1. InterManager frustration at finding government body to authorise vaccine purchase
The ship managers association has successfully negotiated with Johnson & Johnson to buy 1m doses of the single shot vaccine at a reduced rate of $22m, however, to place and receive the order requires it to work a recognised government body, a requirement in line with international law. InterManager is speaking to the UK and Cyrpus governments, as well as others, but has failed to find a partner as yet. https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ship-operations/intermanager-frustration-finding-government-body-authorise-vaccine-purchase
2. NYK Delphinus Under Tow to Oakland After Fire
The containership NYK Delphinus is under to to the Port of Oakland after suffering an engine room fire on Friday off the coast of California, the U.S. Coast Guard reported Sunday. The ship was located about 80 miles southwest of Big Sur. “The NYK Delphinus crew reported a continuous decrease in the temperature of the engine room’s surrounding bulkheads Sunday morning. No signs of smoke have been observed and all decks above the engine room are now accessible and have been fully ventilated,” according to a Coast Guard update on the situation. https://gcaptain.com/nyk-delphinus-under-tow-to-oakland-after-fire/
3. Suez Canal Begins Dredging Wider Southern Section
Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has started dredging work to extend a second lane that allows for two-way traffic in a southern section of the canal near to where a giant container ship got stuck for six days in March, it said on Saturday. The SCA announced this week that it was planning to extend a second canal lane that opened in 2015 by 10 km to make it 82 km long, and would widen and deepen a single lane stretch at the southern end of the canal. https://gcaptain.com/suez-canal-begins-dredging-wider-southern-section/
4. Cautious optimism as offshore markets show positive signs: Clarkson
The positive signals were badly needed. “With the exception of the fast-growing offshore wind sector, 2020 was a year to forget for the offshore markets and sentiment heading into 2021 was generally weak,” the analysts said. Meanwhile, seaborne trade, in contrast, had already started to show positive growth over the last few months of 2020. https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/offshore/cautious-optimism-offshore-markets-show-positive-signs-clarkson
5. Second Jones Act Waiver Granted to Citgo After Colonial Outage
The Biden administration granted oil refiner Citgo Petroleum a maritime shipping waiver allowing it to move fuel between U.S. ports on a foreign flagged vessel, two sources told Reuters on Friday, making it the second company to secure one this week. The waivers are intended to help ease distribution of fuel after a major pipeline serving the U.S. East Coast was forced shut by a cyberattack last week, triggering widespread shortages of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. https://www.marinelink.com/news/second-jones-act-waiver-granted-citgo-487660
6. India’s COVID crisis hits global shipping industry hard
Sheikh Karim, a seafarer in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, spends hours on his phone everyday, scrolling through overseas shipping jobs he can’t apply for.
Along with the Philippines and China, India is one of the largest suppliers of crew to the global shipping industry. But a huge surge of COVID-19 infections in the country and a shortage of vaccines have left ship workers like Karim high and dry. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/indias-covid-crisis-hits-global-shipping-industry-hard/
7. Tankers: Clean Market Shaken By Colonial Pipeline Attack
In the Middle East, the market for 280,000mt Middle East to US Gulf (routing via the Cape/Cape) continues to be assessed at WS18.5 level while rates for 270,000mt to China have similarly been stuck at WS32.5 (showing a round-trip TCE of minus $1400/day). In the Atlantic, rates for 260,000mt West Africa to China also remained pegged at WS35 (a round trip TCE of $2.3k/day) and 270,000mt from US Gulf to China saw rates dip about $30k to just under the $4.3m mark ($5.5k/day TCE round-trip).
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/tankers-clean-market-shaken-by-colonial-pipeline-attack/
8. BIMCO Covid 19 Weekly Report
The BIMCO Maritime Information department informs members on a weekly basis, updates about the COVID-19 in relation to implementation measures imposed by governments for sea transport including for crew change as well as from the United Nation bodies like the International Maritime Organization (IMO), World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO).
https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/BIMCO+Covid+19+Weekly+Report
9. CMA CGM Group To Set U.S. East Coast And Canada Big Ship Record With The CMA CGM MARCO POLO
The CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, announced today that it will break its own record next week for the largest vessel to ever visit the U.S. East Coast and Canada. The 16,022-TEU CMA CGM MARCO POLO will first set the Canadian record with a stop in Nova Scotia on Monday, May 17. The ship will then break the U.S. East Coast record when it calls New York on Thursday, May 20.
https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/CMA+CGM+Group+to+set+U.S.+East+Coast+and+Canada+Big+Ship+Record+with+the+CMA+CGM+MARCO+POLO
10. Container Premiums: Trans-Pacific Surcharges Escalate Amid Shortage Of Available Space
Premium service surcharges applied by many container shipping lines on the spot market have brought all-in rates above $10,000/FEU for prompt shipments from North Asia to the US East Coast amid a shortage of empty containers and space on ships. Premium services were originally offered by shipowners as a guarantee of priority loading and unloading at ports and expedited transfer to truck and rail. More recently, premium services only guarantee a cargo will make it on the voyage booked as shipowners face heavy port congestion, equipment shortages and other supply chain constraints that have intensified over the last nine months.
https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Container+Premiums%3A+Trans-Pacific+surcharges+escalate+amid+shortage+of+available+space
