EUROPEAN BUNKER PRICES REMAIN AT 2 YEAR HIGH
European bunker prices have hit repeated two-year highs on strong gains in ICE Brent and gasoil futures over the last week.
Crude and gasoil futures are driving bunker prices at the moment, there is nothing else really behind it. The hike in bunker prices has in turn boosted Supramax freight rates in the basin, which had already received firm support from strong Q4 expectations and tight tonnage in much of the North Atlantic.
The Rotterdam to Aliaga scrap route, basis 45,000 mt, was assessed at $16/mt, the highest level since late April. In the Mediterranean, high sulfur 380 CST fuel oil at Malta and Piraeus hit their highest value since July 2015 Tuesday, assessed at $338/mt and $349/mt respectively. Gibraltar has followed a similar pattern, climbing since July 2015 to a high of $345.50/mt Tuesday.
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BALTIC MAIN INDEX SLIDES DUE TO WEAK DEMAND FOR LARGER VESSELS
The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index , tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell more than 3 percent on Wednesday, its biggest one-day drop in four months, on weaker rates for larger vessels due to tepid demand.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, dropped 47 points, or 3.18 percent, to end at 1,429 points. The index fell for the first time after eight sessions of gains on Tuesday, having marked its highest level since March 2014 at 1,503 points. The capesize index ended down 159 points, or 5.13 percent, at 2,942 points on Wednesday. On Monday, it hit a near three-year high.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell $1,369 to $20,270.
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NHAVASHEVA A NEW SERVICE TO GULF & WEST AFRICA
Global trade enabler DP World operated the NhavaSheva (India) Gateway Terminal has added a new service strengthening the port’s connectivity to Gulf and West Africa.
The new service named INGWE (India-Gulf-West Africa) operated by MSC is a weekly service with vessels of capacity more than 9,000 TEU’s.
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GERMAN SHIPPING BANK DVB ACCELERATES AUCTION PLANS
German lender DZ Bank is looking to sell its shipping finance business quickly after its transport division booked provisions for bad loans of 445 million euros ($522 million) in the first half, people close to the matter said.
Potential buyers signaled interest over the summer in buying the cooperative bank’s DVB, which finances ships and aircraft, but differences over its valuation were too great and talks died down quickly. But after DVB posted a return on equity of minus 73 percent in the first half of the year, or a net loss of 547 million euros after breaking even a year earlier, plans to sell off its loan portfolios have gained traction.
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SOUTH CAROLINA PORTS HANDLE A TOTAL OF 177,728 TEU DURING AUGUST
Container throughput recorded by the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) totaled 177,728 TEU in August. In the fiscal year to date, SCPA’s container volume is ahead of the same period in 2016 with 360,139 TEU handled in July and August.
As measured in pier containers, or total box volume, the port handled 100,427 containers in August. A total of 204,000 pier containers moved across the docks of the Wando Welch and North Charleston terminals in July and August.
In non-containerised cargo, SCPA handled 45,615 pier tones in August. Charleston moved 88,035 tons of break bulk cargo in the fiscal year to date.Inland Port Greer handled 12,742 rail moves in August. The facility is 18 percent ahead of last fiscal year’s volumes, with 19,753 rail moves handled over July and August.
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STORAGE CHARGES MAKING MAIN PORTS LESS ATTRACTIVE
Ports typically discourage users from storing cargo for extended periods to avoid congestion and to boost capacity. Yet this is an area where the major ports, or those owned by the Central government, are losing out to their private rivals located nearby in attracting cargo.
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KP RECHRISTENED AS ‘DEENDAYAL PORT’
The Kandla Port (KP), one of the top 12 major ports in the country, has been rechristened as Deendayal Port from Monday in the name of Hindutva icon panditDeendayalUpadhyay.
Kandla Port Trust is renamed as Deendayal Port Trust with effect from 25 September 2017, the government said on Monday. The central government in exercise of powers conferred on it under Indian Ports Act, 1908 made the amendment to replace ‘Kandla’ with ‘Deendayal’, as per a notification issued by the ministry of shipping.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier this year, while laying foundation stone for Rs933 crore projects at Kandla Port had suggested that it be named after panditDeendayalUpadhyay, who stood for the uplift of all sections of the society.
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OOCL INCLUDES NY AND DROPS PANAMA PORT CALL TO BOOST ECX1 SERVICE
Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) announced that New York (Maher Terminal) has now been added to the port rotation of its East Coast Express 1 (ECX1) service, while Colon, Panama, has been dropped, in a move to “better cater for the shipping needs” of its customers.
OOCL said that with the enhancement in service, transit times to New York from Shanghai and Ningbo will take 23 and 25 days respectively and will be among the most competitive in the market.
This is designed to provide customers with a significantly improved product by taking advantage of the new air draft clearance of the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate for the 13,000-14,000 TEU containerships.
The new port rotation of the ECX1 is: Hong Kong, Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, via Panama Canal, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston, and Hong Kong.The new arrangement will start with the eastbound CMA CGM Roosevelt sailing (ROV) 123E in Week 42 (ETA Hong Kong on October 18) and the return westbound journey 124W in Week 46 (ETA New York on November 18).