1. Panamax bulk carrier aground, Parana river
Bulk carrier LADY I ran aground at around 0100 UTC Mar 17 in Parana river, upstream of San Lorenzo port, shortly after unmooring being underway downstream with cargo of maize on board. As of 1330 UTC Mar 17, the ship was still aground with tug BRUTUS at her side. Traffic, reportedly, not affected. http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/03/17/panamax-bulk-carrier-aground-parana-river/
2. Panamax bulk carrier disabled in Bosphorus, Istanbul.
Bulk carrier TYCOON suffered engine failure while transiting Bosphorus in northern direction in Beykoz area, Istanbul, around 2015 UTC Mar 16. She was taken under control by tug or tugs, understood anchored, and resumed transit at 2330 UTC Mar 16, escorted by tugs. She was anchored off Bosphorus in Black sea at around 0030 UTC Mar 17, and as of 0700 UTC, was still at anchor. TYCOON is en route to Odessa Ukraine. http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/03/17/panamax-bulk-carrier-disabled-in-bosphorus-istanbul-video/
3. Tanker with multinational crew suspect in arms trading in Gulf of Aden
Djibouti Security Service is suspecting tanker RED SEA 1 in arms trafficking in Gulf of Aden, claiming that the ship is tampering with her tracking records to hide calls to Horn of Africa coast ports, in Puntland and Somalia, and Yemen. The ship is trading in Gulf of Aden with regular visits to Djibouti, and track data indeed, shows only Djibouti calls, since at least Mar 2019. The crew includes Georgian, Cameroonian, Romanian, Russian and local nationalities.
4. Freighter disabled, ordered to contract Abeille, Bay of Biscay
General cargo ship RMS WANHEIM reported propulsion failure at around 0800 UTC Mar 16 in Biscay Bay SW of Brest, while en route from Rotterdam to Psajes Spain with cargo of steel. Crew tried to fix the problem, the ship being monitored by MRCC Corsen France. By 2030 UTC the ship was still disabled, drifting, owner had to comply with French Maritime Authorities request or order to sign towage contract with Societe Abeilles, and hire tug ABEILLE BOURBON for towage. Tug http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/03/17/freighter-disabled-ordered-to-contract-abeille-bay-of-biscay/
5. Coronavirus (Covid-19) – BIMCO Steps Up To Protect Seafarers
BIMCO provides easy-to-print out posters on precautionary measures to be taken by seafarers and visitors onboard ships.
In light of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic, BIMCO is providing the maritime industry with free posters to be used onboard ships so that seafarers and any visitors coming onboard are made aware of the precautions to be taken in order to fight against the spread of this disease. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/coronavirus-covid-19-bimco-steps-up-to-protect-seafarers/
6. Sinopec’s Guangzhou refinery produces first low sulphur marine fuel
Asia’s top oil refinery Sinopec said that its Guangzhou refinery is able to produce very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) for the marine bunker fuel market.
The 1,600-tonne cargo was Guangzhou’s first batch of VLSFO production and was delivered to the storage tank at Sinopec Fuel Oil Sales Co via pipeline. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/sinopecs-guangzhou-refinery-produces-first-low-sulphur-marine-fuel/
7. Coronavirus is decimating IMO 2020 ship-scrubber savings
The implementation of the IMO 2020 marine-fuel regulation has gone completely off script.
Marine-fuel pricing has actually fallen year-on-year and the predicted savings from exhaust-gas scrubbers have increasingly evaporated. What happened and what’s next? https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/coronavirus-is-decimating-imo-2020-ship-scrubber-savings/
8. Hyde Marine Announces that Hyde GUARDIAN-US™ Ballast Water Treatment System has received IMO Type Approval
Hyde Marine, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Calgon Carbon Corporation, has announced that it has successfully been awarded Type Approval by the Norwegian Administration through Norway’s recognized organization, DNV GL, under the newly revised Ballast Water Management Code (BMW Code), also known as MEPC.300(72). Certification under this newly issued regulatory regime ensures that the Hyde GUARDIAN-US is now available for sale and installation on vessels around the world and will remain so even after the phase-out of the initial IMO Type Approval regime on October 28, 2020. The system is still under review by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) for Type Approval under the requirements of 46 CFR 162.060. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/hyde-marine-announces-that-hyde-guardian-us-ballast-water-treatment-system-has-received-imo-type-approval/
9. Why Saudi Arabia’s oil price war is doomed to fail
Oil price wars rarely achieve their objectives. Saudi Arabia and Russia racing to out-pump each other is unlikely to be any different.
Instead of declaring a victory in seizing market share back from their common rivals in the form of US shale, the main protagonists in Moscow and Riyadh are more likely to cause long-lasting damage to petrodollar economies already under pressure from demand destruction caused by climate change action and the onslaught on the global financial system from the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/why-saudi-arabias-oil-price-war-is-doomed-to-fail/
10. Dollar stands tall as nervous investors stick with safety
The dollar stood tall on Tuesday, recouping losses against the yen and hitting new highs against riskier currencies, as nervous traders stuck with the most liquid currency amid very fragile sentiment.
Market liquidity was tight and investors remained very cautious after coordinated moves by central banks failed to quell anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/dollar-stands-tall-as-nervous-investors-stick-with-safety/
