1. Scorpio Tankers Inc. Announces Purchase Of Common Shares By Scorpio Services Holding Limited
Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG) (“Scorpio Tankers,” or the “Company”) announced that Scorpio Services Holding Limited (“SSH”), a related party, has purchased 110,000 common shares of the Company today in the open market at an average price of $19.70 per share. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Scorpio+Tankers+Inc.+Announces+Purchase+of+Common+Shares+by+Scorpio+Services+Holding+Limited
2. Qatar Petroleum Issues Invitation To Tender Package To Ship Owners For Future LNG Carrier Fleet
Qatar Petroleum issued an ‘Invitation to Tender’ (ITT) for the chartering of LNG carriers for its future LNG shipping requirements, including its ongoing expansion projects in the North Field, which will raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million tons per annum today to 126 million tons per annum by 2027. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Qatar+Petroleum+issues+invitation+to+tender+package+to+ship+owners+for+future+LNG+carrier+fleet
3. IMO-Singapore project will create a Maritime Single Window ship clearance system in a pilot port, with a view to supporting more ports in future.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has issued a call for expressions of interest from countries with a medium-sized port to take part in a pilot project to establish an efficient digitalized system for electronic exchange of information in ports for ship clearance. The “Single Window for Facilitation of Trade (SWiFT) Project” will develop a system in a pilot port to allow electronic submission, through one single portal, of all information required by various Government agencies when a ship calls at a port. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2021/03/22/imo-singapore-project-will-create-a-maritime-single-window-ship-clearance-system-in-a-pilot-port-with-a-view-to-supporting-more-ports-in-future/
4. The last thing we want to do is create solutions that have no market fit says Haruki Chua in Klaveness Asia
Recent shifts and structural changes in the shipping industry such as short-term contracts being favored over long-term contracts, increasing market volatility and thinning margins mean that shipowners and charterers have more to monitor and evaluate in their decision making. “Market participants today makes decisions more frequently than before and each decision have a larger impact on the portfolio that they are managing,” says Michael Jørgensen, Head of Dry Bulk to illustrate how the nature of decision-making is changing. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2021/03/22/the-last-thing-we-want-to-do-is-create-solutions-that-have-no-market-fit/
5. COVID-19 crew change crisis still a challenge – IMO Secretary-General
In a statement, Secretary-General Kitack Lim said that based on industry analysis, the numbers of seafarers requiring repatriation after finishing their contracts had declined – from a high of around 400,000 in September 2020 – to around 200,000 as of March 2021, with a similar number waiting to join ships. However, this number could rise again. But the crew change crisis is far from over. Importantly, issues around vaccination need to be resolved. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2021/03/22/covid-19-crew-change-crisis-still-a-challenge-imo-secretary-general/
6. Concerns of rise in number of seafarers impacted by crew change due to new COVID-variants
Shipping is concerned that the numbers of seaferers being impacted by the crew change crisis are on the rise due to travel restrictions imposed by governments in response to new variants. The latest collective industry analysis shows that 200,000 seafarers are currently affected by the crew change crisis, a marked reduction from the height of crisis where 400,000 needed to be repatriated. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2021/03/22/concerns-of-rise-in-number-of-seafarers-impacted-by-crew-change-due-to-new-covid-variants/
7. British green shipbuilding fund launched
The British government under Boris Johnson is determined to rejuvenate the nation’s shipbuilding sector with a host of nearly shuttered yards given a new shot over the past year. Keen to jump up the shipbuilding tech rankings, the government has today launched a £20m ($27.7m) competition to drive green shipping breakthroughs. https://splash247.com/british-green-shipbuilding-fund-launched/
8. Canada welcomes a new shipping line
Canada has a new shipping line. Founded by a family-run Ontario construction company Doornekamp Lines has been launched to take boxed cargoes inland from the nation’s eastern seaboard. The new company has taken a 2007-built, 869 teu boxship on charter and will start biweekly services this May from the port of Halifax on the Atlantic, down the St Lawrence River to Picton at the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. https://splash247.com/canada-welcomes-a-new-shipping-line/
9. Denmark To Seek Agreements for West Africa Anti-Piracy Mission
Denmark’s government will negotiate agreements with its West African counterparts following a decision to send a naval vessel to the Gulf of Guinea to aid the fight against piracy.
The defense ministry in Copenhagen said March 16 it will deploy a frigate to patrol international waters in the gulf, the most dangerous for seafarers worldwide, for an initial five months starting in November. The warship will provide escorts to civilian shipping and carry out rescue operations following pirate attacks. https://gcaptain.com/denmark-to-seek-agreements-for-west-africa-anti-piracy-mission/
10. Italian Prosecutor Seeks Trial For Minister Who Denied Migrant Rescue Vessels Port Entry
An Italian prosecutor formally called on Saturday for right-wing League leader Matteo Salvini to be tried for kidnapping over his decision to prevent more than 100 migrants from landing in the country in 2019. Salvini’s decision, made when he was interior minister, left the migrants stranded at sea until prosecutors ordered the seizure of the ship and the evacuation of the people on board. https://gcaptain.com/italian-prosecutor-migrant-rescue-vessels/
