UAE eases Qatar shipping ban
The United Arab Emirates has eased a ban on the shipping of goods between it and Qatar enforced under a political and economic boycott of Doha, according to port circulars and an industry source. An Abu Dhabi Ports circular dated Feb. 12 canceled previous directives that banned cargoes of Qatar origin from UAE waters and ports and those of UAE origin from Qatar. It maintained a ban on vessels flying the Qatar flag, owned by Qatari shipping firms or nationals. An industry source quoted as saying last week that the circular applied to all ports in the UAE.
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Suez Canal’s 2018 score with higher 18,000-teuer throughput
The Suez Canal Authority saw double-digit container traffic growth as well 3.6 percent more 18,000 TEU ships using the waterway, according to a report by SRM, a study and research centre for southern Italy and the Intesa San Paolo group.
The report said cargo volumes shipped across this major trade thoroughfare in 2018 were up 8.2 percent year on year to 983.4 million tons. It highlighted how the widening of the Suez Canal led to a 12 percent spurt in the number of medium sized ships passed through in 2018 compared to 2014, the year before the canal’s expansion, reported Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide. Containerships were the most numerous of those that transited the Suez Canal last year with 5,706, up 2.5 percent. Freight traffic amounted to 983 million tons in 2018, up 8.2 percent over 2017, when the previous freight record was set.
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About 8pc of bunkers consumed in 2020 likely to be scrubbed
Despite recent announcements by some ports to ban wash water discharge from open-loop scrubbers in their waters, about 8% of total bunkers consumed in 2020 will be scrubbed to meet compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s global sulfur limit rule for marine fuels, Robin Meech, MD at Marine and Energy Consulting Limited said. This is consistent with an estimate provided last year by Meech, who has been involved in the reduction of sulfur emissions from the marine sector for over three decades. In January, the Port of Fujairah issued a notice banning the use of open-loop scrubbers in its port waters.
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Fire-damaged Maersk 15,000-teuer cut up for partial scrapping in Dubai
The 15,000-TEU Maersk Honam, badly damaged by fire that killed five crewmen last March 6 off Oman, has been cut in half at Drydocks World, Dubai, for partial scrapping, reports Dubai’s Logistics Middle East.
The undamaged after section was cut away and floated onto a 100,000 dwt semi-submersible heavy lift ship called Xin Guang Hua. Xin Guang Hua will carry the stern section to Geoje, South Korea, where it will be incorporated into a new hull. The forward part of the ship containing the damaged accommodation block and bow, will be towed from Drydocks World and scrapped, said the report. Maersk anticipates that the Hua and her cargo will arrive in March, and expects that the repairs will be completed before the end of the year.
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Singapore bunker industry faces volatile barging cost
The bunker industry in Singapore should brace itself for volatile barging costs once the International Maritime Organization’s tighter sulfur limit rule is implemented in 2020, a development which could further squeeze barge companies who are already facing tough market conditions.
The IMO rule will cap global sulfur content in marine fuels at 0.5% starting January 1, 2020, compared with 3.5% currently. Barge operators will need to cater to a range of marine fuels including high sulfur, low sulfur and distillate blends as suppliers try to comply with this rule, which will make it difficult for them to turn around barges efficiently and impact cost. Currently, a relatively efficient barge operator in Singapore is able to turnaround barges about nine times per month, a supplier told S&P Global Platts recently.
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Employment of Indians in merchant navy grows by 35% globally in 2018
Employment of Indian seafarers on Indian and foreign ships witnessed a growth of 35 % in 2018 bringing a good news amid the job crisis being witnessed in the country. Last year, people recruited in Merchant Navy from India increased from 1,54,349 in 2017 to 2,08,799 showing how the Indian skills are in demand globally. Various designations where Indians are joining the industry include nautical officers, nautical ratings and engineers. A senior shipping ministry official on condition of anonymity attributed this growth to several reforms and the revised training curriculum introduced by India in 2016. He said, “to ensure increase in the supply of Indian marine personnel, a 15-year-old ban on setting up of new training institutes and increasing the capacity of the existing training institutes was lifted with certain conditions. We also prepared an e-learning module and provided it free of cost to all Indian seafarers to allow them to upgrade their knowledge and skills before appearing for the examination.”