InterManager Daily News 25.05.2021.

1. Egyptian Court Rules Suez Canal Can Keep Holding Ever Given

Egyptian court on Sunday rejected a complaint by the Japanese owner of a container ship that blocked traffic in the Suez Canal for six days in March against the vessel’s continued detention by canal authorities, a lawyer said. The Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, became jammed across the canal in high winds on March 23, halting traffic in both directions and disrupting global trade. https://gcaptain.com/egyptian-court-rules-suez-canal-can-keep-holding-ever-given/

2. BHP Divests Neptune Stake in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

BHP announced Friday it has sold its 35 percent stake and will turn over the operation of the Neptune oil and gas field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico to Houston-based EnVen Energy Ventures. BHP has operated the Neptune field since 2002 and currently co-owns it with partners EnVen, owning a 30 percent, and W&T Energy VI and 31 Offshore owning the remaining 20 and 15 percent, respectively. https://gcaptain.com/bhp-divests-neptune-stake-in-deepwater-gulf-of-mexico/

3. Federal Maritime Commission Votes to Create New National Shipper Advisory Committee

The U.S. Federal maritime Commission has voted to create a National Shipper Advisory Committee to advise the FMC “on policies relating to the competitiveness, reliability, integrity, and fairness of the international ocean freight delivery system.” https://gcaptain.com/federal-maritime-commission-votes-to-create-new-national-shipper-advisory-committee/

4. Stranded Grains Ships to Be Towed Free from Rosario

Seven grains ships stranded at Argentina’s export hub of Rosario will be towed free and sent out to sea after they were loaded with more produce than could be carried on the port’s increasingly shallow waters, local authorities said on Friday.Rosario traffic has been snarled in the aftermath of a 48-hour strike by tugboat captains and other workers managing the flow of agricultural cargo ships. https://www.marinelink.com/news/stranded-grains-ships-towed-free-rosario-487853

5. The Shipping Industry Embraces Battery Power

The past decade has seen tight restrictions on emissions from vessels, notably with a 2015 move to a .10% sulfur maximum in Emission Control Areas (ECA) in North America and in northern Europe. As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) now shapes shipping’s decarbonization future, shipowners are looking at transitions away from fossil fuels. Among the myriad of alternatives are lithium ion batteries and some early forays into hydrogen fuel cells. https://www.marinelink.com/news/shipping-industry-embraces-battery-power-487837

6. Cyprus Shipping at the spotlight through the virtual 32nd Annual General Meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber

The General Meeting was addressed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, who referred to the multifaceted contribution of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber to the continuous development of Cyprus Shipping. In addition, he made a special reference to the vital role Cyprus Shipping played during the pandemic, in transporting the essential goods for which the world relies, as well as to the substantial support it provided to the Cyprus Economy, despite the serious impact it faced due to the pandemic. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2021/05/24/cyprus-shipping-at-the-spotlight-through-the-virtual-32nd-annual-general-meeting-of-the-cyprus-shipping-chamber/

7. Crete-Peloponnese electricity interconnection completed

The Environment and Energy Ministry and the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) on Thursday announced the completion of the Crete-Peloponnese electricity interconnection after the conclusion of the construction works in Chania and Neapoli, Laconia and the successful pilot electrification of all parts of the project, both in the sea and on land. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2021/05/24/crete-peloponnese-electricity-interconnection-completed/

8. Shipbuilding Industry and Shipping in Cyprus

The Cyprus Germany Business Association (CGBA) is proud to be collaborating with the German-Hellenic Chamber of Industry and Commerce which is organising the Online B2B meetings aiming in business promotion, as part of a digital business mission on “Shipbuilding Industry and Shipping in Greece and Cyprus” with the participation of 14 representatives of German companies. This is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy of Germany.

https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2021/05/19/shipping-event-germany-greece-cyprus/

9. IMO Agrees On New Measures To Detect And Report Containers Lost At SeaM

The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 103) meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was held remotely from 5 to 14 May. One of the issues discussed at the meeting – among a very comprehensive list on the agenda, was new measures to mitigate for containers lost at sea.

Containers lost at sea represent a potential danger to maritime safety and is a threat to the environment, particularly with regard to the plastics they contain. Over the course of three months late last year and early this year, almost 3,500 containers were lost in a number of incidents in the Western Pacific. This is far above the numbers usually registered for the same period and has raised concern regarding the causes of these incidents. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/IMO+agrees+on+new+measures+to+detect+and+report+containers+lost+at+sea

10. Seafarer Crew Crisis ‘Only Going To Get Worse’

An International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) official warns American Shipper that the maritime industry’s ongoing crew change crisis is “only going to get worse.”

ICS explained that COVID-19 travel restrictions, as well as the growing list of countries banning crew changes for vessels that have called at one of the Indian subcontinent ports in the past 14 days, are the primary reasons behind this lingering crisis. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Seafarer+crew+crisis+‘only+going+to+get+worse’