1. Fourth New 5,400-Lane-Meter RoRo Ship Joins CLdN Fleet
Completing the second phase of its fleet renewal program, European short sea RoRo specialist CLdN has welcomed the fourth 5,400-lane-meter (lm) vessel of the series, the MV Hermine, into the fleet. As informed, the 50,443 GT newbuild ended its maiden voyage in Zeebrugge on October 4, 2019. https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/284473/fourth-new-5400-lane-meter-roro-ship-joins-cldn-fleet/
2. Kongsberg, MAN ES to Collaborate on Common Data Infrastructure for Maritime Sector
Norwegian maritime technology group Kongsberg and Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the purpose of exploring the potential for collaboration on a common data infrastructure for the maritime sector. https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/284457/kongsberg-man-es-to-collaborate-on-common-data-infrastructure-for-maritime-sector/
3. Seized North Korean Bulker Sold for Scrap
The North Korean ship seized by U.S. authorities over alleged violations of United States and United Nations sanctions has been sold and towed out of Pago Pago, American Samoa. Wise Honest, the 17,061-ton bulker that was seized in May this year, was sold to an unidentified American company for scrap, according to local reports. https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/284453/seized-north-korean-bulker-sold-for-scrap/
4. BDO: Shipping Confidence Drops as Trade Wars Intensify
Confidence in the shipping industry fell in the past three months to its lowest level for two and half years, according to shipping adviser and accountant BDO. Yet owners, charterers and managers were more confident than they were at the time of the previous survey in May 2019. https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/284447/bdo-shipping-confidence-drops-as-trade-wars-intensify/
5. Research Vessel Encounters Giant Methane Seep in Arctic Waters
Researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University reported Monday that they have found an “unusually powerful” methane seep in the remote East Siberian Sea.
The team – comprised of TPU faculty and scientists from other Russian research institutions – is on a mission to study the environmental impact of melting permafrost. Subsea permafrost is similar to permafrost on shore, but underwater; it is found in shallow-water areas of the Arctic continental shelf, including areas of the Beaufort Sea and waters of the East Siberian Sea. https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/research-vessel-encounters-giant-methane-seep-in-arctic-waters
6. The Need for a Human Rights at Sea Declaration with Teeth
The recent publishing of our fifth annual Human Rights at Sea report on October 1, 2019 was another milestone in being able to publicly disseminate examples of the charity’s work, scope, current reach and increasing influence. Delivered on a surprisingly small budget, we are tackling one of the largest human rights topics within the maritime sector of recent times, that being the emerging understanding of the significant levels of impunity at sea, assertion of exclusive flag State jurisdiction with a lack of transparency and accountability and the constant reporting of human rights abuses. All this underpins the clear need for the Human Rights at Sea platform and the related emerging global human rights at sea narrative. https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/the-need-for-a-human-rights-at-sea-declaration-with-teeth
7. Evergreen Orders Six of the World’s Largest Container Ships
Samsung Heavy Industries has received an order from Evergreen Marine Corporation for six 23,764 TEU container ships – among the world’s largest ships to date. The order is valued at $920 million. The vessels will be 400 meters long, 61.5 meters wide and 33.2 meters high. They are larger than the record-sized 23,756 TEU ship delivered by Samsung Heavy Industries to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) in July this year. https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/evergreen-orders-six-of-the-world-s-largest-container-ships
8. COSCO Tankers Go Dark Amid U.S. Sanctions
About one-third of the oil tankers owned by COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) have shut off their ship-tracking transponders since the United States imposed sanctions on the company for allegedly shipping Iranian crude, shipping data showed. From Sept. 30 to Oct. 7, a total of 14 COSCO Dalian ships, six of which carry some oil, stopped sending location data from their automatic identification system (AIS), ship tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon showed. The U.S. imposed the sanctions on Sept. 25. https://gcaptain.com/cosco-tankers-go-dark-amid-u-s-sanctions/
9. Captain George Livingston: Four Years Since El Faro
As I write on the 4th anniversary of the El Faro sinking (Oct. 1, 2015), I am reminded that those who lost their lives weren’t strangers, many shared the very same backgrounds, the same hometowns, schools, etc. as the rest of us and so we remember. Professional mariners understand the dangers professional mariners face, but it is none less jolting to hear of these things. https://gcaptain.com/captain-george-livingston-four-years-since-el-faro/
10. EXPLAINER-Disruptions in the global shipping industry
Oil shipping rates are soaring following a series of sanctions on a Chinese transportation giant and limitations placed on movement of Venezuelan crude oil tankers.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SHIPPING RATES?
The cost of chartering a supertanker to send crude oil from one country to another is rising sharply. A South Korean importer paid more than $12 million in shipping costs for one crude shipment from the U.S. Gulf Coast. This was followed by Friday’s tentative charter of another crude vessel by Occidental Petroleum Corp for $13.25 million to ship in November. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/EXPLAINER-Disruptions+in+the+global+shipping+industry
