported. It is estimated that laden container share was 74,33 percent and empty container share was 25,67 percent.
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Cargo volume at major Indian ports grows 2pc
Cargo growth at India’s major ports fell to two percent in April-July this fiscal year. Ports in Karnataka’s New Mangalore, Goa’s Mormugao, and Tamil Nadu’s Chennai and Kamarajar (Ennore) reported cargo shipment decelerating in the period.
The Mormugao port was hit after the Supreme Court banned mining in the state and neighbouring Karnataka curbed iron ore exports. Other ports were affected by cyclical slowdown in key sectors. Liquid cargo like crude oil, petroleum products, LPG and LNG grew by 2.63 percent, contributing largely to muted volumes. Fertiliser cargo shipments were a dampener too. Raw fertilizer cargo moved through major ports nosedived 17.66 percent whereas finished fertilizers slid by 1.74 percent.
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Biggest US box ports achieve 2.7pc
The top ten US container ports recorded better-than-expected 2.7 percent year-on-year import growth in container volumes in July, amounting to a total of 1,865,645 TEU.
The result supports the upbeat view of the transpacific market by Maersk Line that growth was mainly driven by the increased trend for Asian shippers to route their cargo through US east and Gulf coast ports, reported UK’s The Loadstar. Container imports for US east and Gulf coast ports last month rose by 5.6 percent compared to July 2018, reaching 862,313 TEU, with the port of Savannah achieving the highest growth rate of 8.5 percent.